Today is about recruitment. For me the biggest skill required when recruiting is care. I would imagine that all of us have experienced some level of care from Indiana Jazz.
There are three things I’m going to discuss. The first thing that we do is we do not compromise. A lot of cleaning companies, our competition, they will meet an applicant and use them to fill a slot. What we do is recruit people who have that energy and are not vacant. When you talk to someone for the first time they will always be on their best behavior, more so because they want a job, so if at any stage it seems like they lack that spark, just very politely decline their application.
When I first started the business, I believed I could help people change, that I could give them a future. However, if at the first stage they don’t have anything special, I promise you it will be exhausting trying to change them. You want to recruit those that already have something there. We are a people business.
The scariest thing I find about running a business is that I have to trust that my employees are on form and positive. So when hiring, you have to choose your recruits carefully. It’s better not to employ someone and postpone a start date (this will only gain you respect from a client, if you ask them to hang on while until you find the right person for their venue). Again, our competition would just throw in a body, to work the hours and gain them profit. We do want to make a profit, but our way of doing that is by not compromising because that will give us the 5-star standard.
I can trust my employees, when I send them out to work, to represent and impress. We need to be able to rely on our employees. There are a number of things that we do, we do a DBS check, and we ask for references. We like those who have transport, unless they live locally to the jobs they would be doing but ideally their own transport is better. We expect people to have energy and to be able to take feedback. To take criticism positively in order to learn from their mistakes.
We are not all perfect, but we must have that understanding, if we do get a bit offended, we can reframe it and appreciate the feedback. What I do, is at the end of the interview is ask them if they are ok to receive feedback. I will give them a positive and a negative which gives them an opportunity to show me how they handle it. Feedback can only really be helpful; you learn more about yourself. It’s good to understand your weaknesses in order to be successful.
One of the guiding principles of Indiana Jazz is that we can only grow as fast as we grow as individuals. Sometimes we need to let ourselves be vulnerable. We don’t need to know everything, just hear what’s being said, let it sink in and this can make a difference. One of the keys to success is moving through your emotions and be courageous. You must check that your employees are on board with this.
Say for example you are on site and your recruit forgets the chunk by chunk with their hoovering, gently give them some pointers. It’s important, to check where possible, how they handle feedback. We must find those who are flexible. They must have a clear idea that they will go from house to house. Their contract with some clients will expire and they will be asked to work elsewhere. They must be comfortable with change. Paint this picture for them to help them understand. People are unpredictable and surprising, always bare this in mind.
Next it’s be upfront. There should be nothing hidden in the contract. People need to understand that we do pay petrol, we do not pay for ware and tare of the vehicle. Also, the travel between jobs is not always far but sometimes they will have to go a little out of their way. You must tell them about their hourly rate of pay, sick days and holiday. They will only get a pension if they have worked for the company for more than 3 months.
We must inform them of our new policy that clients will supply them with their cleaning products, but we will give them an emergency cleaning kit with all the bits they may need. They can mention in their log sheet that the client has run out of a certain product and their area manager will call them and let them know.
The final point is about follow through. This is something that we constantly need to work on. When you tell someone you are going to contact them you must diarize it. Every time you say you are going to do something make a note of it. It’s not always easy but you must try to communicate, which in turn will build trust and loyalty.
To summarize, do not compromise because we are a people business. Number two be upfront, nothing hidden. And number three, follow through. These are the key point for area management. I hope it’s been of some help.