Psst …Psst … wooden ones
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He can’t control what you do on your free time but he can control whether or not you remain an employee.
I would say that picking up store fronts on his route (non current customer of his) is an eventual conflict of interest for both parties. Your using his business to finance and grow yours along side his in his market and picking up jobs that he might otherwise pick up on his route.
That said when I first start d cleaning Windows I worked for a guy for a short time who did only residential and after I clocked off I started building a small route of store front on the way home. I didn’t even want to but he wasn’t providing enough work for me. He didn’t like it but a guy has to eat and pay rent. He shouldn’t have cared as he knew I did store front before I worked for him and he didn’t even do store front.
Either way I ended up quiting and going back on my own.
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They would be shown the door. I.M.O. if a person comes over while the workers are on the clock they think they are hiring your company. Now the worker goes and does the job on his time - The customer might not know they are hiring him and not the company. Now lets say something happens on the job the customer is going to come after you. Now you have the leg work of proving they didn’t hire you they hired a worker. Not worth the trouble.
The non compete is a start but even then you are the one that has to prove they did all this while under the work hours. Do get it when they start but its more to have them think first- not going to stop them for the most part ( the honest worker will honor that but the one basically stealing business wont care).
I do like the % angle cause that gives them a bonus and a easy way to make some extra cash daily weekly etc.
But back to those working for you now. No matter how much you value them they are in return STEALING from you. I’m old school be it 0.10 Cents to 10 million once you cross over that threshold you are of no value you to me.
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Thanks. I agree to bring up the fact that if they screw up or do damage on the “job next door” they will come after me. If they fall there too, they shouldn’t be covered technically. Although the employee would probably state that they were going to report that new job/were going to write up an invoice. I have 2 guys now that are too valuable to let go even though I could try to catch them in the act. They get all their work done and make my clients very happy - hard to replace.
How much extra money do ya think they earn each week on the side? Is it enough to live on? Perhaps they should just quit and take some of your customers, the neighbors of the neighbors, with them. They’ve got all the names and numbers. If they’re good cleaners it might be a good idea for them to pull the trigger this spring.
Just a scary thought to bounce around in your head while you’re trying to decide if ya want to keep them on your crew. Just how untrustworthy are they?
This is why some of us work alone.
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This is the reality of it. How far will it get when you can no longer “turn a blind eye to it” and you are losing accounts to “The New Guy On The Block”? If your incentives aren’t enough to deter it, and they have become comfortable with “moving in” on your business, what happens then?
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I would be excited about these incentives if I worked for him.
@JaredAI Always has great helpful ideas.
My other idea was to give everyone shock collars.
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Beep beep Ritchie!
its likely to be just the 1 employee who is driving this working on the side idea-others are simply happy to go along with it but wouldnt have the nous to do it if on their own. you see that sort in every walk of life,the same sort steals fuel from the company fuel tank -for years - just because they can .they always involve others in the scam,this makes it harder to clear the problem .
i think on reflection id plan his exit as soon as i possibly can
the sort of employee you need to replace him is the sort who is handy with his fists but cannot tie shoelaces.
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What are you saying, he’s over qualified?
what i mean is you need somebody who is good with his hands but has no entrepreneur ambition . that sort i can spot at 100 paces and the other sort [that you dont want] is usually easy to spot over a cup of coffee using loaded questions. One question that works for me is to ask “what is your height and weight?” anybody who answers "i dunno that " is the exact sort you want as an employee .
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Why dont you have an incentive program
Pay them commission for Amy job they bring in to you
Out here we do that by multiples of what the job can make in a month
If they get you a job 1x a month in/out @ 50 a month. You could tell them I’ll pay you 2x what ever you get me , so for that job you give them a 100.
Or just give them 1x which would be $50
Either way it gives them incentive to get you work an not do work for themselves
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I do give them an incentive, 10% of the job, maybe not enough. We don’t
get many monthlies. Thanks.
Ya not enough … just saying
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You’re correct 10% isn’t enough to make a cleaner want to stick out their neck to be a sales person.
My experience over the last 40 years is that 10% of annual revenue is the usual percentage give for sales people in the cleaning industry. It never seems to change.
I think giving cleaners 10% is more like a tip than a commission. A gesture of graditude from the boss. They’re not sales people and never will be. Most people hate selling!
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A lot of states have laws against non compete
Do those laws protect employees when they’re next door, wearing your uniforms, hustling business from people who initially inquired about your service?
They put you out of business that’s what happens. I heard about a FiSH franchise about ten years ago in Maryland who’s employees decided that they were going to steal his business. They were successful! They all went on strike or perhaps quit at the same time and literally stole his business. His $40,000 investment down the crapper.
