So, you’ve taken all the steps to establish your cleaning business. You have been working hard and built a solid client base. Now, your cleaning company has expanded to the point where you can no longer manage it alone.
What you need now is competent cleaning staff to keep your business up and running. But how to hire employees? What qualities to look for in the cleaning employees? Moreover, how to advertise for the job?
You’re likely to find yourself stumped by such questions, and it’s not surprising. The hiring process can indeed be stressful.
Don’t fret, though. Our guide will help answer all the questions that are going through your head. Here we’ve shared tips on how to hire employees for your cleaning business and what qualities to look for during the process.
When to Hire The First Cleaning Employee?
Most cleaning business owners think about hiring employees when they feel overworked and cannot manage things independently.
Nevertheless, this is a wrong approach. It doesn’t only create more stress for you as a business owner, but soon you find yourself fighting an uphill battle. As a result, you may lose grip on all your business-related tasks, and your schedule keeps piling up.
Sounds nerve-wracking, right? So, when should you hire an employee for your cleaning business? Which approach should you take?
Well, as soon as you find yourself building a client list, make sure you advertise for a cleaning job alongside. Hiring an employee beforehand will help you in two ways:
- You'll have a staff member before your work schedule is full
- You'll have enough time to train them
In the cleaning industry, hiring the right staff at the right time is a long-term investment. You can pass on work to them and get back to running your business.
Nevertheless, note that we discussed hiring an employee and not building a team in the first go. Of course, you do not want too many staff members and not enough work.
Make sure that you hire a, say, the first employee to establish your company’s foundation. Then, once your business feels the squeeze of too much work and not enough time, it’s time to increase the number of cleaners gradually.
Making a Job Posting
Writing a job ad is yet another challenge. However, with strategic work, you can readily attract new cleaners.
Hypothetically speaking, if let’s say you are looking for a cleaning job. You’re scrolling your feed and looking through your social media to find a relevant post. There you come across two job ads:
“We want a new cleaner for our company, contact us for more details.”
AND
Hi! We’re hiring!
Position: Cleaner
Job Description: Dusting and cleaning vents and surface areas, vacuuming, mopping, and sweeping
Work hours: 7 hours a day
Salary: $25 per hour
Benefits: Paid sick leaves, vacation time
Contact us now: xxx
Which one are you likely to go for? Of course, the latter one. As you can see, the second job has a detailed description which may encourage cleaners to contact. Most people are hesitant to get in touch with a company that does not provide any information in their job postings.
Make sure you mention the details in your job ad and create an emotional draw by writing phrases that capture the candidates’ attention and touch their hearts.
As a business starter, you may not give your employees medical benefits, but you can always add paid holidays or vacation time to sound appealing.
Also, close your job ad with a call to action. Encourage your candidates to contact you by using phrases such as, “Call now on this number” or “Send resume to this email.”
Advertising Cleaning Jobs
In a tech-driven world like today, people flock to social media and online job boards to find a suitable position. So, if you plan on hiring cleaners for your business, here are a few popular job posting platforms that you may want to look into.
Your Cleaning Company Website
Your company’s official website is perhaps the first place you should consider when posting a job. In addition to skimming through your job ad, prospective employees will understand how your company operates, and it might help them form a positive impression of your company.
They’ll likely find your cleaning company authentic and end up applying for the job.
Twitter is another platform to find a suitable candidate. However, the social media handle has limited characters, so make sure you only mention essential details to catch the experienced candidates’ attention.
You can include position and location followed by a call to action. Also, you can design an image for your job posting and add it along with the post you create.
LinkedIn is so far the most professional website to find an ideal candidate for your cleaning business. Another plus is that you can review the candidate’s profile who applied for the job and see whether they have any previous cleaning experience.
On the downside, you need to pay to post a job on this site. Nevertheless, if it provides you with an experienced, professional cleaner, it’s worth it.
Millions of people post job ads on Facebook. You can easily create and run a Facebook business page and create job posts.
Also, you can also pay to promote the ads or make them geo-targeted.
PostJobFree
The name of the website says it all. You simply need to visit the official website and post a job absolutely for free!
Being one of the first free job sites, it ranks pretty well in Google searches, so you have a high chance of getting an employee.
Indeed
Indeed helps you to post jobs, reach applicants, and interview suitable candidates. You can post jobs for free or pay to sponsor employment and attract more clients.
Qualities to Look For When Hiring Cleaning Employees
What makes a good cleaning employee? You need to consider specific traits when selecting the right candidate. Read below to catch on a few things to look into when choosing a new cleaner.
Previous Cleaning Experience
Working for a cleaning company is not easy. The cleaning industry requires physically fit people who can do strenuous work. As such, a person who has previous experience in cleaning knows the requirements of the job and might be an ideal candidate.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean you should not give opportunities to new candidates who have no prior cleaning experience. Note that you can also consider applicants who have done any physically demanding job previously.
Nature
Get to know the cleaning member you intend to hire. What is their nature like? Are they friendly or cheeky? An impolite, discourteous candidate is a huge no-no. They might shoo away your clients.
Make sure you opt for an applicant who is friendly and welcoming.
Personality
If you’re offering house cleaning services, in particular, you need to be careful with this one. The client places their trust in you when it comes to their comfort zone. Simply put, your client has various valuable items in their household where your staff members go and clean.
You need to ensure that the candidate you hire is trustworthy. For that purpose, you can check for their criminal background record during the hiring process. Also, you can get to know them during an in-person interview.
Problem-Solving Skills
Even if you have a cleaning team, they would have to work independently when they visit a particular place. At this point, an inexperienced cleaner who lacks motivation and energy won’t do his job well.
To run a successful cleaning business, you need independent, self-motivated candidates who have sharp problem-solving skills. They need to have a sense of solving minor issues on their own instead of relying on others to do so.
Commitment/Dedication
Your team should be motivated enough to be there at the right time. If you’re calling them over and over for a scheduled time, it’s a red flag. Any member who shows no commitment or dedication towards their work is likely to mess things up in the long run.
Cleaning Employee Hiring Process
Now that you’ve figured out all of the requirements for recruiting a new employee, it’s time to put your ideas into action.
Finding the right individuals for your cleaning company begins with the hiring process. Therefore, it is one of the most crucial steps. Read on to know exactly what steps you need to follow during the process.
Reviewing Applications
With a good job ad, your inbox will likely overflow with applications. Nevertheless, you can manage this by limiting the application time to a month or a few days.
Once you’ve received all the applications, decide on a suitable time to review them. Of course, it will require patience and hard work, but ultimately it’s for good.
You can further ease the process by dividing the applications into three categories: Most interesting, less interesting, and least interesting pile.
First, you can review the most interesting pile; you may likely find an ideal candidate from that set. Hence, it’ll save you the hassle of examining all the other applications.
Initial Interviews
You can ask your future employee for a quick interview over a phone call. You can decide on a suitable time and date and conduct a short interview.
A quick, random interview will give you an insight into the personality of the applicant.
The Official Interview
It all comes down to the official interview. Here you will get to know whether or not your potential employee is the right person for a particular position.
Not everyone is as competent as their resume indicates. However, an in-person interview gives you a chance to look right into the strengths of your employee.
Make sure you create a list of questions you want to ask in the official interview. These questions can be related to anything from their previous work experience to their hobbies.
Also, make sure you do not ask any religious or personal questions that might offend the candidate.
Reference Checks
A quick reference check will help you know what previous bosses think about your future employee.
While most references are positive because they are specifically designed to make an impression for an interview, it’s still good to look through them.
Background Check
You should ensure that your future employees do not have a criminal record. For instance, you may send your employees for house cleaning or commercial cleaning, and a person with a criminal record might bring disrepute to your company.
While you might need your candidates’ permission for this purpose, you can quickly check their background online. Nevertheless, some background checking websites charge a fee for this service.
You must be informed of an employee’s background to create a positive company culture.
Employment Offer
At this point, you already know what you want to offer your future employees. For example, you might have decided on their salary package and other benefits.
A few people will accept the offer as it is, while others will seek to negotiate. You can show flexibility in this regard but make sure you do not offer anything beyond your budget.
You can give them a probation period and raise the salary if they meet the demands of your company.
Empowering Your Cleaning Staff
Empowering employees means giving your team the freedom to make decisions within your organization. This shows that you have built trust with your team members, and you are confident that their choices align with your business objectives.
Employee empowerment is critical for business growth. While many cleaning businesses expand rapidly with just one or two staff members, true success results from several people working together.
You can do this by accepting their ideas and input, providing them with constructive feedback, and communicating your organization’s vision.
How to Retain Employees
If your employee decides to quit their job amidst your growing business, it might be a loss for you. Nevertheless, understanding the factors that result in employees’ contentment and satisfaction can reduce turnover.
First things first, you need to get health insurance for your employees. Many people opt for jobs that provide health insurance. Also, plenty of insurance companies help small businesses. So, you can consult an insurance agent and get the job done.
Second, consider giving them paid sick leaves. This will build a positive work environment, and your employees will likely get motivated to continue.
Finally, set an example as a boss. Consider a great supervisor you had who inspired you, encouraged you, recognized your accomplishments, and was easy to get along with. Your employees expect the same from you.
Also, note that money is not the top reason why anyone might quit their job. In fact, a bad working environment or lack of appreciation are among the leading causes of people quitting their jobs.
If you’re a lousy boss who ignores his employees’ efforts and acts up, you’re unintentionally creating a bad working atmosphere for your staff.
Hence, if you don’t value your employees, they might quit their job.
The Bottom Line
Hiring new employees can be challenging, but one right candidate can be a great addition to your company.
This is your chance to make your business successful; make sure you trust your instincts and do not hire an incompetent person. When it comes to hiring a cleaner for your business, be selective and don’t be afraid to say no.
Frequently asked questions
Have some questions about your cleaning business, see below for some commonly ask questions
Employee training is an integral part of running a cleaning company. You’ll need cleaners, housekeepers, and maids who can consistently deliver exceptional outcomes. For that purpose, you’d need to train them. It will not only win you long-term customers but also generate considerable revenues for your company.
Of course, you should give a chance to someone new. Nevertheless, make sure you train them well before sending them on their first cleaning job.
