Writing a job description seems more painful than a trip to the dentist for most cleaning business owners.
The most common questions are: “Why do I need them?” and “Where would I start?” Well…that is what we are going to talk about right now! Lets tackle the first question asking “why” you need them.
The five main reasons why you need a job description.
- Written job descriptions bring a sense of order and purpose. Remember this…no order will bring all chaos.
- People tend to perform better when they know “where they fit in” concerning the grand scheme of things.
- Though this seems counter intuitive, people really need (crave) authority.
- If you don’t write a task down and assign responsibility, it won’t get done.
- Over the long haul you will add value to your company.
Now that you know why job descriptions are important, you need a outline of how to create one right? Well…that’s next!
The step by step process for easily creating job descriptions.
- Put a name (title) to the job. For a commercial cleaning it could be “Commercial Cleaning Specialist”. For the home market (house cleaner) perhaps “Residential Cleaning Specialist”. It may seem silly to many to add the “specialist” at the end. I assure you it is not. Planting the seed that your looking for a “specialist” means you are serious. It shows the candidate they will be held accountable for their performance.
- Clearly state the purpose of the job. This is two fold. One: Why does this position exist? Two: What are the expected results?
- Define what work is to be performed. List all duties. Create detailed schedule and expected work hours.
- Determine the chain of command. Where does this job fit in the grand scheme of things? This means you need to create an organizational chart. No need to be fancy with special software! Just the facts of who the person in this position reports to (and does anyone report to this position), and what authority the person in this position holds. It is not all that complicated.
- Define the performance expectations associated with this position. Three parts here: First list the goals and objectives. Second determine how the employee will be evaluated. Third part is easy, get every one’s signatures so we all agree what is expected.
Well…there you have it, job descriptions that are not all hard to create. The first step is just digging in and getting started. You will learn more as you get the process moving and it will make you a better business person because of it. If you are stuck, post a comment and I will try to help you along.
Thank you for this article. Where is a good place to find a good example of job descriptions for employees in the cleaning industry?
I have never wrote one and I wonder how long it should be and how to formulate some of the wording.
Hi Steven! I don’t know where else there is to go to be honest. In my courses I have a template that walks you through the creative process pretty easily (just so you know). What I can say is that all you are really doing is describing EACTLY what YOU want done on a particular cleaning account.
Generally this “mirrors” the description of what you tell the customer you will clean. With all that said, I may do a post on the topic and break one down to show how it’s done (thanks for providing the idea!). Look for it to be in the next few weeks.