Pre-employment Steps Your House Cleaner Should Be Taking!
Over my last 3 blogs, I have gone over numbers 1-3 on the list of “13 Things Your Housecleaner Won’t Tell You”. This list was put together by Readers Digest & Good Morning America. Today I am going to take a look at number 4 which is, many cleaning companies do not run any sort of background check or even check references. I answered an ad, I was on time and presentable, and I was willing to take the job. That is all most companies care about. If you have not seen a link to the article, here it is;
http://gma.yahoo.com/13-things-housecleaner-wont-tell-022929190–abc-news.html
This particular statement while alarming, is true! I don’t think most house cleaning companies who have employees working for them are doing background screens. I am certain the reason most companies do not do background screens is due to the amount of turnover the job has and also the cost associated with doing them. The good news for companies, is there are affordable options out there for background screens. By doing a background screen prior to hiring someone you can save yourself a whole lot of potential problems before you even get going.
As far as checking references goes, this is a whole different story. While I think every attempt should be made to check an employee’s job history, this is becoming an extremely difficult task. I know when I am doing reference checks I usually will only find someone in an HR department who will verify dates of employment. I think people are afraid to be sued over a bad reference, so they don’t give them. This is to bad because if another employer can help save me from hiring a bad employee, then that is extremely helpful.
The last piece about hiring someone just becuase they were on time and presentable depends on the company you are dealing with. At Total Cleaning Plus for example, being on time and presentable is only the beginning. We have a long list of questions we ask during our interviews to gauge the level of comfort that we will have during a working relationship. We also ask questions that are going to show us how comfortable our client base will be working with potential employees. If the answers given are not what we are looking for, then it is a no go for us. We take hiring very serious.
The key is to make sure that you are doing your due diligence when hiring. Don’t just assume someone is good if they show up on time eager to work. It is important to find out about their past jobs, what they liked and didn’t like. Just by asking a few simple questions, you can quickly determine if someone is going to be able to handle this job. It is not an easy job for sure, but hiring the right people is one of if not the biggest keys to success in the cleaning industry. So take it serious and take your time. Your company is only as good as the people on the front lines!
Please check back soon when I will go over number 5 on the list. Number 5 is; Even though I smile and act interested, don’t use me as your therapist, gossip buddy or friend. Frankly, most of us have a lot less than you, and we can’t fathom why you’re complaining. Plus, you slow me down. If you have any questions call Total Cleaning Plus to get all your answers.
