GREETINGS TO ALL

 

 

 

TIS THE WEEK BEFORE NEW YEARS

AND TIME TO LOOK INTO THE MIRROR

AND ASK IF WE GAVE ALL WE HAD

TO KEEP THIS YEAR FROM BEING BAD

 

HAVE WE MADE PLANS FOR A STELLAR NEW YEAR

ONE THAT WILL BRING US LOTS OF GOOD CHEER

DEVOTE YOUR TIME TO THE THINGS THAT MATTER

AND YOU'LL FIND YOURSELF MOVING UP THE LADDER

 

THE NEW YEAR HOLDS PROMISE FOR THOSE WITH A PLAN

THAT WORK HARD AND STAY FOCUSED KNOWING THEY CAN

SO GIVE IT YOUR ALL AND THIS TIME NEXT YEAR

YOU'LL FIND YOU HAVE MUCH FOR WHICH TO CHEER.

 

 

WISHING EACH OF YOU

A

MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND

A

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

MAKE IT A WONDERFUL 2014



WHO WILL HELP?

For the past several years my wife and I have made a decision to contribute to several worthwhile causes at Christmas time rather than buy each other a gift. We have really enjoyed doing this and hopefully it has helped people that need help in one form or another.

This year one of the causes we contributed to was CLEANING FOR A REASON, the organization that provides free house cleaning for those women who are fighting cancer. It is just one way to help them so they don't have to worry about cleaning while they have a much bigger job to concentrate on---THEIR HEALTH AND GETTING BETTER.

As a cancer survivor myself and with a sister who has battled and beaten breast cancer it just seems natural for my wife and me to want to help. How about you? Do you know a mother or sister or daughter, or wife or friend that is battling that dreaded disease? Think of the relief if they don't have to worry about the house cleaning. Since we are in the cleaning business in one fashion or another it just seems natural for us to help.

Since 2006, Cleaning For a Reason has partnered with a network of more than 1,000 residential cleaning services and helped over 17,000 women with cancer. This year alone, 2013, it is estimated by the American Cancer Society that more than 800,000 women will receive an initial cancer diagnosis. That is an astounding number so you can see the tremendous need that exists.

Unfortunately, the number of women needing help far exceeds the current resources available. That's why CLEANING FOR A REASON needs your and my help NOW. At this time of giving thanks and holiday blessings, it just seems appropriate that we give the gift of joy, healing, and hope to women struggling with cancer, one clean home at a time.

I want to ask WILL YOU HELP?  Let me suggest you go to their web site at www.cleaningforareason.org and make a healthy contribution to help not so healthly women. Or if it is easier for you, just call them at 1.877.337.3348.  Residential cleaning companies can offer their services, BSC's can offer dollars and/or supplies to help. I hope you will be inclined to help this worthy cause.

As 2013 comes to a close I want to wish all of our readers and supporters in other ways a Blessed Christmas and a very Happy New Year. I sincerely appreciate the tremendous support Consultants In Cleaning, LLC has received this year. We far exceeded our goals for the year and have several exciting new things in the works for 2014.

Don't forget to listen to our weekly FREE podcasts at www.tripodcast.com.

Till next time and THANKS.

NO GOOD COMPANIES?

While attending the ISSA and BSCAI conventions, I am always amazed at one subject that always seems to be thoroughly discussed---"We just  can't seem to find good trained or trainable help these days, especially the younger generation. They stay a few days, if they even show up for work the second day (or the first night), and they are gone". Sound familiar? You have probably participated in a similar discussion.

Traveling back from the convention recently, the thought occurred to me, what if our line employees had a convention to discuss their issues? Would it go something like this?

"You just can't find a good company to work for anymore. They say they want good workers and they provide training but it never happens, or if it does, it is so poorly done that it just as well not occur at all. As a result, we workers just go from company to company until we find one that will give us the proper training needed to perform the work they are asking us to do". ''

A different take on the labor probems of today, isn't it?  Ever think of it in this way? I submit you should give it your careful attention.

In surveys taken from anong cleaning workers who have terminated their employment in this industry from one or more companies, they have listed the following items as to why they leave a Building Service Contracting company's employment.

1. NOBODY TOLD ME WHAT TO DO---This is not to be confused with nobody trained me. This means that no one bothered to ouline for them the tasks they were to do once they arrived at their work assigment. They were hired, told to report to a building, shown the janitor's closet, (if that much) and told to have a nice night. Many times when the supervisor returns later that night, if they return, they find the keys in the janitor's closet with a note, "Take this job and...".

2. NOBODY EVER COMPLIMENTS ME ON A JOB WELL DONE---We work in a business where the customer seldom tells us we are doing a good job, only lets us know if something is wrong. So too it is with our employees. Often the only time the line worker hears anything is when we deliver a complaint. When was the last time you went out of your way to compliment an employee on a job well done?

3. THERE IS A PERCEPTION THAT THERE IS NO ROOM TO ADVANCE IN THE COMPANY---Most all of us complain that we can't find any leaders in our organization but many times we are slow to let our people know that we are looking for people who want to advance with our organization.

I am reminded of the time I asked one of my supervisors if she had someone who could take over as a team leader in a building we had just secured that would begin in two weeks. The answer was a resounding NO. I later learned why. This supervisor had spent considerable time getting the crew organized so they would do most all of her work (pretty smart huh?) and if she offered to promote someone from her crew she would have to expend considerable energy to train someone else to fit the scenario. That is when I learned I was going to have to become more actively involved in knowing who was working at the levels below the project supervisor, and I did just that.

4. NOBODY TRAINED ME--Even if we told them what to do (see number 1 above), we didn't train them on how to do it. Nearly every cleaning company outlines in their proposal how they have "trained personnel" but if you were to visit their offices you may have trouble finding the training area.

5. PAY/BENEFITS--These are probably the only ones you don't have a lot of control over unless your customer dictates your pay rates and benefit package.

Now, what can we take from all of this? Even though pay and benefits are issues we are all aware of in our industry, we find them down on the list as to why employees leave our companies. Any you know what? We have control over the other four.

I know of companies that have decided to focus their efforts on the top four and have seen their turnover reduce by tremendous numbers. Some companies with turnover rates in excess of 300% per year have seen their rates drop to 40-50%. How you do it is the subject for another time but with the cost of recruiting and training one employee in our industry exceeding $500  you can certainly see the benefit of instituting processes and procedures to address the issues outlined in this article.

So the next time you find yourself complaining that their just are no good employees anymore these days, think about if the shoe was on the other foot, would the employees be saying that there just are not any good companies to work for anymore?

Till next time. MAKE IT A GREAT WEEK.

WHO YA HIRING?

Ever wonder who you really have working with you in your company? A few years ago I heard Richard Flint give the keynote presentation at a BSCAI convention and he advocated that most companies have basically 3 types of employees working for them. They are

SPONGES

This group makes up about 30% of your workforce. These are usually the newer employees that are trying to learn everything they can about the job, the company, and how they can do a better job. They listen intently as their training takes place, they go to the job full of excitement and enthusiasm ready to put their best foot forward. They absorb everything they can, good and bad, and can be swayed either way as they work. Have any of these at your company?

SPECTATORS

This group makes up about 65% of the workforce. They do a lot of standing and watching other people work. These are the ones that will tell you everything wrong about the company. They are the ones that will encourage the sponges not to work so hard. After all, if you get done too quick, they'll cut our time. They will also work hard at finding short cuts to doing the work. After all, isn't just enough, good enough? They also know enough to "look busy" whenever the boss is around. They do their best to teach the sponges the way to become good spectators.Last week our topic of discussion was what 5 minutes of lost time costs your company in dollars and cents. This group wears the wasted time chart as a badge of honor.  Check their lunch bucket, it might have a set of binoculars to watch others work. Have any of these at your company?

CAMELS

This group represents about 5% of the workforce. These are the ones that really get the work done and done right. These are also the ones you call on when you are really in a bind. You have that emergency job, or you have to save an account that has threatened to cancel so you gather up your camels and GET THE JOB DONE. One major job of the camel is to keep the sponges away from the spectators. Have any of these at your company? Hopefully you have more than 5%.

Interesting analogy, isn't it? What can be really scary is if it is true in your company. Have you ever thought of it in this way? Think about it, don't you usually have a small group of key workers you call on when the going gets really rough and you really have to get something tough accomplished? I know I did. 

Let me suggest you spend some time analyzing your company and see if your percentages resemble those shown above. If so, what is your plan of action with the spectators? How will you keep the sponges away from the spectators and more aligned with the camels?

Enough said this week on that subject. Next week I will be spending the entire time in Las Vegas at the ISSA trade show and the BSCAI convention. I hope you have listened to our daily tripodcasts and got an insight as to which sessions you plan to attend. Lots of good ones this year.

Don't forget to visit us on Thursday and Friday at the Bellagio where we will have a table display in the solutions pavillion. We have several new products and discounted package pricing this year. Also, I speak on Thursday afternoon on the subject of Hiring and Keeping Great Hourly Employees. We'll have some handouts there that will be available only to those who attend the session. 

We have many people who contact me about these blog topics and through our "ask Dick Ollek" question section. I hope you will take the time to introduce yourself to me so I can put a face with a name. That is one of the really great benefits of the annual convention--meeting new people and establishing long time friendships. 

See you next week. Till next time.

IT'S ONLY 5 MINUTES

As we near the end of the calendar year many BSC's are reviewing their accounts to see if it will be necessary to ask their customers for an increase next year. Some agreements have automatic increases built in but for the rest of us it's time to look at each account. 

If you are one of those who will be asking for an increase you also know that your customer will probably be a "hard sell". I really can't remember very many increase requests that we made that were easy. Each one was worrisome. It seems, when we ask for an increase, that the customer is able to relate each time he or she saw the crew sitting down. Ever had a customer say that to you? I know I did. 

Then there was the time I caught my own crew sitting down on the job. Let me quickly relate that story.

We had the contract to clean a 7 story building that took 16 hours per night and we staffed it with 4-4 hour cleaners from 6-10 PM. As time went on we started to get little ankle biter complaints like paper on the stairwell in the fire exit, trash missed in a suite here and there, a restroom dispenser that emptied before the end of the day etc. You get the picture. 

My crews response was that if they just had 1 additional hour, 15 minutes each they could assure me the problems would be resolved. Well, after much discussion I relented and asked my client if I could visit with her about the subject of additional money. Finally, one afternoon she said she could see me at 5 PM so I rushed to her office, sweat blood, and eventually convinced her to accept the price increase that would "eliminate" her problems (right?). 

As I was leaving the building I decided to take the elevator to the basement where there was a vending area/break area for the building tenants. It is now 6:20 and I am tired and thirsty and ready to sit down and relax for a while. As I entered the break area, low and behold, who do I see but my entire crew sitting, visiting and having a soft drink of their own. I explained as calmly as I could that I had just spent over an hour convincing our mutual customer to accept a price increase so they could each have 15 minutes additional each day to eliminate the problems that had been existing and here it was 20 mintues after the time they were to have started and they were yet to move a cleaning cart. 

There explanation to me?---THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE HAVE EVER DONE THIS. I believe them, don't you? Right. I had a few additional intelligent remarks for them and left the building. Within a few days they became "former employees". Had they been trained properly? Yes, over and over. 

Now why am I relaying this story to you? Because it prompted me to develop a chart entitled "It's Only 5 Minutes".  What it tells us is what 5 minutes a day wasted costs a company in dollars based on the number of employees and pay scales. Let me give you some examples,

5 employees paid $10 per hour wasting 5 mintues per day equates to $1,260 per year.

100 employees paid $10 per hour wasting 5 minutes per day equates to $25,200 per year. 

Get the picture? We made it a policy to review the chart with our staff several times a year, not to brow beat them but to  just make them aware of what wasted time costs them in a years time. It was a really important reminder to them as we neared year end and needed to review pricing information on each account. I, of course, would remind them of the story I told above to help drive the point home. 

Now, so you don't have to try and create a chart like this, we have a FREE chart available to anyone wanting one. Just go to our web site www.consultantsincleaning.com, click on the DVD icon, and on the left hand side of that page you will see the chart title and you can download it for free. Maybe it will be helpful to you as well.

Along the same subject line, I have read various reports through the years that say that a 4 hour worker gives us about 2 and a half hours of productive time and an 8 hour worker produces about 5 and a half hours of productivity. I can't prove or disprove that theory but if it is anywhere close to accurate, it is an astounding statistic. For now though, let's concentrate on 5 mintues per day and see if we can make everyone in our organization aware of that and the impact it has on our bottom line.

As I post this we are less than two weeks away from the ISSA/BSCAI convention and trade show in Las Vegas. I certainly hope you are planning to attend and take advantage of this learning opportunity. I assure you you won't have time to waste 5 minutes if you take advantage of all that is available. 

By the way, on Wednesday the 20th, I'll be hosting a roundtable discussion at the convention center on one of my favorite subjects--Employee Training. We'll be doing it in 2-45 minute segments and will have handouts for those in attendance. We'll also be speaking at the Bellagio on Thursday at 3 PM on the subject of Finding and Keeping Great Hourly Employees. We will have 3 handouts there that are available only to those attending the session. Hope to see a bunch of people at both events. 

Till next time and MAKE IT A GREAT DAY. 

YOUR LEARNING SCHEDULE

This session I thought it would be best to update you on many of the excellent learning sessions that are upcoming within the next month. There are so many opportunities it can make ones head spin but at the same time these are important opportunities that we need to avail ourselves to in order to become more professional in this great industry we are earning our living. So let me try to cover a few of the opportunities. I am posting these schedules with the best information I have but recommend you go to the web sites to firm up times and locations. 

EFFECTIVE SELLING IN TODAY'S ECONOMY

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2 PM EST.

This is a a webinar originally scheduled for October 30 but due to a death in the co presenters family we have rescheduled to November 13. Registration has been excellent but the more the merrier. Go to www.consultantsincleaning.com to register or to www.thejanitorialstore.com  Hope to have you online with us. 

ISSA CIMS I.C.E. WORKSHOP

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17 AND MONDAY NOVEMBER 18

LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER

www.issa.com

BSCAI BIDDING AND ESTIMATING SEMINAR

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19

LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER

www.bscai.org

BSCAI CBSE AND RBSM EXAMS

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19

LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER

www.bscai.org

ISSA TRADE SHOW

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19 THROUGH THURSDAY NOVEMBER 21

LAS VEGAS CONVENTION CENTER

www.issa.com

BSCAI OPENING RECEPTION

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20

BELLAGIO HOTEL

www.bscai.org

BSCAI PEER TO PEER CONCURRENT SESSIONS

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21 AND 22

BELLAGIO HOTEL

www.bscai.org

Note: I will be speaking on THURSDAY, THE 21ST AT 3 PM ON THE TOPIC OF FINDING AND KEEPING GREAT HOURLY EMPLOYEES

BSCAI SOLUTIONS PAVILLION

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21 AND 22

BELLAGIO HOTEL

www.bscai.org

Consultants In Cleaning, LLC will have a table displaying all our new DVDs etc. Come by and visit with us and let us also know what subjects you want covered in future blogs as well as our tripodcasts at www.tripodcast.com

BSCAI PRODUCTIVITY WORKSHOP

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22

BELLAGIO HOTEL

www.bscai.org

I am confident I have left some important sessions out but again let me encourage you to go to the web sites listed above. There you will find all of the times, registration and hotel information as well as a myriad of other events that will be taking place in Las Vegas. Nowhere can you get so much information and education in one place in one week. I encourage you to take advantage of as much as you can and take the time to take in some of the evening entertainment as well. 

In the meantime be sure and listen to our Monday through Friday tripodcasts at www.tripodcast.com to hear the speakers provide bullet points of the BSCAI peer to peer sessions they will be conducting on Thursday and Friday, the 21st and 22nd. I hope to see you in the city that never sleeps.

Till next time.

LOOKING TO 2014

Well, here we are closing in on the end of another year. About 2 months remain for you to finalize your plans for 2014. So, how are you doing?

Let's look at some of the areas we should be concentrating on as we focus on the new year. 

1. Review each of our accounts to assure they are profitable and if not, what do we do about it. 

Have you done a complete retuning of each account? This entails analyzing the current hours budgeted, supply usage, labor rates, cleaning specifications etc. Do you need to adjust the hours? Have you found out through time that you can actually clean the building in less time than budgeted? Have you over or under budgeted for supplies? Do you need to bring the crew back in for a refresher training class on your system of cleaning? 

Our policy was to do an annual complete written review of each account to assure ourselves that we were doing the right things and assuring that all budgets were correct or changed if need be. We used a short 2 page worksheet that was completed by each area manager and then reviewed with me or the vice-president of operations for finalizing the account for the next year. This was a great exercise and frankly, quite an eye opener as to what was REALLY going on in the accounts. If you would like to have a copy of the 2 page form we used, just send me a message on the ASK DICK OLLEK section of our web site--www.consultantsincleaning.com. By the way, part of the review process was a safety check in each building.

2. Review and adjust as needed your sales program for the upcoming year.

Does your sales program need to be changed? Do you have a systematic sales program? Here are a couple of things to look at.

---What types of accounts are your focusing on? 

---What types of accounts SHOULD you be focusing on?

---What is your systematic campaign for getting the prospects attention?

---what growth do you intend to experience next year?

In my book, "Selling Contract Cleaning Services 101" I outline the system to use to make sure you are focusing on the right accounts and then how to get their attention. You can preview the book on our web site www.consultantsincleaning.com. The important thing to remember is to know which accounts you should be targeting and how you plan to go after them and then--STAY ON THE PLAN. 

3. Review each departments budget, i.e...Adminstration, Human Resources, Operations, Sales etc.

Are you being as efficient in each of these departments as you can be? Where are you buying what and is it the best system and supplier availiable? I was always amazed at how we just got into a comfort zone buying from suppliers without checking their prices etc. We like the sales representative because they bring us donuts every Friday. Remember, we are paying for those donuts someplace. As Zig Ziglar would say "There ain't no free lunch". 

After you have done your review  of each department it is very important to establish a budget for that department. If you haven't done it before, it can be gut wrenching the first year but gets much easier as the years go on. My guess is that you are wasting a bunch of money in these departments because it is always easier to focus on the labor in the accounts we service but there are dollars to be found in every department in the company. Think of where you buy your office supplies, where you have your vehicle repairs done, where you fill gas etc. You may be as efficient as possible but do you really know unless you do a double check?

There are many areas to review to find dollars before you focus on raising prices to your customers. Try following these suggestions to see if you are operating at peak efficiency. I know I got a surprise or two each year. It is a very enlightening procedure. 

The new year is rapidly approaching and I hope your current year has been profitable and rewarding and you plan on taking steps to dramatically improve in 2014. 

Don't forget to listen to our daily pod casts at www.tripodcast.com. The convention speakers are giving us bullet points on the sessions they will be conducting in Las Vegas. Let me also invite you to come by and see us at the BSCAI solutions pavillion on Thursday and Friday, November 21 and 22 at the Bellagio hotel. We always enjoy visiting with industry professionals. We also will be introducing about 5 or 6 new DVD's this year. Look forward to seeing you there. 

Till next time.