I saw 75% productivity relative to the owner’s speed and overall customer service posted on a carpet cleaners forum. I find that distressing but perhaps that is a realistic projection?
Looking forward to hearing from the experience of the rest of you. Thanks!
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We try to train our employees to be at 120% of what we expect. We know that the average technician will perform at around 75% of where we want them to be. So 75% of 120% is 90%… at least that’s the idea!
Remember that an owner will almost always think he is better than his employees, so the question you are asking is quite subjective.
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this has some merit, also it’s going depend on whether the owner is still actively doing the same job or if they are in the office.
i have only limited experience with employees in this biz but i judge this, i am doing the inside i finnish first and help with the outside but i am doing the outside i still finish first and help with the inside ergo i believe i am faster than the employees i have had including a 14 year wc vet.
i also know that a job that takes a little under an hour with an employee helping takes just over an hour by myself.
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I want to hire employees to provide full service cleaning for commercial buildings so that I can switch my labor to “day jobs” (WC, carpet cleaning and more. My first hire last month was an experienced cleaner with good character that I recruited but on day one he told me that he had been offered a full time job that paid more and would also pay for some college. He was an honorable guy and stick around long enough for me to go out of town to see my daughter and grandson. The downside is that the training sessions took longer with two men on the job than if I did the work solo.
So, I am trying to train my frequently unemployed brother to backfill. He managed to show up late two nights in a row and mopped himself into a corner both times, just like the previous employee ;(
The positive with him is that he is very good at operating and maintaining equipment. I have more than $10K in equipment so this is very important, The previous owner of the company had his margin beat down in 2015 by employees that did not take care of equipment.
My success so far has been with an older lady who works part time at the hospital. Background checks are required for hospital staff so that saves me the hassle. Her lack of speed annoys me but her OCD makes her show up on time and do thorough work. I have turned one of my weekly accounts over to her and she is doing good so I will train her on my four other weekly accounts.
I am old, fat and slow. I wouldn’t hire someone that was not more productive than I am
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guess over 10+ years I have “grown” but I expect them to produce more than I do.
Total side note: The great ones are the ones who from the get go take the ladder out of your hands.
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so many employees think the owner should do as much or more than they do. in my retail stores i used to tell empoyees “you are here to protect me from having to do any work, you should always be first to the customer, the till the machine etc.”
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I agree totally with @DaveYogi
"Total side note"
The people that step up “without you asking” are keepers.
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No matter how you train your employees they will never have the drive of an owner operator.
I was an employee for years, looking back from an owners perspective I was terrible, I was a great window cleaner, but called in sick often, take long lunches, went home early often.
As an owner I never call in sick I work thru lunch, but know work on my rules.
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I hired once again. This time I hired a young lady. Kind of concerned about her physical fitness but I am hoping she will be reliable and will learn techniques that will compensate for her fitness. Her responsibilities will be limited to cleaning commercial buildings in the evenings so that I will have more time for WC, carpet cleaning and other “day jobs.”
I am not happy with her speed but she does have OCD so I believe she can become thorough once she learns the required levels of cleanliness. The OCD will also ensure that she doesn’t forget to leave doors secured.
This evening will be her third shift and I have been focusing on technique. Next week I will start discussing the standards for times per building. I had to pay $30 for a background check (required by my bank clients) so I hope my investment won’t be for naught.
