I’m in the process of hiring a helper for my busy season coming up. In the best I have trained an employee with no prior window cleaning experience. It took longer than I wanted. So this time around I plan to give the new guy a squeegee & mop and a copy of Mark Strange’s DVD (just ordered it today) and let him practice on his own house for a week. Of course I will go over the training and make sure he understands everything. But I hope this will speed up the process. The new guy has a few years experience using ladders while pressure washing and roof cleaning for other companies so I won’t have to start from scratch there.
Anyone else use instructional DVD to train newbies with? How did it go?
I usually just throw them in the fire and give instruction where needed. We so many different types of windows and situations that it’s easier to just teach them as we go. I taught a guy how to clean storm windows last week and he’s been with us for almost 5 months. It was the first storm window job he’s seen. I try to give them some space to learn by trial and error. That way they don’t feel me breathing down their neck and they tend to own the job since they learn a lot of the nuances by trial and error.
As far as the DVD, I usually wait about a month before I give it to them. That way they’ve had some time to do things for awhile and the video will make more sense for them.
[COLOR=#333333][INDENT]As far as the DVD, I usually wait about a month before I give it to them. That way they’ve had some time to do things for awhile and the video will make more sense for them.[/INDENT]
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That makes sense. I remember when I first started cleaning windows and I would watch youtube videos. I didn’t really understand why they tapped the glass or did some of the stuff they did until later when I ran into all the problems firsthand.[/COLOR]
If this is your only employee you should stay with them every step of the way with on the job training. Their learning curve will be more evident to you as you are right there with them. You will also know quicker if they are not the right person for the job or someone who is worth investing training in ( it is an investment). Also, there may be a difference in training for route and or residential work. They each have their own special areas of expertise.
I train all of my employees because I want them to learn MY METHOD. I also do not hire experienced window cleaners. I am trying to recreate myself in my employees. Just like I am sending myself out to do that job. I know what my customers want and are used to and training employees myself is how I give them that consistent customer service experience.
I wish you the best in your upcoming season.
John Martin
Waukesha Window Cleaning and Power Washing [email protected]
i like to let a new worker do the downstairs work only .downstairs is the hardest with all the bending down and theyr far dirtier than the ups in my experience . i give them a beer crate to stand on ,no need for them to have a ladder till at least 3 months
I’ve hired a handful of new guys this year and the ‘learn by fire’ has worked the best for me. I’ve considered the DVD, but like Rob said they need some hands on experiences to better apply what they would learn in a DVD. The DVD should make them ‘click’ a litter sooner.
Whether Im training, or my Crew Leader is training, the result and path to greatness is the same. We start with tracks and screens…tracks and screens…tracks and screens, then move to scrubbing and side to side or up and down pulls.
They figure out advanced techniques with time , but always have the side to side and up and down pulls to fall back on. Which is so important those first few months.
oh…and force them to learn to only use 2-3 towels on a job, they’ll learn to hit those edges better or will run out of towels.
I hate experience people, I love training new people only. No bad habits, they will work minimum six to eight weeks with someone before allowed to do certain jobs solo, six months before fully trained on Safety an other types of jobs.
No one with less than a year experience will wash a 24 hour location.
It’s never a bad idea to just ask someone if they know their own learning style. Some people know that they are 100% hands on learners, some people need things in writing, some people are visual and want to watch you for a while, and some are a combination of a few or all. Not everyone KNOWS what they are, but some do, and it takes 3 seconds to ask. Could save u a lot of guess work.
[COLOR=#333333]I train all of my employees because I want them to learn MY METHOD. I also do not hire experienced window cleaners. I am trying to recreate myself in my employees. Just like I am sending myself out to do that job. I know what my customers want and are used to and training employees myself is how I give them that consistent customer service experience.[/COLOR]
Yeah, I’ve had a helper that was very experienced before but he also dropped F bombs on the job site and smelled strongly like pot so I had top can him. He was really skilled but he didn’t try to do a very detailed job. He did commercial work for years and was all about speed. Residential is a little different game IMO. I would rather slow down a little and get crisper results so I can get referrals and repeat business.
[COLOR=#333333]t’s never a bad idea to just ask someone if they know their own learning style. Some people know that they are 100% hands on learners, some people need things in writing, some people are visual and want to watch you for a while, and some are a combination of a few or all.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=#333333]oh…and force them to learn to only use 2-3 towels on a job, they’ll learn to hit those edges better or will run out of towels.[/COLOR]
Good points
I anticipate doing a lot of hands on training. I just want to accelerate the process. I realized that I would rather hire a really honest, hard working, drug-free guy with a great personality that knows nothing about window cleaning than the world’s most skilled window cleaner that scares away customers and is unpredictable.
[COLOR=#333333][INDENT]i like to let a new worker do the downstairs work only .downstairs is the hardest with all the bending down and theyr far dirtier than the ups in my experience . i give them a beer crate to stand on ,no need for them to have a ladder till at least 3 months[/INDENT]
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I think the hands on approach works the best, I would do a dvd if I was training a high volume of employees, and I would have to make the dvd, a generic one just isn’t going to do the trick.
It is usually advised that before hiring a new employee , you must test him. If you think he is capable and has the skill then just go ahead and hire him.
As a new cleaner I find if I’m shown a few times and let to do it on myvown I learn a lot .Now that I’m hanging I really appricate the times I can be on a drop with more my boss so I can see what I’m not doing or ask questions. To make me faster. just food for thought
