Managing people and getting them to do things the way you, the owner, wants them done is always a challenge. People have to want to do what is expected of them because the days of flogging insubordinate workers are long gone! On the other hand, we need to distinguish between being friendly and being a friend to our employees. There is a huge difference between caring for your people and in coddling to them.
As most of you know, in my House Cleaning Biz 101 course's THREE Rs OF EMPLOYEE DEVELOPMENT, I suggest that while our business is cleaning homes for consumers, OUR job as managers/owners is "people manufacturing". SInce you cannot build a quality product with wrong-fitting and/or poor quality parts, you have to start by ensuring you have the right parts to end up with a quality product. It all begins with the 5-step recruting process in order to find the best components on which to build your organization. Hiring on gut instinct rather than utilizing a scientifically-proven, quantifiable system is a hit and miss proposition and one which more often than not leads us to frustration and disappointment.
Generally speaking, our employees' behavior is a reflection on our management style and ability - like it or not; accept it or not. I applaud Lisa Kirkpatrick for her attitude on this issue. Owners who complain about short tenured employees should take a peek at http://www.bucketsnbows.com/meet_our_staff.htm and witness a large organization owned by Debbie Sardone and see and hear some amazing overall staff longevity. This has not happened by accident and unless we all learn the importance of the second R (Employee RELATIONS) we will never, ever be able to grow a substantial business.
Other great examples are Tom Stewart of Castle-Keepers (http://www.castle-keepers.com/), David Kiser of Champagne Services (http://www.champagneservices.com/employees), Richard Wilson of Brittany Maids (http://www.brittanymaids.com/aboutus.html) and Amanda Collucci of Clean4Me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcJBl_G0nBY) -- just to point out a few.
One of my favorite books on the subject is, strangely enough, entitled "The Management Secrets of Atilla the Hun." (http://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Secrets-Attila-Wess-Roberts/dp/0446391069), The author Wes Roberts uses tongue-in-cheeck analogies of this once-feared leader of the marauding Huns to show how toughness can be combined with compassion and fairness to make a great leader with hordes of loyal followers.
Another great book entitled UNLOCK BEHAVIOR, UNLEASH PROFITS is absolute must reading for anyone who needs to hire, manage and retain employees. It begins with the assumption that people don't always do what you tell them to do. But it takes you step by step how to manage by A, B, C (Anticident, Behavior and Consequences). The Anticident is the training and instruction you pjrovide; the Behavior is what the employee exhibits and the Consquence is what the employee gets as a result of performing the Behavior. I suggest you check out my Blog at http://gary-goranson.blogspot.com/2010/10/managing-by-b-c.html for a more indepth explanation of the concept.
Billy Ray Cyrus is now bemoaning the fact that he treated Miley more like a friend than a parent. We are not doing any favors to our employees by emulating this mistake with them. But this does not mean we don't want to care about our employees anymore than being a good parent does not mean ruling our chilcren with an iron fist.
Just as our kids will let us down now and then, so will oor employees. And just as we cannot allow unruly children to run our households, neither can we permit unnacceptable behavior from our employees dictate how our business functions. If you are going to build a large, successful and highly profitable cleanking business, you need to come to grips with the fact that you are going to have employee-relatec challenges from time to time.
The blog spot for people in or entering the residential house cleaning business. Now in our 20th year in this exciting industry.
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Tuesday, January 4, 2011
The Home Cleaner Express is Coming to a City Near You!
I wanted you to be aware of an upcoming series of events that is unprecedented in the residential cleaning industry. Between this January and the month of May, Perry Phillips and his Home Cleaner Magazine are conducting a 30-city road show with the Home Cleaner Express (pictured above).
The Home Cleaner Express is an ambitious undertaking by Perry Phillips, the publisher of Home Cleaner magazine. During the first five months of 2011, owners of home cleaning businesses will have the opportunity to attend an all-day event in one of 30 cities which Home Cleaner Express is scheduled to visit. The day will consist of seminars and workshops designed to teach and inspire attendees to build on their success in the residential cleaning industry.As the publisher of Home Cleaner magazine and the founder and past director of the Association of Residential Cleaning Services International (ARCSI), over the past eight years Perry has been in the unique position of knowing, working with and learning from hundreds of seasoned entrepreneurs in the house cleaning industry. It is this experience which qualifies Perry Phillips to organize and conduct this first-ever cross country event coming to a city near you. It also provides an opportunity for attendees to meet and share ideas with other service owners in their "neck of the woods."
2011 mark my 20th year in the residential cleaning industry and the eighth year of helping business owners excel in 56 countries around the world with my House Cleaning Biz 101 course on CD-ROM. In fact, Perry was one of my very first customers in the spring of 2003. At that time he was launching ARCSI, a cause I championed by getting the word out to all of my clients. The industry has come of age since I got involved in the business way back in 1991. ARCSI and Home Cleaner magazine have been instrumental in raising the level of professionalism among home cleaning businesses across the nation.
As a strong supporter of helping to enhance the professional image of the cleaning industry, I heartily endorse the purpose and intent of the Home Cleaner Express. In fact, I am proud to say that www.housecleaningbiz101.com is a proud sponsor of the entire 30-city tour. Don't miss out on this very unique opportunity to learn what Perry has learned from the most successful people in the residential cleaning industry.
Proud Sponsor of the Home Cleaning Express
Business Building Tour.
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