I call it the “dirty little secret” of the carpet cleaning industry. Much of the time your technicians work in the customer’s home unsupervised and away from your direct control. So your employees can easily become “loose cannons”. This do-as-I-please behavior can start innocently as a personal errand between jobs but can quickly slide into doing “side jobs”- extra work for the client done “off invoice” for cash in the employee’s pocket. (Otherwise called “stealing” from you!) Your job is to stop these “little kingdoms” that these out-of-control technicians set up. Do this by introducing “Employee Accountability” into your company. Here is one example …
Managers should periodically “stop by” and make unannounced Job Site Inspections. Be sure to give the homeowner your business card and explain that “I’m just checking in to make sure your job is perfect”. (This is a great Positive Moment of Truth for the homeowner.) Use a specific rating system to judge the crew’s performance on technique and following procedure. Now you have a tool to assist in the quality improvement of your technicians and to use in their evaluations.
This quickTIP highlights a common challenge for the large players in the cleaning industry today. As you grow and put more techs out there on the road, your challenge will be to maintain consistency and control quality. Don’t wait until it’s too late to appreciate the importance of these measures. Learn from the big guys and gently “hold your people’s feet to the fire”. Quality employees like having to meet high standards. Then give them Public Recognition and pay your people very well when they excel. But that is a subject for another QuickTIPS message!
Steve
P.S. One great way to add this essential Employee Accountability is to throw some surprise Mystery Shoppers into your employee’s job mix. How to do it? Just download our Special Report: “Adding Employee Accountability to Your Company”. The Report is free but I would appreciate your suggestions and ideas on how you have added security in your company. After all, we are all in this together!
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