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Originally Posted On: https://www.defenderservices.com/how-to-solve-your-commercial-cleaning-service-staffing-woes/

 

The struggle to find employees that want to work and that you can count on has been a huge pandemic in itself. To get the staff that companies need to survive and function, thousand-dollar bonuses are on the table just so companies don’t have to close their doors.

Are you in desperate need of staff for your commercial cleaning service? Let’s take a closer look at how you can get potential applicants lined up and ready to be interviewed for the position.

Capitalizing On What You Currently Have

Tapping into the staff members that you already have to offer more hours, or a higher pay rate can give you a temporary solution to your short staffing issue. You will not know if your employees can work more than they currently are unless you ask them.

And, while you are speaking with the employees you can ask them if they know anyone who needs a job and might want to work with them. People are sometimes more willing to work with people that they know rather than starting a new job at a place where everyone is a stranger.

When you come to your employees with an attitude of gratitude and appreciation they will be more open to receiving what you have to say.

Giving Thorough Training

When an employee has thorough training they feel equipped with the knowledge to do their job properly. But, when they are given minimal training they can feel as if the employer does not care about them, and does not care if they fail or succeed.

Thorough training means showing employees what is expected of them, how to perform certain duties, how to use cleaning products, and allowing them to perform the duties and be observed to make sure everything is being done properly.

Searching In New Places For Employees

Where have you been searching for employees? Are you advertising in specific places, but without getting any results?

If something is not working out for you, perhaps it is time to try something new. Try advertising your help wanted ad in a local newspaper, or on a local social media page to see if that works better for you.

Temporary staffing agencies can work wonders for certain types of employers. When working with a temporary staffing agency, the temporary staff can easily become permanent employees.

The best way to handle the staff that comes from a temporary janitorial staffing agency is to decide which cleaning jobs are easiest. Also, choosing the least demanding customers for these employees to work with will take the pressure off of yourself, and the temporary staff member.

Give the temporary staff members one of your best permanent employees for them to work with. And, let some of your other employees take the more demanding cleaning jobs so that the customers are not suffering because of a new employee.

Reviewing Old Applications

Finding new and fresh applications on your desk or in your e-mail might be challenging at this time. But, what about those old applications that you have in that folder on your desk?

Reviewing older applications might not get a ton of positive results because they are older. These applicants may have lost interest in the position, may have gotten a different job, or could have moved away.

Oppositely, they might still be in the market for a new job, and welcome your offer with open arms. You never know until you try, right?

Give Incentives

As you may have noticed, many businesses have started to offer signing bonuses or other types of pay raises and cash bonuses if employees agree to stay with the company for a specified length of time.

To make up for the pay raise that you are offering to your current and potential employees, you can pitch a pay raise to your customers. The price of everything is going up, and there is no reason that you can’t raise your rates for janitorial services.

Pay raises are usually less than one dollar. So, to give a full dollar is probably unexpected by your current employees.

And, don’t forget that your current employees should feel appreciated and know that they will be earning more than any new employees coming in.

As for sign-on bonuses or incentives, you should not offer something beyond your budget. Offer something in the range that is affordable for you, but intriguing enough to catch the attention of the people interested in the position.

Be Honest And Open

Misleading employees is quite common, and an easy way to get people to get angry or not trust you. It can be tough to be open and honest with employees, but it is well worth it and everyone will feel much better when you do.

Being open and honest starts with the ads that you place when you are trying to hire new employees. Say how many hours, and what hours your need to fill, what will be expected of employees, and how much your commercial cleaning services will pay them.

Your next chance to be honest and open with people will be in the hiring process. Interviews with potential employees should be organized, and held in a quiet location where you both feel comfortable to ask questions and receive honest answers.

The next step of the interview process can be a hands-on training day to see how they like the ins and outs of the job. In addition to the employee vibing with the job and position, you have the opportunity to see their strengths, weaknesses, and their work ethics.

Hiring For Your Commercial Cleaning Service

The hiring process can be exhausting, but once you find the right employee for your commercial cleaning service it can lift a serious weight off of your shoulders. Try offering incentives, advertise your help wanted ad in new places or try temporary staff agencies, and give proper training to get new employees hired asap.

To ask questions about our temporary staff agency, or to start getting the flow of temporary staff coming your way reach out to us at Defender where we provide workforce solutions for you.