Attracting the right talent is a challenge for any business. But what can be even harder is making sure they stick around once you’ve found them. Business coach and owner of Cleaning Marketer Lisa Macqueen shares her tips for recruiting and retaining staff.
Invest in recruitment
“One of the most fundamental areas of growth for cleaning businesses is recruitment and yet it seems to be always overlooked. Cleaning businesses in the past have typically printed a cheap, one line ad and then they’re wondering why they’re not attracting the best talent?
“The fact is, they need to work just as hard in their marketing to attract talent as they do in their marketing to prospects and new customers. But they have never looked at it that way.”
Understand your staff
“I think in the past a lot of companies have thought it’s just a cleaning position. What they don’t realise is that for some, working in the cleaning industry really suits their lifestyle, so if you can provide them with a pathway or with opportunities that will allow them to grow and learn and better themselves then there will be a lot more engagement.”
See it from both sides
“A workforce needs to be thought of like a sporting team. Sporting teams are always bringing in new and fresh talent. Every year your company needs to evaluate the team members, and you need to be upgrading the quality of your staff all time.
“If you’re placing an ad for a new team member think about who you want to attract. Who is your ideal candidate? And, what is it that’s going to be attractive about your business that’s going to raise their hand and apply for that position?”
Celebrate and reward
“It’s refreshing to see that a lot of cleaning businesses are celebrating their teams. There’s a trend towards more industry events that are celebrating the work of the frontline staff and supervisors. The more we do that the better our industry becomes. If you have a team that’s engaged and who are working in alignment that’s when you can take your business to new levels.”
Keep learning
“It’s so easy to get focused on the ‘business’ and customers that we become tactilely excellent but strategically negligent. All staff, cleaning staff on the frontline, senior management even the business owners, should never stop learning.
“The industry is always changing. There’s always new technologies, equipment, methodology, chemicals, solutions…It’s really important that all staff are open to learning. Owners always need to be improving not only their business but their own role and their ability to manage and lead their team.”
This first appeared in the March/April issue of INCLEAN magazine. To subscribe, click here.