This week we focus on two more key leadership qualities and they are
HANDLE PROBLEMS PROMPTLY---This is one of the most difficult areas for most entrepreneurs to attack. Most can handle problems with customers or lawyers or bankers without much difficulty, but handling employee problems, especially at the management level is one area that just doesn't get done well most of the time. Of course it can be difficult dealing with customers or lawyers or bankers but most entrepreneurs will jump right in and address the issues. By the same token if they are having a problem with a management employee they will procrastinate until many times damage has been done to the organization.
As I say this I was guilty as charged when I owned my contract cleaning company. For some reason, I thrived on dealing with pressure from customers and other outside forces but didn't always deal with important and delicate employee issues. As I write this I can recall about 10 instances through the years where I should have acted promptly on an employee issue and didn't.
Now having said that, one of the most frequent issues I am presented with when doing consulting work for contract cleaning companies is the client wanting me to terminate a top management person in their organization. Quite frequently it is the individual with the longest tenure and more often than not it is a relative---a sister, brother, son, or daughter. They just can't bring themselves to "pull the trigger" on the decision that has to be made. If they pay me to do it then they can tell the individual, "I paid big dollars for this consultant and he recommended this be done and if I'm going to pay the big bucks I need to follow the advice". Not true but it gets them off the hook.
I should mention here that I fired my wife twice and she quit once. I also fired one of my sons once and he quit once. How come I could fire my family who I love dearly and not terminate a non-relative who probably deserved to be history for many more serious reasons. Just lucky, I guess.
Incidentally, do you see how closely this leadership quality is associated with the second one on being a decision maker? Good leaders address problems head on and make the decisions needed in a prompt, orderly and most of the time, accurate manner.
MAINTAIN YOUR FOCUS---Hopefully you have established a sound business plan and have committed to focusing on customer satisfaction, not just service. You have a huge job as the leader of your company to maintain the focus of where your company is headed at all times.
Rest assured, many distractions will occur as you grow your company. Many so called "opportunities" will arise that you will be tempted to "take advantage of " but it is your responsibility to address the one big issue of DOES IT FIT WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH AND WHERE WE ARE TRYING TO GO? Always maintain that focus for your organization.
So far we have covered 4 important leadership qualities-
HONESTY
BEING A DECISION MAKER
HANDLING PROBLEMS PROMPTLY
MAINTAINING YOUR FOCUS AT ALL TIMES
Next week we will conclude our discussion on leadership qualities with what may be, next to honesty, the most important leadership quality of all. I hope you will join me for this important discussion.
Don't forget to join us for the FREE pod casts every Monday morning at www.tripodcast.com. You can sign up there to receive an e-mail to remind you every time a new pod cast is posted.
Also, I hope you are making plans to join me at the BSCAI Executive Seminar in Scottsdale May 11 and 12. You can still make reservations by going to www.bscai.org. I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible at this exciting event.
Till next time and MAKE IT A GREAT DAY.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
FOCUSING ON LEADERSHIP--PART 2
This week we continue with the next quality of leadership to succeed in this industry and that is,
BE A DECISION MAKER--Here is where so many business people slow down and sometimes ruin their opportunity for success. Some people just cannot make a decision and by the time they get around to making a decision the opportunity that may have been theirs is gone.
This is the area that many times will separate the managers from the leaders. The leaders will gather the facts as best they can and make a decision while a manager many times waits and waits for more and more facts in order to make the decision. Whoops! What happened; the opportunity is gone. What about you?
I know a gentleman that is an outstanding manager in just about every way you could judge him but he just cannot make a decision. He waivers one way and then another and then another. If someone makes the decision and then hands him the program or policy to manage he will do a superb job but don't ask him to make the initial decision. I should also mention that most entrepreneurs are just not very good managers. They are great idea people but have a difficult time managing the ideas they generate. That's not a bad thing. I am sure some of you entrepreneurs will take exception to me on this but I really believe that. It also can sometimes make if very difficult for entrepreneurs to teach their managers because, frankly, they are not very good at managing although they may think they are.
I remember one of my staff members many years ago saying that I had some of the best ideas for our company but needed someone to follow behind me to manage all the details. While they didn't mean it as a compliment, I took it as such because that meant we were moving forward. In almost every situation it is easier to find a manager to manage an operation than it is to think it up and put it together in the first place.
Taking it a step further, as an owner of your own contract cleaning company you will have people coming into your office with the "problem of the day". The natural inclination is to give them the solution because , after all, aren't you the all knowing, soothsayer boss that is suppose to have all the answers? Remember, you are an entrepreneur, not a manager.
It is very difficult to have people make decisions in their job if you are always there to give them the answer. Ask them , "What would you suggest be done in this situation"? Solicit their answer and then coach them if you feel they may be approaching it incorrectly. Let me also suggest that sometimes is is "okay" to let them make the wrong decision if it does not jeopardize the organization and they learn a good lesson from the experience. I am sure some of you will disagree with me on this but I strongly believe that and used it in my company to help managers progress up the ladder.
So, be a strong decision maker, know if you are a leader or a manager, then build your staff based on the needs you have. It is not a sign of weakness to not have all the answers and hiring people that help the organization in the areas you are not as strong. In fact, that shows you are a TRUE LEADER AND DECISION MAKER. Remember, as I said in one of the earlier posts, a successful company needs both good entrepreneurs and good managers.
Next week we'll continue our discussion on focusing on leadership. Let me know your opinions on what we are saying.
Also, don't forget our weekly FREE pod casts at www.tripodcast.com. You can sign up by entering your e-mail and clicking the icon.
Also, I hope you are planning to attend the BSCAI Executive Seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona next month. I am hoping to see as many of you there as possible. Go to bscai.org for all the details. It will be a great chance for you to meet other BSC's and quality vendors to our industry.
Till next time. MAKE IT A GREAT DAY.
BE A DECISION MAKER--Here is where so many business people slow down and sometimes ruin their opportunity for success. Some people just cannot make a decision and by the time they get around to making a decision the opportunity that may have been theirs is gone.
This is the area that many times will separate the managers from the leaders. The leaders will gather the facts as best they can and make a decision while a manager many times waits and waits for more and more facts in order to make the decision. Whoops! What happened; the opportunity is gone. What about you?
I know a gentleman that is an outstanding manager in just about every way you could judge him but he just cannot make a decision. He waivers one way and then another and then another. If someone makes the decision and then hands him the program or policy to manage he will do a superb job but don't ask him to make the initial decision. I should also mention that most entrepreneurs are just not very good managers. They are great idea people but have a difficult time managing the ideas they generate. That's not a bad thing. I am sure some of you entrepreneurs will take exception to me on this but I really believe that. It also can sometimes make if very difficult for entrepreneurs to teach their managers because, frankly, they are not very good at managing although they may think they are.
I remember one of my staff members many years ago saying that I had some of the best ideas for our company but needed someone to follow behind me to manage all the details. While they didn't mean it as a compliment, I took it as such because that meant we were moving forward. In almost every situation it is easier to find a manager to manage an operation than it is to think it up and put it together in the first place.
Taking it a step further, as an owner of your own contract cleaning company you will have people coming into your office with the "problem of the day". The natural inclination is to give them the solution because , after all, aren't you the all knowing, soothsayer boss that is suppose to have all the answers? Remember, you are an entrepreneur, not a manager.
It is very difficult to have people make decisions in their job if you are always there to give them the answer. Ask them , "What would you suggest be done in this situation"? Solicit their answer and then coach them if you feel they may be approaching it incorrectly. Let me also suggest that sometimes is is "okay" to let them make the wrong decision if it does not jeopardize the organization and they learn a good lesson from the experience. I am sure some of you will disagree with me on this but I strongly believe that and used it in my company to help managers progress up the ladder.
So, be a strong decision maker, know if you are a leader or a manager, then build your staff based on the needs you have. It is not a sign of weakness to not have all the answers and hiring people that help the organization in the areas you are not as strong. In fact, that shows you are a TRUE LEADER AND DECISION MAKER. Remember, as I said in one of the earlier posts, a successful company needs both good entrepreneurs and good managers.
Next week we'll continue our discussion on focusing on leadership. Let me know your opinions on what we are saying.
Also, don't forget our weekly FREE pod casts at www.tripodcast.com. You can sign up by entering your e-mail and clicking the icon.
Also, I hope you are planning to attend the BSCAI Executive Seminar in Scottsdale, Arizona next month. I am hoping to see as many of you there as possible. Go to bscai.org for all the details. It will be a great chance for you to meet other BSC's and quality vendors to our industry.
Till next time. MAKE IT A GREAT DAY.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
FOCUSING ON LEADERSHIP
Whether you like it or not, your employees look to you to provide leadership in the direction your organization is going. What type of leadership are you providing? It's very important, you know. The people are looking to YOU to give them direction.
For example, what is the dress code in your company? Do do allow jeans to be worn at all times or do you require suit and tie for men and business attire for the ladies? If you require business attire, try wearing jeans to work for a couple of days. It won't take long and everyone is wearing jeans because you have set the standard. Have an alcoholic drink for lunch and it becomes the standard. They are watching you every minute of the day and that is not a bad thing if you are setting a good example.
Let's talk about leadership. As we go through these ideas think about your organization and how it is or isn't performing and if you need changes to occur.
First the definition of leadership from the dictionary--"The art of motivating a group of people to act toward achieving a common goal".
There's that word goal. Establishing goals is the subject for an entire book so we're not going to spend time here on how to set goals etc.
Going on, I think it is important that we not confuse managing with leadership. You see, there is a major difference and a successful company will make sure they have both. I think the best definition I ever heard or read on this subject is attributed to former first lady, Roslyn Carter who said, "Managers take people where they want to go, leaders take them where they need to go".
Think about that. As a leader of your company you are charged with the responsibility of taking your people in the direction that is needed to accomplish the goals that have been established for the organization. This is not always comfortable. You see, it is more fun and much easier to just make friends with everyone and have a big happy family and try to please everyone, isn't it? You'll probably have a great time but you won't accomplish as much. In fact, you may not accomplish any of the objectives you have established.
Another way I have heard this managing vs. leadership dilemma explained is that managers do things right while leaders do the right things. As I stated earlier, your company needs both and you need to find those people who can do the things right once you have determined what the right things are your company should be doing. There are many good and honest people who want to do things right. "Just tell me what my job is and I'll do it better than anyone else". Know anyone like that in your organization? If you do, keep them happy.
Most entrepreneurs are great idea people and know what has to be done but don't ask them to do the details. They will mess up the details almost all of the time. They do the right things but need key people to be sure that they are done right. Guilty as charged.
I want to finish up this week's blog by giving you what I think is the first of five key leadership qualities necessary for us to succeed in the contract cleaning industry. Later blogs will outline the other four.
1. HONESTY--Here I am talking primarily about honesty AND integrity. I realize this is pretty obvious but look around you in the world today. Look around in the business world today. The government has had to get involved in many of the business empires to save the companies from themselves and sometimes it is obvious the government needs to be saved from itself.
I remember several years ago doing a workshop in the southern United States and we were doing an exercise on the characteristics of a good supervisor. I had filled several pages of suggestions from the audience and hung them (not the audience) on the wall when an elderly gentleman in the back of the room stood up and quietly said, "You have forgotten the most important trait of all and that is honesty. If you don't have that in your people you just as well get out of business". How true.
Interesting isn't it, that we filled several pages on an easel and hung the pages on the wall and not one person suggested honesty as a trait needed in our leaders and managers? That may be one of the things wrong with our country today as we look to our Congress and other "leaders". Maybe they didn't get the message, forgot it, or just don't care. Well, we all now have the message and it is important if you want to become truly successful.
In next week's session we'll focus on a couple more of the 5 traits of leadership. I hope you'll join me. What do you think the other traits of leadership are?
Talking about joining me, I hope you will join me and other BSC's in Scottsdale for the BSCAI Executive Seminar May 11 and 12. It is going to be a great conference and I would like to meet as many of you as I can.
In addtion, don't forget to listen and view our free weekly pod cast at www.tripodcast.com,
Till next time---MAKE IT GREAT DAY.
For example, what is the dress code in your company? Do do allow jeans to be worn at all times or do you require suit and tie for men and business attire for the ladies? If you require business attire, try wearing jeans to work for a couple of days. It won't take long and everyone is wearing jeans because you have set the standard. Have an alcoholic drink for lunch and it becomes the standard. They are watching you every minute of the day and that is not a bad thing if you are setting a good example.
Let's talk about leadership. As we go through these ideas think about your organization and how it is or isn't performing and if you need changes to occur.
First the definition of leadership from the dictionary--"The art of motivating a group of people to act toward achieving a common goal".
There's that word goal. Establishing goals is the subject for an entire book so we're not going to spend time here on how to set goals etc.
Going on, I think it is important that we not confuse managing with leadership. You see, there is a major difference and a successful company will make sure they have both. I think the best definition I ever heard or read on this subject is attributed to former first lady, Roslyn Carter who said, "Managers take people where they want to go, leaders take them where they need to go".
Think about that. As a leader of your company you are charged with the responsibility of taking your people in the direction that is needed to accomplish the goals that have been established for the organization. This is not always comfortable. You see, it is more fun and much easier to just make friends with everyone and have a big happy family and try to please everyone, isn't it? You'll probably have a great time but you won't accomplish as much. In fact, you may not accomplish any of the objectives you have established.
Another way I have heard this managing vs. leadership dilemma explained is that managers do things right while leaders do the right things. As I stated earlier, your company needs both and you need to find those people who can do the things right once you have determined what the right things are your company should be doing. There are many good and honest people who want to do things right. "Just tell me what my job is and I'll do it better than anyone else". Know anyone like that in your organization? If you do, keep them happy.
Most entrepreneurs are great idea people and know what has to be done but don't ask them to do the details. They will mess up the details almost all of the time. They do the right things but need key people to be sure that they are done right. Guilty as charged.
I want to finish up this week's blog by giving you what I think is the first of five key leadership qualities necessary for us to succeed in the contract cleaning industry. Later blogs will outline the other four.
1. HONESTY--Here I am talking primarily about honesty AND integrity. I realize this is pretty obvious but look around you in the world today. Look around in the business world today. The government has had to get involved in many of the business empires to save the companies from themselves and sometimes it is obvious the government needs to be saved from itself.
I remember several years ago doing a workshop in the southern United States and we were doing an exercise on the characteristics of a good supervisor. I had filled several pages of suggestions from the audience and hung them (not the audience) on the wall when an elderly gentleman in the back of the room stood up and quietly said, "You have forgotten the most important trait of all and that is honesty. If you don't have that in your people you just as well get out of business". How true.
Interesting isn't it, that we filled several pages on an easel and hung the pages on the wall and not one person suggested honesty as a trait needed in our leaders and managers? That may be one of the things wrong with our country today as we look to our Congress and other "leaders". Maybe they didn't get the message, forgot it, or just don't care. Well, we all now have the message and it is important if you want to become truly successful.
In next week's session we'll focus on a couple more of the 5 traits of leadership. I hope you'll join me. What do you think the other traits of leadership are?
Talking about joining me, I hope you will join me and other BSC's in Scottsdale for the BSCAI Executive Seminar May 11 and 12. It is going to be a great conference and I would like to meet as many of you as I can.
In addtion, don't forget to listen and view our free weekly pod cast at www.tripodcast.com,
Till next time---MAKE IT GREAT DAY.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
WHAT DO YOU MEAN SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES?
During my years of being a member of a peer group and then having the opportunity to do consulting work for many fine companies, the one thing I have noticed with nearly all the successful ones---they have systems and processes in place that enhance their chances of success. What about your company? If you are a new or emerging company the time is now to get the systems, processes, and procedures in place that will assist you in your growth.
Let me suggest the best place to start is by putting together a formal company administrative manual that contains all of your policies and forms. I hate forms but they are absolutely necessary as you develop your company into a full fledged organization. The sooner you begin the better. I wish I had begun when we were small.
In my book "The Do's and Don'ts of Contract Cleaning From One Who Did and Didn't", I outline 12 sections we had in our manual from time and attendance to job descriptions to safety information. It made life so much easier for everyone. Need to know a procedure or need a form for a workers compensation injury?---go to the manual. Does everyone understand all the paperwork needed to hire or terminate someone? Go to the manual. How about company vehicle regulations or supply ordering procedures? Go to the manual. It sure cut down on a lot of conversation and time wasters in our company. Let me also emphasize that the 12 sections we had were not gospel. You can use sections that you need for your company that may be different than what we had but the important thing is to have a usable effective manual.
The advantage in today's business environment over the way we had it in the "olden days" (2005) is that now you can base it on your secure internet site and your staff can draw pages needed for their particular situation in a secure process that you can develop. You can also then make changes as needed to the manual and have an instant update for everyone.
If you have any desires to grow into other geographical areas now is the time to create an administrative manual, not after you have opened your first branch. We developed the manual before we started branching into other cities and states which made it much easier to duplicate ourselves as we grew.
In later blogs we'll discuss other systems and processes I feel are necessary to your success but the administrative manual is where I believe it all begins. If you don't have one, start today. It only gets more difficult as time goes on and you try to grow. In fact, you will have difficulty growing past a certain stage unless you start developing systematic ways you want your company to operate. Contact me if I can help.
Trust me, it is important.
Don't forget to register for the BSCAI Executive seminar coming up in May in Scottsdale, AZ. You can go to BSCAI.org to get all the information you need. Hope to see you there and if you go, introduce yourself to me and let me know what subjects you would like to see covered in this blog. We want to help in any way we can.
Later.
Let
Let me suggest the best place to start is by putting together a formal company administrative manual that contains all of your policies and forms. I hate forms but they are absolutely necessary as you develop your company into a full fledged organization. The sooner you begin the better. I wish I had begun when we were small.
In my book "The Do's and Don'ts of Contract Cleaning From One Who Did and Didn't", I outline 12 sections we had in our manual from time and attendance to job descriptions to safety information. It made life so much easier for everyone. Need to know a procedure or need a form for a workers compensation injury?---go to the manual. Does everyone understand all the paperwork needed to hire or terminate someone? Go to the manual. How about company vehicle regulations or supply ordering procedures? Go to the manual. It sure cut down on a lot of conversation and time wasters in our company. Let me also emphasize that the 12 sections we had were not gospel. You can use sections that you need for your company that may be different than what we had but the important thing is to have a usable effective manual.
The advantage in today's business environment over the way we had it in the "olden days" (2005) is that now you can base it on your secure internet site and your staff can draw pages needed for their particular situation in a secure process that you can develop. You can also then make changes as needed to the manual and have an instant update for everyone.
If you have any desires to grow into other geographical areas now is the time to create an administrative manual, not after you have opened your first branch. We developed the manual before we started branching into other cities and states which made it much easier to duplicate ourselves as we grew.
In later blogs we'll discuss other systems and processes I feel are necessary to your success but the administrative manual is where I believe it all begins. If you don't have one, start today. It only gets more difficult as time goes on and you try to grow. In fact, you will have difficulty growing past a certain stage unless you start developing systematic ways you want your company to operate. Contact me if I can help.
Trust me, it is important.
Don't forget to register for the BSCAI Executive seminar coming up in May in Scottsdale, AZ. You can go to BSCAI.org to get all the information you need. Hope to see you there and if you go, introduce yourself to me and let me know what subjects you would like to see covered in this blog. We want to help in any way we can.
Later.
Let
Monday, March 26, 2012
INCREASING PROFITS WITHOUT INCREASING SALES
INCREASING PROFITS WITHOUT INCREASING SALES
Wherever I go to work with BSCs, the one comment I always hear is "help me to increase my sales so I can add to my bottom line". Well, in this session I want to talk about the money that is in your company that will add to your bottom line without making one sale. Now, how can that be, you ask? I am going to tell you.
Finding hidden profits in your company is all about doing a periodic retuning of the accounts you presently service. I have for years used a simple process every 6 months to make sure that each account we have is running as efficiently as possible. You know what? We still miss some things. But let me give you some ideas on fine tuning the accounts you have. Not only are there profit dollars to be found but you will also create a much safer work environment for your cleaning staff which just might also reduce your workers compensation premiums.
1. Do you have current job specifications posted on the wall in each janitor's closet with a current date on them. Even if nothing has changed, I suggest you update the specifications with the current date. That tells your client you are on top of things.
2. Make sure you have a current book of MSD sheets. In this industry we sometimes change products that we use but forget to place the MSD sheet in the closet. By the way, if you are transporting any chemicals in your vehicles they also should have an MSD book.
3. Are the current company and client emergency phone numbers posted on the wall in each closet? Do you know how to get in touch with your client or your boss in the case of an emergency. I secured a large account one time because the building had a flood in the basement and when the client call my competitor, who was his contractor at the time, to get some help on the way, all the phone numbers listed were out of date or disconnected. I was happy to get the account plus I made sure our numbers were always up to date.
4. Do you have posted the emergency procedures for injuries to your staff? Who do they call, where do they take them for treatment? Do they have workers compensation accident report forms that can be completed ASAP?
5. Are all spray bottles properly labeled? Rosie's cleaner or Pete's spray buff is not a proper label. Fines from OSHA on this violation can run into the thousands of dollars.
6. Are all the keys properly marked and secured? Are all old keys properly disposed of?
Now, before I go on you may be wondering, how does this increase my bottom line? Well, let's see,
A. Not wasting time trying to figure out who to call will save you how many hours in the event of an emergency?
B. Not having huge fines from OSHA for improper labeling and out of date MSD sheets will save how many dollars?
C. Having keys properly marked and old ones disposed of saves how many dollars in lost time?
D. Having up to date job specifications saves how much time not cleaning what you don't need to clean and cleaning what you should clean?
Okay, let's go on.]
7. Is all equipment neat, clean, and safely working? Cords good, switches working, belts, brushes, bags, blocks in good working order?
8. Is the supply closet neat, clean, and in proper order? I had a customer tell me one time that was how he judged our work. If we couldn't keep our janitor's closet clean, how in the world could we keep his building clean? If your client should look in your janitor's closet today, what impression would he or she have of your organization?
9. Return all excess equipment and supplies to the warehouse. Now this can really add to your bottom line. We budgeted each account x dollars per month based on the dollar volume and other factors. Almost always we found that our staff did not need the entire amount and we could adjust the budget downward. When you take excess supplies and equipment back to the warehouse, that money goes right to the bottom line because it is now available for another job. By the way, that can include mop buckets, wringers, etc. as well as motorized equipment.
10. Has the cleaning schedule changed so that you can reduce budgeted hours? Also, it is a known fact that as the staff becomes more familiar with the facility they learn that hours can be reduced and by doing this six months review you can make the necessary budget adjustments.
Just think, if you can reduce 15 minutes a night on 10 five night per week accounts the equates to 54 hours per month. If your average wage is $10 plus 20% for taxes and insurances, you will save about $650 per month. That's nearly $8,000 per year. That, plus whatever you can save on supply and equipment costs. And what about the other intangibles like customer retention, insurance cost reductions due to increased safety etc. etc.?
Keep also in mind the chart I referred to in an earlier session when I discussed "It's only 5 minutes". If you missed it you can go to my web site at www.consultantsincleaning.com, click on the DVD icon, then go to the left of the page and you can download the chart FREE. Add that to the dollars above and you have some real money and as Yogi Berra said if you have money you can use it the same as cash.
I hope you will take the time to review your current accounts. I can almost assure you that you can increase your profits without increasing your sales.
Don't forget the BSCAI Executive Seminar coming up May 11 and 12 in Scottsdale, Arizona. I plan to be there and would like to meet as many of you as possible. You can register by going to bscai.org.
Till next time.
Finding hidden profits in your company is all about doing a periodic retuning of the accounts you presently service. I have for years used a simple process every 6 months to make sure that each account we have is running as efficiently as possible. You know what? We still miss some things. But let me give you some ideas on fine tuning the accounts you have. Not only are there profit dollars to be found but you will also create a much safer work environment for your cleaning staff which just might also reduce your workers compensation premiums.
1. Do you have current job specifications posted on the wall in each janitor's closet with a current date on them. Even if nothing has changed, I suggest you update the specifications with the current date. That tells your client you are on top of things.
2. Make sure you have a current book of MSD sheets. In this industry we sometimes change products that we use but forget to place the MSD sheet in the closet. By the way, if you are transporting any chemicals in your vehicles they also should have an MSD book.
3. Are the current company and client emergency phone numbers posted on the wall in each closet? Do you know how to get in touch with your client or your boss in the case of an emergency. I secured a large account one time because the building had a flood in the basement and when the client call my competitor, who was his contractor at the time, to get some help on the way, all the phone numbers listed were out of date or disconnected. I was happy to get the account plus I made sure our numbers were always up to date.
4. Do you have posted the emergency procedures for injuries to your staff? Who do they call, where do they take them for treatment? Do they have workers compensation accident report forms that can be completed ASAP?
5. Are all spray bottles properly labeled? Rosie's cleaner or Pete's spray buff is not a proper label. Fines from OSHA on this violation can run into the thousands of dollars.
6. Are all the keys properly marked and secured? Are all old keys properly disposed of?
Now, before I go on you may be wondering, how does this increase my bottom line? Well, let's see,
A. Not wasting time trying to figure out who to call will save you how many hours in the event of an emergency?
B. Not having huge fines from OSHA for improper labeling and out of date MSD sheets will save how many dollars?
C. Having keys properly marked and old ones disposed of saves how many dollars in lost time?
D. Having up to date job specifications saves how much time not cleaning what you don't need to clean and cleaning what you should clean?
Okay, let's go on.]
7. Is all equipment neat, clean, and safely working? Cords good, switches working, belts, brushes, bags, blocks in good working order?
8. Is the supply closet neat, clean, and in proper order? I had a customer tell me one time that was how he judged our work. If we couldn't keep our janitor's closet clean, how in the world could we keep his building clean? If your client should look in your janitor's closet today, what impression would he or she have of your organization?
9. Return all excess equipment and supplies to the warehouse. Now this can really add to your bottom line. We budgeted each account x dollars per month based on the dollar volume and other factors. Almost always we found that our staff did not need the entire amount and we could adjust the budget downward. When you take excess supplies and equipment back to the warehouse, that money goes right to the bottom line because it is now available for another job. By the way, that can include mop buckets, wringers, etc. as well as motorized equipment.
10. Has the cleaning schedule changed so that you can reduce budgeted hours? Also, it is a known fact that as the staff becomes more familiar with the facility they learn that hours can be reduced and by doing this six months review you can make the necessary budget adjustments.
Just think, if you can reduce 15 minutes a night on 10 five night per week accounts the equates to 54 hours per month. If your average wage is $10 plus 20% for taxes and insurances, you will save about $650 per month. That's nearly $8,000 per year. That, plus whatever you can save on supply and equipment costs. And what about the other intangibles like customer retention, insurance cost reductions due to increased safety etc. etc.?
Keep also in mind the chart I referred to in an earlier session when I discussed "It's only 5 minutes". If you missed it you can go to my web site at www.consultantsincleaning.com, click on the DVD icon, then go to the left of the page and you can download the chart FREE. Add that to the dollars above and you have some real money and as Yogi Berra said if you have money you can use it the same as cash.
I hope you will take the time to review your current accounts. I can almost assure you that you can increase your profits without increasing your sales.
Don't forget the BSCAI Executive Seminar coming up May 11 and 12 in Scottsdale, Arizona. I plan to be there and would like to meet as many of you as possible. You can register by going to bscai.org.
Till next time.
Monday, March 19, 2012
WHY YOUR EMPLOYEES QUIT
This week we want to continue on with the subject of training and the pitfalls of not doing it. As we stated last week, in this session we want to discuss the 5 major reasons why employees quit.
1. NOBODY TOLD ME WHAT TO DO---This is not to be confused with "nobody trained me on what to do". This goes deeper to the root of the problem. This says that when the employee was hired, they were told something like, "Go to the building and do janitorial work, you'll find everything you need in the closet". That's about the same as in an interview asking the employee about their experience and having them tell you they vacuum their house once a week and take the trash to the curb every Thursday so we all agree that must qualify them for the job.
What about your company? What do you say to your new recruit that you just invested hundreds of dollars in to find, interview, and put on the payroll?
2. NOBODY EVER COMPLIMENTS ME---This reason should come as no surprise. People working in the service business usually only hear about something when there is a problem. What about you? Is the only time you communicate with your staff is when there is a problem?
In the building service business, the usual procedure is for the supervisor or manager to come to work and ask the question, "Any complaints today? What problems am I going to face tonight? Who isn't coming to work this evening? How many people won't come to work tonight and not even call in"? Sound familiar?
Let me ask you, When was the last time you went to work and made a conscious effort to compliment your staff on a job well done? Today? Yesterday? Last week? Never? It's a jungle out there. True, but the compliment you give your employees today or tonight may be the only good thing they hear today. They may have spent the entire day fighting off creditors or arguing with a spouse or child. Try giving a compliment, you'll like it and so will they.
Why not create a file of your employee's birthday and the anniversary date of their employment and make a conscious effort to call them or stop by their work station on those important dates and congratulate them.
I know of managers and supervisors who will pick up pizza on a Friday night and deliver it to a crew if they have gone a period of time without a complaint or no one was absent etc. Create your own reason for doing something like this. By the way, stay and enjoy the pizza with them. Amazing what it will do for strengthening your relationship with them.
3. THERE DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE ANY ROOM FOR ADVANCEMENT--This reason is really interesting. At the time your employee is leaving your company because there is no place to advance, the employer is shouting to the world, "I can't find any good supervisors and managers". Sound familiar?
In my job as a consultant to many companies I get asked frequently if I know of any good managers etc. anywhere in the country. Most of the time I can answer yes, in your own company. They really are there most of the time. We just need to locate them and then give them the training and opportunity to succeed.
The current supervisors will generally tell you that they have no one to promote because if they give you one of their good people, that means they have to go to work and train a replacement. Bummer. They have their building running smooth and don't want to have to work harder so the answer is you have to dig deeper and become more familiar with the second level management. In my book, Finding, Training and Keeping GREAT Service employees, (available on my web site) I go into detail on how we developed that next level of supervison and created a stable of available site managers. Just as importantly, we had fun doing it and got to know a lot of good people.
4. NOBODY TRAINED ME--This reason is a continuation of the first one where they said nobody told me what to do. When I talk training, I am not talking where someone is hired and then sent out with a current employee to "learn the ropes". These may be the very ropes you want to get rid of. That current employee may only show them a series of WRONG ways of doing what it is you want done. My philosophy is ON THE JOB TRAINING ONLY IS A RECIPE FOR ON THE JOB FAILURE.
I know of many companies who justify on the job training by saying they want the new employee to see how it is really done out in the field. In many cases, that's the problem. It's being done WRONG out in the field and if you don't have a formal, written training program you only amplify the problem by sending out new employees to learn how to hang themselves with that rope you are needing to get rid of.
Create a training program, commit the resources to it and make it happen asap. You WILL see positive results.
I know of and have worked with companies where we have focused their efforts on these 4 of the 5 issues and have seen turnover rates go from 325% down to as low as 40%. Most settle in at about the 75% number. To a company such as a law firm or accounting firm that number will seem high, but if you are in the Building Service Contracting business, having a 40%-75% turnover rate is real progress in the grand scope of things.
5. BENEFITS/PAY--I fully understand that benefits and pay are very important issues and I have always tried to keep them in focus as well as the first four. The reality is this...many times service employment such as contract cleaning, food service, retail clerks and similar positions are considered entry level positions and benefits and pay will always be an issue UNTIL staff members are trained to a point that they can move up the ladder and make a career of it. Career opportunities abound in our service sector but we need to tell the story and make the commitment to recruit and train a primary focus of our individual company's growth. The GREAT people are there, we have the responsibility to recruit, train and keep them.
In the meantime, I tried my best, not always successfully , to be at the top end of the pay scale for the positions I had in my company. We tried to be sure that if someone committed to our industry as their career, we would be near the top in pay and benefits. You always want to put yourself in the position of having the best trained and compensated people. Believe me, this will pay dividends in the long run. Remember we are offering careers, not just jobs.
Hopefully this information has been helpful to you. There is so much to say on this subject and I am very passionate about recruiting and training and keeping GREAT employees that I could go on writing forever but you probably don't want to go on reading forever. (Hopefully you made it this far).
A couple of final points,
In May, BSCAI will be holding their annual Executive seminar in Scottsdale Arizona. I want to encourage you to attend if at all possible. I plan to be there. If you go, come up and introduce yourself. Would love to meet you.
The second thing is don't forget our weekly free podcast at www.tripodcast.com. Many are video and audio and you can sign up to get a notification every time we post a new podcast.
Until next time.
1. NOBODY TOLD ME WHAT TO DO---This is not to be confused with "nobody trained me on what to do". This goes deeper to the root of the problem. This says that when the employee was hired, they were told something like, "Go to the building and do janitorial work, you'll find everything you need in the closet". That's about the same as in an interview asking the employee about their experience and having them tell you they vacuum their house once a week and take the trash to the curb every Thursday so we all agree that must qualify them for the job.
What about your company? What do you say to your new recruit that you just invested hundreds of dollars in to find, interview, and put on the payroll?
2. NOBODY EVER COMPLIMENTS ME---This reason should come as no surprise. People working in the service business usually only hear about something when there is a problem. What about you? Is the only time you communicate with your staff is when there is a problem?
In the building service business, the usual procedure is for the supervisor or manager to come to work and ask the question, "Any complaints today? What problems am I going to face tonight? Who isn't coming to work this evening? How many people won't come to work tonight and not even call in"? Sound familiar?
Let me ask you, When was the last time you went to work and made a conscious effort to compliment your staff on a job well done? Today? Yesterday? Last week? Never? It's a jungle out there. True, but the compliment you give your employees today or tonight may be the only good thing they hear today. They may have spent the entire day fighting off creditors or arguing with a spouse or child. Try giving a compliment, you'll like it and so will they.
Why not create a file of your employee's birthday and the anniversary date of their employment and make a conscious effort to call them or stop by their work station on those important dates and congratulate them.
I know of managers and supervisors who will pick up pizza on a Friday night and deliver it to a crew if they have gone a period of time without a complaint or no one was absent etc. Create your own reason for doing something like this. By the way, stay and enjoy the pizza with them. Amazing what it will do for strengthening your relationship with them.
3. THERE DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE ANY ROOM FOR ADVANCEMENT--This reason is really interesting. At the time your employee is leaving your company because there is no place to advance, the employer is shouting to the world, "I can't find any good supervisors and managers". Sound familiar?
In my job as a consultant to many companies I get asked frequently if I know of any good managers etc. anywhere in the country. Most of the time I can answer yes, in your own company. They really are there most of the time. We just need to locate them and then give them the training and opportunity to succeed.
The current supervisors will generally tell you that they have no one to promote because if they give you one of their good people, that means they have to go to work and train a replacement. Bummer. They have their building running smooth and don't want to have to work harder so the answer is you have to dig deeper and become more familiar with the second level management. In my book, Finding, Training and Keeping GREAT Service employees, (available on my web site) I go into detail on how we developed that next level of supervison and created a stable of available site managers. Just as importantly, we had fun doing it and got to know a lot of good people.
4. NOBODY TRAINED ME--This reason is a continuation of the first one where they said nobody told me what to do. When I talk training, I am not talking where someone is hired and then sent out with a current employee to "learn the ropes". These may be the very ropes you want to get rid of. That current employee may only show them a series of WRONG ways of doing what it is you want done. My philosophy is ON THE JOB TRAINING ONLY IS A RECIPE FOR ON THE JOB FAILURE.
I know of many companies who justify on the job training by saying they want the new employee to see how it is really done out in the field. In many cases, that's the problem. It's being done WRONG out in the field and if you don't have a formal, written training program you only amplify the problem by sending out new employees to learn how to hang themselves with that rope you are needing to get rid of.
Create a training program, commit the resources to it and make it happen asap. You WILL see positive results.
I know of and have worked with companies where we have focused their efforts on these 4 of the 5 issues and have seen turnover rates go from 325% down to as low as 40%. Most settle in at about the 75% number. To a company such as a law firm or accounting firm that number will seem high, but if you are in the Building Service Contracting business, having a 40%-75% turnover rate is real progress in the grand scope of things.
5. BENEFITS/PAY--I fully understand that benefits and pay are very important issues and I have always tried to keep them in focus as well as the first four. The reality is this...many times service employment such as contract cleaning, food service, retail clerks and similar positions are considered entry level positions and benefits and pay will always be an issue UNTIL staff members are trained to a point that they can move up the ladder and make a career of it. Career opportunities abound in our service sector but we need to tell the story and make the commitment to recruit and train a primary focus of our individual company's growth. The GREAT people are there, we have the responsibility to recruit, train and keep them.
In the meantime, I tried my best, not always successfully , to be at the top end of the pay scale for the positions I had in my company. We tried to be sure that if someone committed to our industry as their career, we would be near the top in pay and benefits. You always want to put yourself in the position of having the best trained and compensated people. Believe me, this will pay dividends in the long run. Remember we are offering careers, not just jobs.
Hopefully this information has been helpful to you. There is so much to say on this subject and I am very passionate about recruiting and training and keeping GREAT employees that I could go on writing forever but you probably don't want to go on reading forever. (Hopefully you made it this far).
A couple of final points,
In May, BSCAI will be holding their annual Executive seminar in Scottsdale Arizona. I want to encourage you to attend if at all possible. I plan to be there. If you go, come up and introduce yourself. Would love to meet you.
The second thing is don't forget our weekly free podcast at www.tripodcast.com. Many are video and audio and you can sign up to get a notification every time we post a new podcast.
Until next time.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
I DON'T HAVE TIME TO TRAIN
If only I had a dollar for every time I have been told that by a contract cleaning owner or manager. The most common statement generally goes something like this, "Why should I train them, they'll just leave in a week or two anyway"? And my answer is "You bet they will leave if that is the attitude you take toward the most valuable asset you have, YOUR EMPLOYEES".
There is no question there are a certain number of employees that will grab a paycheck and run or will take a job and not show up for work the first night or walk off the job after they get there. I suggest to you that more often than not, the reason these events occur is because of our failure to communicate properly the requirements of the job, the training needed and the important part they play in providing customer satisfaction.
Let me spend some time here making the case for taking the time to hire properly, train properly, and communicate properly. The points we make will be extremely critical to the success (or failure) of your business and we'll discuss them in greater detail in later sessions.
Retail stores and manufacturing facilities have a tangible product as their inventory to sell to their customers. Our inventory is the employee we place in the customer's facility to clean it for them on a regular basis. I don't mean to compare a human being with that of physical inventory in a store but the analogy is important in order to illustrate the importance of the employees you have in your organization.
When you walk into a grocery store you expect the inventory to be of top quality. Don't your customers have a right to expect the same from you?
In the contract cleaning industry, the average turnover rate is approximately 325% per year which means for the employer that has 100 employees, they will make 425 W-2s at the end of the year. Pretty overwhelming, isn't it? What about your company? Take the time to check what your turnover rate is. I'll wait here until you come back.
Okay, now that you are back, what is your turnover rate? For those of you considering starting in this business or have an emerging company, this area can cause you a lot of headache and heartburn.
Let's look at the economic impact high turnover has on our company. Studies have shown that the cost of turning over ONE employee in our industry costs about $500 computing all of the expenses involved with recruiting, orientation, and training etc.
Now going back to the illustration of 425 W-2s needed to staff 100 employees at 325% turnover, the cost to the bottom line is $162,500 per year. That's a pretty big number no matter who you are.
Okay, so you only have 10 employees and made 42 W-2s last year. It only cost you $16,000. Getting the idea that turnover is expensive?
So what's the answer to reducing turnover and providing quality stable "inventory" for our customers? Studies have revealed in our industry that the major reasons that our employees leave are..
1. Nobody told me what to do.
2. It appears there is no room for advancement
3. Nobody ever compliments me on a good job.
4. Nobody trained me on my job.
5. No benefits.
Did you notice that pay is not at or near the top of the list? Surprised?
In our next session we will address each of these items and how we can solve the problem in order to reduce turnover and increase our bottom line and customer satisfaction. Hope you will return.
Later and MAKE IT A GREAT DAY. By the way, in future sessions we will be discussing the impact different generations have on your business and also how tuning up your company can provide enormous profit dollars without adding additional sales.
There is no question there are a certain number of employees that will grab a paycheck and run or will take a job and not show up for work the first night or walk off the job after they get there. I suggest to you that more often than not, the reason these events occur is because of our failure to communicate properly the requirements of the job, the training needed and the important part they play in providing customer satisfaction.
Let me spend some time here making the case for taking the time to hire properly, train properly, and communicate properly. The points we make will be extremely critical to the success (or failure) of your business and we'll discuss them in greater detail in later sessions.
Retail stores and manufacturing facilities have a tangible product as their inventory to sell to their customers. Our inventory is the employee we place in the customer's facility to clean it for them on a regular basis. I don't mean to compare a human being with that of physical inventory in a store but the analogy is important in order to illustrate the importance of the employees you have in your organization.
When you walk into a grocery store you expect the inventory to be of top quality. Don't your customers have a right to expect the same from you?
In the contract cleaning industry, the average turnover rate is approximately 325% per year which means for the employer that has 100 employees, they will make 425 W-2s at the end of the year. Pretty overwhelming, isn't it? What about your company? Take the time to check what your turnover rate is. I'll wait here until you come back.
Okay, now that you are back, what is your turnover rate? For those of you considering starting in this business or have an emerging company, this area can cause you a lot of headache and heartburn.
Let's look at the economic impact high turnover has on our company. Studies have shown that the cost of turning over ONE employee in our industry costs about $500 computing all of the expenses involved with recruiting, orientation, and training etc.
Now going back to the illustration of 425 W-2s needed to staff 100 employees at 325% turnover, the cost to the bottom line is $162,500 per year. That's a pretty big number no matter who you are.
Okay, so you only have 10 employees and made 42 W-2s last year. It only cost you $16,000. Getting the idea that turnover is expensive?
So what's the answer to reducing turnover and providing quality stable "inventory" for our customers? Studies have revealed in our industry that the major reasons that our employees leave are..
1. Nobody told me what to do.
2. It appears there is no room for advancement
3. Nobody ever compliments me on a good job.
4. Nobody trained me on my job.
5. No benefits.
Did you notice that pay is not at or near the top of the list? Surprised?
In our next session we will address each of these items and how we can solve the problem in order to reduce turnover and increase our bottom line and customer satisfaction. Hope you will return.
Later and MAKE IT A GREAT DAY. By the way, in future sessions we will be discussing the impact different generations have on your business and also how tuning up your company can provide enormous profit dollars without adding additional sales.
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