[Jan K]

Hi all!

I have today placed an ad in my local rag for Cleaners and have had a reply already! I have a very basic application form to send to her, but wondered if there was anyone out there that had used one and had success in finding decent and reliable cleaners. Having not employed anyone other my friends before I don't want to miss anything!!

cheers!!

Jn

[carloso]

HI JN
GOOD ADVICE I BELIEVE WOULD BE TO JOIN THE FSB FOR £100 AND THEN PROBE THERE ADVISE SERVICES.
YOU ARE GOING  TO BE EMPLOYING, EVENTUALLY YOU WILL NEED ADVICE ON GRIEVANCE AND DIS PROCEEDURES, EMPLOYMENT LAW, MATERNITY RIGHTS, HOLIDAY RIGHTS, IN SHORT A MINEFIELD OF NEW LAW
I DO NOT WORK FOR THE FSB AND I HAVE NO FINANCIAL GAIN FROM SUGGESTING THIS, BUT I DO ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO JOIN AS I BELIEVE THAT THE BENIFITS FAR OUTWEIGH THE COSTS.
F YOU WANT A PHONE NO  PM ME
 

[Jan K]

Hi Carloso.....thanx for the advice, I may well do that....btw like your signature

Jan

[Clean 'n' Tidy]

Jan,
I have found that people who want cleaning work usually want to start striaght away and won't wait for an application form. I tend to invite people for an interview and they fill in the form when they arrive.

Also if you want help with your business use Business link. They are very helpful and they are free. They provide courses that are also free.

Kim

[dangermouse]

Yeah, I second what Clean 'n' Tidy said. 

Arrange one day to do interviews and try to pack in as many people as you can - you'd be surprised how many people won't bother turning up.  :

At the beginning of the interview ask them to fill in the application form and make further notes for yourself during the interview or immediately after - your preference. This is very important because you'll be amazed how quickly you can get confused between different interviewees at the end of a long day.

Such notes could be based on a rudimentary scoring system, i.e. Level of English (difficult to tell on an application form), whether they have made an effort with regards to their appearance (it may 'only' be a cleaning job but it can tell you how much they want the job), their perceived knowledge of the correct cleaning methods, whether they require time off during school holidays, and so on.

Interviews are a good way to go because you never know who really fills the form in, an interview can often sort the wheat from the chaff!

Hope this helps... And good hunting!

Regards,
Darren.

[Ian Gourlay]

I am shocked do you mean some people get others to fill in their application forms

At least they do not lie about their experience and qualifications

[Tim Downer]

Jan

Same experience as Darren, I have had a couple of interviews over a period of three days, and nearly half didn't bother turning up. Wouldn't mind, but for each interview i arranged to meet them at the offices they where to clean which was about 5 miles from my home. Wasted lot time and fuel 

So yes, interview as many as possible on one day is good advice....

Regards

Tim

[Jan K]

cheers guys!

i now have 1 employee on my books (oo err!!), i have lined her up with 4 - 5 jobs (domestic cleaning that is) and have informed the Clients, now I just gotta hope she meets both mine and my Clients expectations!! I am a little worried that she won't but she seemed very keen when I interviewed her and is experienced, got a good reference and is CRB checked...........I suppose it is normal to have concerns about employees, and whether they will be reliable, up to the job etc, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating and all that!! 

[Clean 'n' Tidy]

Hi Jan,

Well done on your first employee.

What I usualy do is work alongside any new employees for a couple of weeks. This way you can see if they are any good or not. Nine times out of ten this will show within this time.

Good luck.

Kim

[Jan K]

it's a little difficult for me to do that as I am still cleaning myself every day so our times clash, but I am sure my Clients will soon point out if the girls aren't doing their jobs properly. Domestic cleaning isn't hard to do properly and I habe pointed out to my girls that if they DON'T do it properly my Clients will not be backwards in letting me know!

[maggie67]

Hi

just a word of advice, (spoken from past experience!)if you cannot afford to invest some time in overseeing the way in which the work is being carried out by your new 'members', then it may well be worth a 2 minute courtesy call to your clients after a couple of visits. This might be better than an abrupt call from one of your clients, to you, asking you not to come back and will nip any obvious complaints or queries in the bud immediately!!

It also shows your client that you are maintaining a personal interest which all helps when you want to put your prices up to meet increasing overheads(which happens rapidly when taking on extra help!) and gives you the edge when competeing against larger less personal cleaning companies!

Take Care

[Jan K]

hi maggie, yea I already do that..........

[maggie67]

Great. Perhaps you could share some 'tried & tested' tips with me! Do you get most of your recommendations through word of mouth or have you spent a small fortune on advertising? Would be very interested to know!

[Jan K]

hi maggie!

I haven't really tried very hard to get Clients, however I have placed an ad in the Yellow Pages which is due out shortly. I have placed a few ad in shops but as I have changed my mobile phone number they are redundant. Most of my work had come from picking a profession (so far teachers, solicitors, some builders) and then sending spec letters to them. This is an inexpensive method financially, but does tie up a fair bit of time......I am not making any profit at all at the moment but have only been running since September. It has taken me since January 2004 to get up and running properly and I am taking it really slowly. I have 2 part-time employees and work part-time myself. I do not expect to make any profit or even have a huge turnover for at least another year as I do not wish to overdo it. Yes I want to make a healthy living but this is something I intend to take my time over and ensure I am totally happy with my setup. My public and employers liability insurance only allows me to undertake domestic cleaning and office cleaning, which is fine by me. Most of my Clients are in the teaching profession and I have had quite a few word of mouth introductions. I have been self-employed in the cleaning business for a year now, and didn't even earn enough in the last financial year to meet my tax threshold, so I ain't a big earner, or even a small earner, but it suited me that way. This year I intend to take the next step which is why I am advertising in the Yellow Pages. I choose 1 way of advertising and concentrate on that method for a few weeks then m,ove onto the next, so I don't overload myself and I can monitor the where I get the best responses!

Who knows what will happen but as long as I am earning enough to keep pay my bills everything else is a bonus!!

[maggie67]

Here Here!

Maggie