[fayellen]

I just wandered how hard it realy is to find good cleaners. I am a cleaner myself and take pride in my work and all my clients are happy with me, the only person who seems to treat me like a cleaner is an 'agency' (only one client) I do for and he doesn't have a clue.
I was thinking about starting my own agency and would like some feedback on the main problems employing cleaners,the good the bad and the ugly.
Thanks in advance

[Pristine Clean]

Well put it this way,

There are good cleaners alot of them but unfortunatley most have been taken and are looked after by the companies as they know only too well how hard it is to find a good cleaner.

Many of them dont drive, want close to Town centre or where they live. If they have to drive well they say its not worth it. Cant handle travel costs etc etc.

And to be fair 10 hours a week or less wont give them much incentive to travel considering petrol cost and tax etc.

Alot of cleaners want 10 or more hours which is hard  for some companies to offer this amount of hours.

Next thing is they wont stay that long unless its full time employment. 35+ hours a week. Unless you a huge company that again will be hard to fulfil.

I think the average work life of a cleaners employment now with one company is as low as 6 months. Then they move on and they want key holder positions so they can nip in and get out asap which does not help the employer.

Then the client thinks he is getting a bad service. 

So sometimes employing people is a bad idea but it has its ups and downs.

Best of luck and where will the agency be based?

Some where up north I guess...?

Best of luck Dave

[The Great One]

Hi

At the end of the day, no employed cleaner will do as good as job as you, this is a business for you whereas for them, it's just a job, usually to fill in some hours, they don't see it as a permanent position, unless as already said you are a huge company and can offer benifits.

Also to keep staff you need to pay a 'decent wage'. Minimum wage, is, lets face it, poxy, you need to be aiming for £6-7 p/h and finding a cleaner who can drive is like trying to find a gold nugget on the high st.

You basically need a huge pool of cleaners from a list of people who have applied for the job advertised and you employ until you find a good one, maybe invest in them by paying for them to drive (which is offset against costs) and saying in the contract that if they leave before said date then they have to pay for the lessons or if staying for one year they don't, pay for a bics course etc.

Regards

Martin

[suffolkclean]

You obviously havn't read my post on 'how do you spot a good cleaner' It isn't easy at all. There are people that think cleaning is swishing a we mop around on the floor (not picking up any hairs or bits) cleaning paintwork is a damp cloth (not scrubbing any stuborn marks off) cleaning a bath leaving hairs on it. We provide e.o.t and the standards are high - I'm still looking for a cleaner

[The Great One]

Hi

One possible idea is to write out a cleaning schedule about what to clean in what order in each room and how to clean it (what procedure you want followed) that way everybody is working off the same page (so to speak)

Regards

Martin

[gordonswindows]

This is the other side of finding good staff

Visit this topic and see why it can be hard to be an employer

  employee contracts/disputes etc



Oh poor old me I am expected to fit in with the needs of the hand that feeds me!!!!

There are a good many quality and spirited staff out there and as earlier mentioned a lot of them have been scooped up already but there so many others out there too.

Remember to that good staff work for good employers'. You not only need to offer good wages but also training support and guidance too.

We interview every day, yes everyday if anyone shows enough effort to apply to us for work we are happy to spend time meeting them. To source new staff when YOU need THEM often pushes you into taking what you get.

So advertise open interviews and trawl through the many many people you will get through your door and you have more chance of finding that little diamond.