Killing Time: 15 Ways House Cleaners Waste Time @SavvyCleaner

Killing time – house cleaning employees waste time 15 different ways. If killing time and ways to prevent it is not part of your maid service training it should be.

Ask a house cleaner ways home service provider can manage time. Angela Brown, The House Cleaning Guru gives tips to market your cleaning business without killing time. Employees steal company resources when they waste time.

Today’s show sponsor is housecleaning360.com home of the savvy cleaner.

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Listen: Killing Time: 15 Ways House Cleaners Waste Time

 

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Hey there, I’m Angela Brown, and this is Ask a House Cleaner. This is a show where you get to ask a house cleaning question, and I get to help you find an answer.

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Question: Killing Time: 15 Ways House Cleaners Waste Time

My employees waste a lot of time. They show up to work, it’s just that they are not very productive and I can’t put a finger on how they are wasting time. In your experience what are the most common ways employees waste time so I know what to look for?

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Answer: Killing Time: 15 Ways House Cleaners Waste Time

As a business owner, you are responsible for managing the company time. Yes, you’re responsible for managing your own time, and maybe the time on the schedule of your employees. But you are responsible for managing company time.

Time is a resource just like money. And if you blow all your money, well then, you’re broke. And if you blow all your time, you’re also broke. So, one of the things we’re going to cover today are 15 ways that employees steal company time. Okay?

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1: Killing Time on Cigarette & Coffee Breaks

All right, so, killing time number one, are taking coffee and cigarette breaks. All right, I understand coffee, and I understand cigarettes. I’m not a fan of either one of them, but I understand them. And I understand that there are employees that do both.

But the secret is this, we do not want to do coffee and cigarette breaks on a client’s time. When you are at a client’s house,  you are there to clean house, not take personal breaks.

Eat your lunch, take your coffee break and get your last smoke in before you arrive at the customers’ house. It’s important to have firm rules in place from day one, so your employees, private contractors, and customers know what to expect.

When a customer is paying you to work – use that time to work. 

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2: Killing Time Chatting with Co-Workers

Two is easy is the motto. Two people teaming up to clean a house is better than one. But is it really? Too often two employees working together become each other’s therapists while on the client’s clock.

So, killing time number two is chatting with coworkers. And because they are the only two people that they see all day, they chat, and they catch up, and they become friends. It’s natural they hang out with each other. And they exchange life stories, and problems, and all that stuff. That’s fine, but it should not happen while they’re at a customer’s house.

They can talk on the way to work and they can talk when they leave work. They can talk after hours, and they can hang out in the parking lot. And then they can have coffee and smoke their cigarettes. But they do not need to be sharing life stories and catching up with each other while they are on the clock at a customer’s house. Productivity suffers.

Train your employees to work independent of each other, then check each other’s work. Have one employee clean the upstairs, the other employee cleans the downstairs. Save the small talk for the ride to work, or the ride home.  Better yet, have them go out to lunch as friends off the clock.

Use work time to work and be as efficient as possible. In the house cleaning business, time is money.

 

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3: Killing Time by Employees Yacking at You.

Killing time number three is employees yakking at you. As a business owner, it’s great to get to know your employees and be friendly with them. 

But you’re the boss and you are responsible for how the company spends its time.  So, when your employees show up for the day, they want you to say, “Hey, how was your day? How was your night? How was your weekend?” And you got about 60 seconds to exchange pleasantries, then let’s get on with the business. Set a rule from the beginning, when you hire an employee, to have them give you a two-minute daily review. Either in person or on the phone. Keep it brief. Check in with them daily to find out how the work for the day went and keep the conversations short. 

If they spend 45 minutes telling you about their problems, you just became their therapist. And as a manager of company time, you are not paying for company time so you can play employee therapist. 

Ask them if they have ideas for ways you can improve as a company. A valued employee will contribute more than somebody who feels like they are never heard.

Ask about their personal life. Try to be flexible if they need time off, or if there are pressing family matters. Show empathy and understanding. This is a one-way street.

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4: Killing time gossiping or complaining to your employees

Do not seek empathy or understanding from your employees about your personal problems. You are the boss. You are responsible for Sick woman touching her headmanaging the companies time. Your employees clean for you. They are not your therapist. Most of them are not trained to solve your marriage, family, business or money troubles.

You want your employees to show up emotionally healthy and eager to do their jobs. So, create an environment that promotes that. You do this by creating healthy boundaries.

Your message to them should be:

We care about you. We want you to communicate with us if there is a problem. I am your boss first, friend second. I value my time, and I value yours so I won’t waste it. You are valuable to our team, and we trust you. We will let you do your job to the best of your abilities. If you need me or my help, let me know.

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5: Killing time chatting with clients

On the initial walk through with clients, it’s important to chat. It’s important to build rapport with the client and get to know their needs and special requests. Give them a feel for who you are, and how you operate your business. This is a trust-building exercise where you assess if you’re going to be a good fit working together. It is also the time you set your boundaries with your clients.

If they are home when you show up to clean, it’s tempting to renew that friendship. But keep it to sixty seconds. You’ve been hired for a job. And you’re now at work. You’ve got sixty seconds to bring your supplies in the door, put on your shoe covers and gloves, and ask how their week went. Bam you’re done. Now you’ve got work to do.

If you blow twenty or thirty minutes before you start cleaning one of two things has happened.

1)      You are offering free therapy to your client. (Therapy costs more than they are paying you for cleaning. So stay focused.)

2)      You are stealing time from the client when they should be working. Now you owe them for therapy. (Paying for therapy costs more than you make per hour cleaning.)

Lots of people work out of their homes. And they hire a cleaning service so they don’t have to spend the time cleaning their homes. If you steal their time, they might as well have cleaned the house themselves. They may be polite and listen to you, but they will resent you hogging their time.

NOTE: This is a huge complaint I hear often from homeowners – the maid or house cleaner was too chatty and interrupted their work. Don’t be that guy or gal. 

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Resources For This Episode

15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management: The Productivity Habits of 7 Billionaires, 13 Olympic Athletes, 29 Straight-A Students, and 239 Entrepreneurs – http://amzn.to/2y1aN77

The 5 A.M. Miracle: Dominate Your Day Before Breakfast – http://amzn.to/2zyRfmX

The Procrastination Cure: 21 Proven Tactics For Conquering Your Inner Procrastinator, Mastering Your Time, And Boosting Your Productivity!  – http://amzn.to/2zxR9eZ

Fast Focus: A Quick-Start Guide To Mastering Your Attention, Ignoring Distractions, And Getting More Done In Less Time!  – http://amzn.to/2yHaB9X

The 30-Day Productivity Plan: Break The 30 Bad Habits That Are Sabotaging Your Time Management – One Day At A Time!  – http://amzn.to/2xZWHmx

Small Habits Revolution: 10 Steps To Transforming Your Life Through The Power Of Mini Habits!  – http://amzn.to/2xZWHTz

The Time Chunking Method: A 10-Step Action Plan For Increasing Your Productivity (Time Management And Productivity Action Guide Series) – http://amzn.to/2yKoKFa

The Science of Powerful Focus: 23 Methods for More Productivity, More Discipline, Less Procrastination, and Less Stress  – http://amzn.to/2h4D5Ts

The Art Of Saying NO: How To Stand Your Ground, Reclaim Your Time And Energy And Refuse To Be Taken For Granted (Without Feeling Guilty!) – http://amzn.to/2yFeD5o

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