[mick hay]

Those of you that have employed, do you have any regrets employing?

Do you wish you stayed as a one man band?

I need to take that step, but been procrastinating for some time 

[TomCrowther]

There are pluses and negatives Mick.
You have to have a certain mind set to employ. It is much easier on your own-
Start and finish when you want.
Take time off whenever.
You have total control on every job.
What you earn you keep
Less red tape.

But the pluses are-
Can go for bigger jobs.
The business becomes more of a business and worth more.
You earn when your on holiday.
Less tired physically.

It makes you view what you are doing differently. Try it..

[mick hay]

There are pluses and negatives Mick.
You have to have a certain mind set to employ. It is much easier on your own-
Start and finish when you want.
Take time off whenever.
You have total control on every job.
What you earn you keep
Less red tape.

But the pluses are-
Can go for bigger jobs.
The business becomes more of a business and worth more.
You earn when your on holiday.
Less tired physically.

It makes you view what you are doing differently. Try it..

Ive really expanded beyond belief on my own this year, and the work has been hard, 50 yr old now, so its a case of having to really.

The legalities of it all just seem like a minefield!!!

[TomCrowther]

Yep, I'm 49 and you can't do it all on your own.
My advice is get someone in their late twenties or early thirties. Train them up, pay them a decent wage and look after yourself.

[Smudger]

No regrets here - its not a minefield if you research first - do it properly.

The biggest advice I can give you is interview well - find the right person - which is the hardest thing, we know have 5 work for us and all are FAB, but we interviewed very well, our initial job description was very informative, also we specified that every applicant as well as sending cv HAD to send a covering letter too - this helped us filter quickly and then we shortlisted to our criteria - probe well at interview and get the right fit, for us the FIT personality wise was one of the most important matches, once we had found the right candidate we invite them out for a trial for up to 2-3 weeks and stress its not jsut about US liking them but about them liking us and its made clear that the trial can end at any time by eitheir party if its not for them/us - after a successful trial period we then offer a contract which has 3 or 6 month probation period.

HTH - Mrs Smudger

[Arnold Palmer]

No regrets here - its not a minefield if you research first - do it properly.

The biggest advice I can give you is interview well - find the right person - which is the hardest thing, we know have 5 work for us and all are FAB, but we interviewed very well, our initial job description was very informative, also we specified that every applicant as well as sending cv HAD to send a covering letter too - this helped us filter quickly and then we shortlisted to our criteria - probe well at interview and get the right fit, for us the FIT personality wise was one of the most important matches, once we had found the right candidate we invite them out for a trial for up to 2-3 weeks and stress its not jsut about US liking them but about them liking us and its made clear that the trial can end at any time by eitheir party if its not for them/us - after a successful trial period we then offer a contract which has 3 or 6 month probation period.

HTH - Mrs Smudger

^^ this

Also, pay fair and train.

[SeanK]

I'm not sure as I know guys who can sail through any interview but if you really got to know them you
wouldn't let then within a hundred miles of your business.
The firm I used to work for got stung by them all the time, great interview, great probationary period then after
a certain time the cracks started to appear.
By the same token I know other guys who don't sell themselves well at interviews but are loyal hardworking guys
who are keen to learn and would be a asset to any business.
I took a fair amount of work from other cleaners and one of the most frequent excuses giving was... he used to do
an excellent job but since them new guys started working with him the quality has got really bad.
I'm at the 50 mark and would like to employ but I don't want some numpty ruining my reputation and business that to be honest was hard enough to build.

 

[Arnold Palmer]

I'm not sure as I know guys who can sail through any interview but if you really got to know them you
wouldn't let then within a hundred miles of your business.
The firm I used to work for got stung by them all the time, great interview, great probationary period then after
a certain time the cracks started to appear.
By the same token I know other guys who don't sell themselves well at interviews but are loyal hardworking guys
who are keen to learn and would be a asset to any business.
I took a fair amount of work from other cleaners and one of the most frequent excuses giving was... he used to do
an excellent job but since them new guys started working with him the quality has got really bad.
I'm at the 50 mark and would like to employ but I don't want some numpty ruining my reputation and business that to be honest was hard enough to build.

True, there is no perfect interview to weed out the chaff and no matter what you do you'll get wronguns from time to time.
I've done many interviews over many years - you decide who you thinks best and stick with your decision, sometimes you get it right some times you don't. That's no reason not to employ though.

[Smudger]

I'm not sure as I know guys who can sail through any interview but if you really got to know them you
wouldn't let then within a hundred miles of your business.
The firm I used to work for got stung by them all the time, great interview, great probationary period then after
a certain time the cracks started to appear.
By the same token I know other guys who don't sell themselves well at interviews but are loyal hardworking guys
who are keen to learn and would be a asset to any business.
I took a fair amount of work from other cleaners and one of the most frequent excuses giving was... he used to do
an excellent job but since them new guys started working with him the quality has got really bad.
I'm at the 50 mark and would like to employ but I don't want some numpty ruining my reputation and business that to be honest was hard enough to build.

True, there is no perfect interview to weed out the chaff and no matter what you do you'll get wronguns from time to time.
I've done many interviews over many years - you decide who you thinks best and stick with your decision, sometimes you get it right some times you don't. That's no reason not to employ though.

Agreed

Darran

[Window Lickers]

I've found it to be a big learning curve. In many ways. I've had to learn how to communicate effectively. How to reprimand without causing further issues or ill-feeling. 
How to commend someone and encourage. How to explain. How to look someone in the eye and believe in myself. How to be responsible regarding another's welfare. To trust - which isn't always the right thing to do in actual fact, which I've found out to my cost, and disappointment. How to delegate. And how to say no.

Employing isn't easy, but for me it's worth it.

[richywilts]

No regrets here - its not a minefield if you research first - do it properly.

The biggest advice I can give you is interview well - find the right person - which is the hardest thing, we know have 5 work for us and all are FAB, but we interviewed very well, our initial job description was very informative, also we specified that every applicant as well as sending cv HAD to send a covering letter too - this helped us filter quickly and then we shortlisted to our criteria - probe well at interview and get the right fit, for us the FIT personality wise was one of the most important matches, once we had found the right candidate we invite them out for a trial for up to 2-3 weeks and stress its not jsut about US liking them but about them liking us and its made clear that the trial can end at any time by eitheir party if its not for them/us - after a successful trial period we then offer a contract which has 3 or 6 month probation period.

HTH - Mrs Smudger

similar to what i have done in the past however do u always employ experience staff or do are you happy training up the staff i find both can work well as training can get staff working to YOUR spec whereas experienced staff work with there old bad habits

[Matt.]

I have been employing lads for about 10 years now, I first started training a lad up from scratch, IMO this is the best thing to do. Result - he's a brilliant window cleaner.

I became very busy very quick and needed to employ more staff so went down the route of employing so called window cleaners, it causes me nothing but bother, constantly having to explain how to clean them properly, then get pits off and send them to find a bus stop an go home.

my only regrets was not starting an apprentice lad or 2,  all them years ago as I am at this point now.

Money wise ...... Ye you make more
Agro wise ........ It's a nightmare

If I was getting to the beautiful age of 50 I would 100% find myself a pair of lads aged 16/17 explain to them that there could be a full time employment for them this won't cost as much as you will waste on lazy so called window cleaners who when given a set of equipment look at ya an say.......... Erm the thing is I haven't used a squeegee before. Heard it a hundred times - reply " the bus stops 🔚 that way.

Spend some time with them training them to what you expect from them, then just over see there work for a year or 2.

Pay for them to take there driving test as a reward or something to show you care about them.

They will appreciate what you do for them and in return they will be loyal .... Hopefully.

Best of luck
 but it now time to start easing up a bit. Save some energy for the mrs or sutton. Haha.

[mick hay]

Half of my business is add ons, conservatories UPVC gutters etc, and this is where i need to employ for.

e.g. Today, i will finish my windows (23 houses) by about 2, i am then off to do a complete UPVC house clean, inc gutters.
This is quite a typical day, 6 days a week.

Ive built up a really nice round over 10 yrs, 100% WFP, which i can handle on my own.

I will have to get another van, but this would give me so much time off the tools allowing me to expand even further.

[supernova77]

Half of my business is add ons, conservatories UPVC gutters etc, and this is where i need to employ for.

e.g. Today, i will finish my windows (23 houses) by about 2, i am then off to do a complete UPVC house clean, inc gutters.
This is quite a typical day, 6 days a week.

Ive built up a really nice round over 10 yrs, 100% WFP, which i can handle on my own.

I will have to get another van, but this would give me so much time off the tools allowing me to expand even further.

That's a good plan Mick.

However - All the planning in the world won't prepare you for taking someone on... I found that all my plans went out the window as I had to start learning how to be an effective employer rather than carry out my master plan.

As others have said its a massive learning curve when you take someone else on.

It's been tough, but is now starting to be worth it - Especially when I get bigger jobs coming in, gutter cleaning etc..

Andy

[Smudger]

Matt - yes, i can see you have learned a lot from your posts😃

Mick - if your doing that six days a week then you seriously need staff, because you'll be a wreck otherwise, when I reached that point staff became the priority.

Matty - agree with most of that, with the exception of 16/17 is too young customers tend to be wary of youngsters of that age but defo take of people who have NEVER done window cleaning as they are better to train

Darran

[Arnold Palmer]

Matt - yes, i can see you have learned a lot from your posts😃

Mick - if your doing that six days a week then you seriously need staff, because you'll be a wreck otherwise, when I reached that point staff became the priority.

Matty - agree with most of that, with the exception of 16/17 is too young customers tend to be wary of youngsters of that age but defo take of people who have NEVER done window cleaning as they are better to train

Darran

Age in one of the 9 protected characteristics. I suppose you could get round that by saying that a driving license is needed, but still, as an employer you may be leaving yourself open. It's unlikely to be an issue, I know.

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/private-and-public-sector-guidance/guidance-all/protected-characteristics

[Window Lickers]

You dont have to broadcast the fact that you're not employing someone because of their age.

[Leeds]

You dont have to broadcast the fact that you're not employing someone because of their age.

Exactly.

[Arnold Palmer]

You dont have to broadcast the fact that you're not employing someone because of their age.

Correct.

No one will ever know as long as you don't tell them and don't say stuff like that on publicly accessible mediums.  

And like I said it's unlikely to ever be a problem anyway.

[Matt.]

It's entirely your decision on who and at what age you employ some one, I find that if you try to train a lad up who is say 25 for example. They have never worked and been used to a live on the dole. You give them a chance, take them out and after a few hours they start to stand still and look at you, make noises and complain there tired. Ok I say ....... The bus stop is that way. See you later, give us a ring on Friday an I will pay you for what you have done.

Starting a lad who is say 16-18, they are keen and ready to go, I understand the age concern as mentioned but put them in uniform. You start off training at a lower wage with incentives once they improve.

I am not saying this is the answer everyone is at there own discretion.

I had a lad start the other day, no probs using the squeegee but made a shocking mess with the water whilst doing commercial internals. I says what's happening there, an he just shrugged his shoulders with out a care.......... " bus stops down there mate"