Employees That Dont Last 2 Weeks, Angela Brown, Savvy Cleaner

Employees Who Don’t Last 2 Weeks

Can you avoid employees that don’t last 2 weeks? Why are the new hires leaving? When a house cleaner wants to quit before they start, it can hit your cleaning business hard.

We’re seeing growing interest in house cleaning as a new source of income after COVID.  Are you hiring the right people?

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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. You can find this and 400 other answered questions in this series on our YouTube channel.

Employees That Don’t Last Two Weeks

Employees That Don't Last 2 Weeks, Tired Woman at ComputerEmployees that don’t last two weeks can absolutely kill your business. We have a house cleaner who asked this question.

One of the questions that we have is that we hire a cleaner, oftentimes more than one cleaner.  They start to work with us, and then after a week or two, when we’ve set them up with jobs, they come back saying that they realize cleaning is not for them.

In the meantime, we’ve already started filling up their schedule. We’ve spent all that time, screening them, interview training, et cetera. What do we do so that we don’t have this issue again?.”

Set Realistic Expectations Upfront

Employees That Don't Last 2 Weeks, Two Women Casual InterviewSo this is an excellent question, and it comes down to setting realistic expectations. So, the very first thing to ask is, what does your ad look like? When you are recruiting people, what are the words that you’re using? Where are you going to find those people?

And what is happening inside the job interview because you can probably narrow down what happens next down to this initial meet and greet scenario where you attracted somebody into your business.

So, what is it that you are promising them from upfront? Because if they were coming in and they’re lasting a week or two, they probably thought it was going to be easier than what you made it out to be.

Have You Ever Heard of a Spartan Run?

Employees That Don't Last 2 Weeks, Muddy Runners in RaceSo, have you ever heard of the Spartan races? I ask this question because my little sister, who’s also a house cleaner is also a Spartan.

What this means is she goes and she does all these triathlons where there are obstacle courses and they have rope climbing, rock climbing, run through tires, swim through mud and all kinds of stuff.

Her pictures are horrific. She’s all covered in mud, sweat, blood, bruises and she’s so proud of it. She’s proud of it because she was willing to do things other people were not willing to do.

Paint the Job as Very Hard

Employees That Don't Last 2 Weeks, Man Cleaning ToiletSo, when you have a job interview, instead of bringing an easy-peasy house cleaner, who are going to come in with a little duster, and they’re going to dust a few things, collect money and go home. You need to paint a picture of this is the hardest job you will ever have physically.

Then you ask them “Are you up for the task? Are you physically, mentally, and spiritually up for the task? And the reason for that is because this is going to take every ounce of fortitude that you have to go into a customer’s home and to give it your all and come away with no thanks and a little bit of money.”

That doesn’t sound like a very good job. It can be if you are built for the long haul, but you have to know what you’re going in for. When you go running a marathon or when you go to train for an event its blood, sweat, and tears. You have to be in it for the long haul because by the time you hit mile 17 or mile 23, there is nothing left, and you have to reign on your internal fortitude. That’s going to pull you through the rest of the race, and it’s the same in house cleaning.

House Cleaning Isn’t an Easy Job

Employees That Don't Last 2 Weeks, Upset Man CleaningWhen you get to be a professional house cleaner, there are a lot of houses that are not neat and tidy and picked up and waiting for you. There are all kinds of slime and grime at these houses and there’s a bunch of stuff that was left lying around or left out that you still have to pick up. And then you go in and there might be dog poop and other things.

You’re like, “Oh, that’s not very cool.” And then you cleaned it up and you make the house look amazing. And the customer is not home when you leave. And then when you leave, there are no thanks. Nobody said, “Wow, great job, the place looks amazing.” Nobody writes you a rating and review and you walk away going like, “Well, is that all I get?”

Yeah, that’s all you get because that’s the job you chose. Are you right for this job? You have to be willing to get up and go back and do it all over again the next day and the next day and the next, because that’s your business.

You Have to Paint the Picture of the Spartan

Employees That Don't Last 2 Weeks, Obstacle Course Tires RaceSo, if you’re painting a different picture than that for the house cleaners that go out and clean and work for you might be in for a real treat because there will be a constant churn. Now there are businesses that paint the picture of the Spartan.

We are looking for the Spartans who are going to come in and they’re going to give us their blood, sweat, and tears because that’s what they have to give. And they’re going to leave the world a cleaner place. And there are people that are like, “Yeah, pick me, I’m up for the challenge.”

There Will Always Be Problems in House Cleaning

Employees That Don't Last 2 Weeks, Man and Woman ArguingYou know going in, you’re going to have homeowner problems and they have problems with their families. And there will be these weird things that you have to navigate. And then you have coworkers and other employees who have weird things with their families that you have to navigate. Then you have your boss and your boss has weird things with their families that you have to navigate.

So everywhere you turn, it’s going to take 100% of your heart, mind, and soul. Do you have what it takes? And only the strong survive. And so, if that’s the picture you’re painting in the job interview, then the people that you hire are going to go, “Oh yeah, I have what it takes. Get out of my way because I am coming through.” And those house cleaners will last for years.

Those are the people that you promote and those are the people that live in the million-dollar mansions because you know what, they figured out how to work the business. And they figured out how to become the person that does what no one else is willing to do.

Successful People are Willing to Do What Others Won’t

Employees That Don't Last 2 Weeks, Tough House Cleaner, Bring It OnSo, when I look around at the successful people that are out there and it’s successful landscapers, successful painters, successful pressure washing companies and people that have their own businesses. They are people that are willing to do what no one else is willing to do. They are willing to walk through the fire of the business, the chaos, the drama, the customers, the prospects, the selling process, the physical labor of it all.

And then they walk out like heroes on the other side. It’s that same feeling you get when you finish the marathon and yeah, you’re half insane and part of you is like, “You know what? I did it. And no one can take that away from me ever.” It’s an internal fortitude that money cannot buy.

Are those the people that you’re hiring? Or are you hiring the people from the easy peasy street because those people will never last? They never do. They come, poof, the wind blows them away and they’re gone. So, who are you hiring? Try to change your ads and change your interviews.  Also think about changing your training process so that in the end, the strong survive.

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