How to Set Your Janitorial Operations Manager Up for Success

Give your janitorial operations manager the keys to business success. Here’s what you can do to ensure they have what they need to succeed. 

No matter how hard you work, a thriving commercial cleaning business needs more than one person to grow and succeed. That’s not to say you can’t be happy and fulfilled as a one-person operation. For some, that’s a perfect place to be. But the minute you hire someone, they play a role in your success. That’s especially true for your janitorial operations manager. 

Yes, every person on your team helps you build your business. Your overnight janitors and daytime cleaning people work hard, they interact with your clients, and they may refer more clients to your company. Their success is your success and vice versa. 

More than any single team member, however, it’s the person in the janitorial operations manager position that carries out the duties and shoulders the responsibility that leads to a profitable and reputable commercial cleaning operation. Therefore, it’s essential to take the steps necessary to make sure they can achieve their goals. 

Work smarter, not harder, with Janitorial Manager. Get your free discovery call today to find out how you can make yourself better!

What does success mean for a commercial cleaning company?

You’re the only one who can define what, precisely, success means for your business. Success could be as simple as hiring a small team and turning a profit, or it could mean building a multi-state operation with hundreds of clients. 

Within that range, however, there are some consistent characteristics that define success:

• Profitable
• Good relationships with customers
• A steady team
• Consistently high customer satisfaction ratings
• A good reputation

There are also some consistent factors that help companies gain these characteristics:

• Organized operations
• Excellent onboarding and training for new employees
• Excellent onboarding for new customers
• Detailed inventory and supply tracking
• Organized invoicing and accounting

In a smaller company, you may find yourself taking on multiple “job titles.” You’re the marketing team, the accounting department, the salesperson, the shift lead, and probably a few more things. Whether you want to expand your business or you reach a point where you don’t want to do it all yourself, the time may come when you hire a janitorial operations manager. 

But you can’t just let go of all the work you’ve done, dump it on someone, and expect stellar results. Worse, you can’t dump all the work you’ve ignored onto someone and expect miracles. Sure, if you’re hiring out of desperation because you’re overwhelmed and simply can’t keep up, you will be handing off projects and processes that, shall we say, may need some work. 

The thing is, whether you have a solid plan to hire a janitorial operations manager or you need to get someone in ASAP before everything implodes, there are steps you can take to set this person up for success. Remember, too, that their success is also your success. 

Ensuring success for your new janitorial operations manager

The first thing to be aware of is that any new hire, including a janitorial operations manager, needs time to get oriented and moving. However, if you’ve planned well and your business affairs are in good working order, this might not be a very long process. 

On the other hand, if you’ve been scrambling for months to keep up, you have outstanding bills, your team is only half-trained, your accounts are delinquent because you haven’t sent out invoices, and your supply shelf looks like it got hit by the zombie apocalypse, that’s going to take some time to deal with.  

Add this up, and the most important thing your janitorial operations manager needs from you is some time. Don’t expect overnight miracles. Give them space to do the job you’re asking them to do. 

Another factor in success is hiring the right person for the position. Don’t cut corners because you’re in a rush to get someone hired. Check references. Ensure they have experience in janitorial operations. Take 10 minutes and do a Google search and check out their social media posts. With a bit of diligence here, you’ll save yourself (and your team) some significant headaches. 

That’s for an outside hire, by the way. If you hire someone already on your team, you know what kind of work they do and how familiar they are with your process. Don’t overlook a great employee without specific operations management experience, either. Most of the tasks and responsibilities can be learned, but you can’t train someone to fit in with your team or work hard. 

The last thing your janitorial operations manager needs for success is the right set of tools for the job. This goes for the hands-on janitorial work and for the administrative work they’ll do. If you’ve ever tried scrubbing tile with a toothbrush, you know how important the right tools are. 

It’s probably no surprise, but we think janitorial software (and preferably Janitorial Manager) is one of the best administrative tools out there for helping your business succeed. 

It’s your all-in-one tool for scheduling, timekeeping, tracking inventory, creating work orders, bids, and checklists, performing inspections, communicating with clients and staff, and so much more. 

So if you can hire the right, qualified person as your janitorial operations manager, and give them the time and tools to do the job, you’ll be well on your way to helping them succeed. And your commercial cleaning company will benefit from their success.