Developing Stronger Employees/Crews

This winter, my main focus to review and rewrite our entire training system.
A couple quick thoughts on what have learned the past 3 years since we began hiring.

#1.) Money does not motivate employees. Its a good base, but even well paid employees get burnt out over time and production lacks

#2.) Conveying the opportunities of growing with a company is the hardest message to get across to my crew

#3.) Continuing education is a must. We would hire someone on, spend 3-6 weeks to make sure they had everything down… then 6 months later regression would sit in. We tried to combat this with bi/weekly meetings, which mainly addresses issues after the fact… Training needs to be ongoing even with the best employees.

#4.) Hire Slow/Fire Quickly

If anyone wants to share any books, or other information that has helped you develop solid training systems for your crew I am open to looking at it.

Number 4 is VERY important!!

Try reading “Extreme Ownership”, its new and if you have a military background some things will click pretty quickly. Its written by a couple of SEAL’s who retired and started a leadership training business

Knowing what motivates your employees and what your employees want from their job/career. Each one will be different and each one will require handling differently.

Being understanding and prepared to help with their personal lives - yes they say don’t bring home issues to work, but sub-consciously they will.

Showing you care about them, will hopefully result in them caring more for you and your business. Respect is a 2-way thing.

#4 - BIG lesson I learned this year.

New motto - Always Be Hiring

A major thing that we are implementing in the spring is a orientation video. Maybe 15-20 minutes long, basically naming the most important tools and what they are used for.

On their first day, before they get a shirt, they will take a short quiz on the video. Really easy stuff like “What color is the squeegee handle we use”.

If they can’t pass it, they go home.

You guys have a really good start.

I have been struggling through this over the last year or so. I realized it was a me problem before it is a them problem. The more I try to be a good leader the more I realize I am not he leader I want to be or we need. Now I am trying to develop myself, and my top two guys into better leaders.

The company vision and goal has to be clear and concise. Ours is, When in doubt think Grandma. You would never yell or get upset at your grandma. You will go above and beyond when grandma is around. And you would never disrespect anythings of your grandma’s. You always ask grandma if she needs help with anything.

Try reading The Carrot Principle, and All In. For leadership anything by John Maxwell, 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, or Good Leaders Ask Great Questions. Leadership and Self Deception by the Arbinger Institute, I liked Primal leadership, H3 Leadership, and I am half way through 8 Lessons in Military Leadership for Entrepreneurs, but it is simple and to the point which I like.

I have on my to read list Leaders Eat Last, and Leading at a Higher Level.

Best advice I can give you is hire the smile.

I now only hire people that naturally smile. Even though they may not be the best window cleaners, the customers feels better with smiling people around. My guy “Pete” is quite possible the worst window cleaner I have ever known, I mean slow, doesn’t detail well, and but he is always getting rave reviews from the customers. He sucks but he still smiles. He makes people feel at ease with a “stranger” in their home.

I also have the new hires write down their goals. Both personal and career goals. This is where I fail is helping them move closer to achieving those goals.

i love this quote. This truly made me laugh and that’s rare on this forum.

Matt you are dead on regards customer satisfaction

Ha, the funny thing is he knows he is bad too.

Another good book, is Good to Great by Jim Collins. Probably a little out of the scope for window cleaning, but the insights on placing people in the right position for success are good.

Pete is has the right stuff to be successful, I just don’t have him in the right place. And maybe his right place is not in my company. Which is okay too.

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It’s funny to hear about Pete. I have a guy like him too. Average window washer but super likable. He’s quiet and respectful, moves slowly but he’s cautious. He will just naturally offer to help the customer carry in her groceries or get a box down off a shelf, things like that. Only real problem I have with him is that he’s 19, attractive and charming so my customer’s teenage daughters are always wanting to talk to him when he’s working.

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[MENTION=8635]Kyle Stafford[/MENTION]

Hey Kyle check out a book called “scaling up”

Yeah I agree with Chris. Scaling up is a solid book.

the most actually ‘how to’ book i’ve come across, unlike theoretical stuff that tells you what needs to be done but not how

meant for megaopolis co’s but one can still see the light to apply

entre leadership by dave ramsey is another great one on team building. dave has a “regular guy talking straight talk” approach. it’s not all MBA techno babble like a lot of the other material on business building.

I’ve become a big fan of ‘overhiring’ over the years.

And it’s a double bonus, as I never want to have a full schedule.
I ALWAYS want to be in “seeking work” mode.

It’s really strange, but the stress of being booked is a lot more than being underbooked, to me.

1. if you want to grow, you can’t afford not to do it. maybe set aside a couple grand to float payroll after you take on your first employee.
2. probably not. most likely new hires will actually slow you down at first. but that’s just part of the process. accept it, embrace the patient attitude, and look at it as a long term investment. this is a big reason why you want your training program to be on point. ask "how can I make this person profitable as soon as possible?’ and then build a system that will answer that question.
   3)preferably not. it would be wise to spend some time “learning how to hire” (there’s tons of reading material on this- books like dave ramsey’s entre leadership, top grading by brad smart etc- no end to it). if you get good at hiring, then it’s no longer a crap shoot- you are hand picking guys who you are reasonably sure will be a good fit. full disclosure: i suck at this and it’s at the top of my list in terms of growth as an owner/leader.
3. plan on your employee costing you 20-25% more than their hourly wage because of the tax burden. ie. a $15/hour employee will actually cost your business $18-$20/hour when you factor in matching social security, medicare etc when you run payroll. that doesn’t include the extra admin time and effort that is required to manage and sustain employees.

^adendum to that last item: don’t cheat the government! when you take on payroll, you are responsible for not only paying your portion of the employee’s tax burden, but also setting aside and delivering their portion to the IRS. if you don’t follow the rules, you are in for a world of hurt. it’s shocking how many small service businesses play this game and end up screwing themselves into oblivion.

Hey Chris, is that “Scaling up” by Verne Harnish, Robert Sutton or Emily Goldstein. Amazon has books by all 3 called “Scaling up”.
Thanks.

Wondering the same thing ^.

Also, regarding hiring employees…does anyone just 1099 them?

^The one you want is by my man Verne. “Know what I mean, Verne?”

And if you 1099, they better be a legit subcontractor. Google the difference between a sub and an employee. Lots of guys try to game this, but you are gambling with the IRS.

…and is your business really a business if you can’t make an honest commitment to a person who generates profit for your company every day?

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^^^ this guy!