At the most basic level, any BSC or internal cleaning operation is only as good as its cleaning staff. Like any industry, cleaning service providers have to deal with varying levels of employee turnover. The ability to keep your operation consistently staffed with high-quality cleaning personnel will be a primary factor in your long-term success.
What to look for when hiring cleaning staff? What are some of the traits that many high-performing cleaning operations share? The process does not have to be overly complicated. Here are five characteristics to look for when recruiting and interviewing candidates for your cleaning operation:
Experience – The Right Kind
All cleaning experience is not equal. Prior cleaning experience is important, but, it should be the right type of experience. The individual’s experience should be reasonably aligned with any unique requirements you may have. You should also pay special attention to any indications of “negative experience”, those habits and ways of working that would be a detriment to your operation.
Coachability – Hire for Potential and Train for Skill
Some people are open to coaching, some are not. Coachability can often be a viable substitute for experience. Those individuals that demonstrate a willingness to be coached will typically be more flexible, more open-minded, more adaptable, and more engaged. A cleaning staff comprised of coachable team members will provide your operation with the ability to quickly respond to changing requirements from your clients.
Self-Motivation
Some motivation will be provided by your organization’s managers and supervisors, but the ability to self-motivate is equally important. Self-motivation is that internal desire to perform at a high level. It is the fire that continues to drive an individual long after external voices have faded. Self-motivation is not something that can be taught. Look for self-motivation as an ingrained trait when hiring cleaning staff.
Personality
You will want your new employees to be able to fit in with your existing cleaning staff. This is especially important for those operations that utilize the “team cleaning” approach. It only takes one bad apple to ruin an otherwise happy and productive team environment. When hiring cleaning staff, look for personality traits that will blend in with your existing staff. You should also be on high alert for red flags that indicate negative traits (negativity, hostility, inflexibility, etc.).
Commitment
Unless hiring someone very young you will likely be interviewing candidates that have had a few previous jobs. That is where your “experience” factor will come from. However, too many previous jobs can be a red flag. Excessive job-hopping usually has a negative root cause. It can indicate poor performance or a lack of commitment…or both. You will need to do your part to instill commitment in your new employees but you will also want to select employees that have demonstrated job commitment in their past.
Hiring cleaning staff based on these five basic traits will help ensure that your cleaning operation remains efficient and competitive.
