Clean It Up
UK General Cleaning Forum => General Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: clairewillmoth on March 08, 2007, 05:35:32 pm
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Hi there,
I am currently doing all the cleaning - for a year now, and want to expand - I have the customers available, however am really nervous of taking on cleaners - any advice you can offer would be great please.
Thank you, Claire
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Hi Claire do you have any specific questions in mind
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Thanks so much for your reply - I feel that cleaning a home is the closet you can get to a customer - so trust is a big issue. Can I contract cleaners instead of employing? I ran a cleaning company in SA for 7 years and it was easy as I knew the culture of people I employed, however I am nervous of a new culture - if that makes sense? What sort of wages does one pay? Is £8.00 an hour realistic. Many thanks Claire
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Is £8.00 an hour realistic.
Is that amount the actual wage or your hourly rate?
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i'll come and work for you is you are paying £8.00 per hour!!! i pay my cleanerws £6.00 per hour and charge my clients £10.00 per hour.
i have found that most of my cleaners have come via the jobcentre....not something I like doing usually as the pressure is on the hob seekers to find a job, not necessarily meaning they are finding a job they actually like, so us in the cleaning business tend to get the people who think 'oh i will apply for a cleaning job cos its easy money and easy to do and it makes me look good to the jobcentre people'!!!
i ALWAY make sure i employ people with experience and people who LOVE to clean. it is up to you to decide what sort of references and checks you want to do, but i would suggest 1 current and 1 previous reference at least :)
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Thank you for all your advice - I charge £10 and hour and would pay £8. Sounds great that I can pay £6. Thanks so much and I now know what I am up against.
Claire
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But you only get what you pay for!
We pay £7.30 per hour and charge £15!
It really depends on how much you can charge in your field of cleaning and how much profit you want to make.
Where you are will also make a difference.
Be careful underpaying good cleaners.
Start them off at £6 by all means. But when you find a good one - pay as much as you can afford for the income you are getting - and the profit you want to make!
You also have to take into account their Tax and NI as well as your Employers contribution. Start of with a part-timer (under 15 hours and under £110 p/week gross wages) this keeps things simple until you get the hang of things.
Hope this helps...
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now you're talking - thank you - I totally agree that paying good wages will attract the service one expects and requires. One question - do you transport your cleaners to their jobs or do they find their own way there? Thank you, claire
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decent wages equals decent cleaners!!
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Hi again Claire.
Transporting again depends on the contract,
For example: When we do build cleaning on sites, we need a fair amount of equipment and there is usually 2 or 3 people. So we all go together in a van.
But we also have communal areas that only require minimal equipment, Ie: Vacuum, polish, some cloths etc. So we employ a local to do this for us. If we are lucky, we can store the equipment somewhere in the area to be cleaned.
To begin with, always start a new contract by doing the cleaning yourself. Then employ a local with a car to carry it on for you. Keep your employees that don't drive, with you!
Good luck...
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Thank you - really appreciate your advice :)