[D Hudson]

We have been running domestic cleaning services for almost a year now & our business is getting bigger. My partner & I have been doing all of the cleaning work ourselves, from regular cleaning to one-offs , 5 days a week, all day and doing all paperwork, phonecalls, quotes..... etc. We're now working evenings and weekends! We tried to employ 2 staff last year but it wasn't for them, we have found it hard to find staff and staff that are trustworthy and reliable. We have advertised in the local paper and jobcentre, but to no avail. We have approached a recruitment agency, but it doesn't work out very cost effective as they charge more than what we do. We really need some staff to be able to develop our business further, is anyone else in the same situation or has been in this situation?   

[sparklecleaning]

Hi,

Could you either email me or display your email as i might have some info you may find useful!

Thanks.

[clairewillmoth]

Hi there, I am in exactly the same situation as yourselves.  Working 11 hours a day 5 days a week and have been for a year this month.  I am ready to employ staff however am so unsure as to how to go about it so that I have the right people working for me.  Would also appreciate any advice please if you receive any.
Kind regards
Claire

[Jan K]

i was in the same situation as you a few years back. i took on someone via the jobcentre and she was disastrous........eventually i employed a friend, she is still with me and despite ocassional ups and downs is a brilliant cleaner.

i have also  employed people that she has recommended to me, some have worked out others not. But i have to admit after having the disastrous start with the jobcentre i got desperate and re-advertised. Since then i have taken on a few staff that came to me via the JC and they have all worked out to be absolute stars.

dont give up on people that come via the JC, keep advertising as you just never know when that star cleaner will walk thro your door

[janis]

Hi there

I am in the process of setting up my business and am now looking for staff.  Can you offer some advice on how to find good cleaners.  Also is is better to employ staff or subcontract. Do clients turn there nose up at companies who run as an agency whereby they pay the cleaner in cash directly and then the agency its' fee separately by direct debit for example.  What has been your experience?

[MagicPatch]

I agree with the recruitment agency thing. They were quite expensive and I thought, well I need someone on a temp basis and at least I'll still make £1 an hour out of it. Then they said that I had to pay VAT and I ended up making a loss and paying more in salary than I was getting from the client.

You're best to get someone yourself, but I understand that finding the time to recruit can sometimes be an issue.

Brian.

[Cleaning Resource]

All my staff have come from the job centre,  I don`t look at how well they clean more so how well they respond to training..........

Look for people that are willing to listen and put into practice what you are going to teach them, if I went on their initial cleaning ability I would not have any staff as they have all been cr@p to start with.  I allow 2-3 months training before I expect them to be able to achieve the standards I expect and so far it`s working out fine.

[cml]

We get our staff from the Job Centre and I agree on some occasions they do fall short of what you may required.  But! you may want to consider training them to your standards. You may consider accompanying them on a job and taking them through how, what & where.  They will soon pick up and experience have shown that they sometimes turn out to be one of your star employees.

[shelton]

I'll just add us into the 'having trouble' category . . .

Got 2 ladies at the mo (well, 1.5 really) . .. and both have their pros and cons.  Have the feeling they are not, by any means, in it for the long haul.  This makes taking on additional work problematical . . . ho hum.