Once your cleaning business starts to grow and you begin hiring employees, you will run into a problem sooner or later.
That problem is motivation.
More specifically, you will start wondering:
How do I get my employees to care about the work and do a good job without me having to stay on top of them every second?
That is a fair question.
And if you are new to being an employer, it can be a frustrating one too.
Why?
Because one of the first things you learn as a business owner is that most employees will never look at the job the same way you do.
That is just reality.
You own the business.
You built it.
You are the one carrying the pressure.
You are the one worrying about losing accounts, paying bills, keeping customers happy, and making sure the whole thing does not go off the rails.
So yes, naturally, you care more.
That does not mean every employee you hire will be lazy or careless. Some will be excellent. Some will be decent. Some will be average. And a few will drive you absolutely crazy.
That is part of the game.
But let me save you some time and aggravation right now.
The biggest secret to motivating employees starts BEFORE you hire them
This is the part many new business owners miss.
They think motivation is something you do after you hire someone.
That is only partly true.
The biggest part of motivation actually comes from who you hire in the first place.
If you hire the wrong person, you are going to have problems no matter what speech you give them, no matter how much training you provide, and no matter how many times you explain what you want.
Some people simply do not care.
And the hard truth is, once you hire somebody like that, it is very difficult to change them.
I know that sounds harsh, but it is true.
A bad employee will usually do some combination of the following:
- cut corners
- make excuses
- do just enough to get by
- act like you are “picking on them” when you correct them
- complain more than they work
- and somehow always have a reason why the job was not done right
People like that will wear you out.
They will also make you question yourself if you are not careful.
Don’t let them.
Some people are not a good fit for your company, and no amount of pep talks is going to magically turn them into high-quality workers.
That is why I always say this:
You can train skills. You usually cannot train pride.
Good employees usually want to do a good job
A quality employee does not need to be chased all over the building every day.
They may still need direction.
They may still need training.
They may still make mistakes.
But at the core, they want to do a good job.
They take some pride in their work. They care at least enough to try. They are not just there to steal a paycheck and do the absolute bare minimum.
Those are the kinds of people you want.
And the opposite is also true.
People who do not care about themselves, their work, their attitude, or their future will usually not care very much about your cleaning accounts either.
That is why hiring is such a big deal.
So how do you hire people who are easier to motivate?
There is no perfect formula, but there are things I always looked for.
- Stable job history
If somebody bounces from job to job to job, that should raise a red flag.
Now once in a while there may be a valid reason, but if there is a long pattern of short-term jobs, constant drama, or no real stability, odds are there is a problem.
You are not in the business of fixing everybody’s life.
You are in the cleaning business.
That does not mean you cannot give someone a chance. It just means you need to be smart about who you bring in.
- A decent attitude
I always paid attention to attitude.
A person with a good attitude is much easier to work with than someone who acts defensive, negative, or put out all the time.
Positive people usually take correction better. They can handle feedback without acting like you insulted their bloodline.
Negative people, on the other hand, often turn every small issue into a courtroom case.
You do not need that.
- Signs of pride and self-respect
This one matters more than people realize.
Does the person seem like they care how they present themselves?
Do they seem serious?
Do they answer questions like an adult?
Do they seem dependable?
You are trying to get a feel for whether this person has any pride in themselves.
Because people who have pride in themselves are much more likely to take pride in their work.
After hiring, training becomes everything
Once you do hire someone with potential, your job is not over.
In some ways, it is just beginning.
A good employee can still fail if you train them poorly.
That is another mistake new employers make. They hire somebody, rush them through training, and then get mad when the results are not good.
That is not the employee’s fault. That is poor leadership.
You need to train people properly.
Depending on the account, that may take one day or it may take several days. Every building is different. Every customer is different. Every cleaning routine is different.
During training, make sure you explain:
- what needs to be done
- how you want it done
- how often it needs to be done
- what “done right” actually looks like
- and what things matter most on that account
Do not assume people know.
Show them.
Then show them again if needed.
Employees need clear expectations, not mind reading
A lot of problems in business come from unclear expectations.
You may think something is obvious. It may not be obvious to the employee.
If you want the trash emptied a certain way, say so.
If you want the restrooms checked a certain way, say so.
If you want vacuum lines to look a certain way, say so.
Spell it out.
There is nothing wrong with being clear.
In fact, the clearer you are, the easier it is for good employees to succeed.
People cannot hit a target they cannot see.
Give them the tools to do a good job
This sounds simple, but it matters.
If you expect quality work, then give people what they need:
- good supplies
- working equipment
- enough time
- clear instructions
- a realistic workload
It is hard to do quality work with bad tools, broken vacuums, cheap supplies, and no time.
Now that does not mean you need to baby people. But if you want strong performance, you need to set them up to succeed.
Supervision still matters, even with good employees
Even good employees need oversight.
That does not mean you breathe down their neck or treat them like children. It just means you check behind them from time to time and stay involved enough to know what is going on.
You should:
- spot check accounts
- notice patterns
- catch problems early
- and address issues before they turn into customer complaints
The worst thing you can do is assume everything is fine just because nobody said anything.
By the time a customer complains, the problem may have been building for weeks.
A little oversight goes a long way.
Praise matters more than people think
Now let me say something that a lot of tough-minded business owners do not always think about.
People need to know when they are doing well.
I am not saying you need to clap every time somebody empties a trash can. But if an employee is doing a strong job, tell them.
A simple:
- “Nice job on that account.”
- “The building looked really good.”
- “I appreciate you handling that.”
- “You’ve been doing solid work.”
That kind of thing matters.
A lot of employees are used to only hearing from the boss when something is wrong.
So when you take a moment to notice good work, it stands out.
It also helps reinforce the standard you want.
Accountability matters too
Now on the other hand, you cannot let everything slide either.
If somebody is not doing what they were trained to do, then you need to address it.
Calmly. Clearly. Professionally.
Not everything needs to turn into a dramatic speech. Sometimes you just need to say:
“This was missed.”
“This needs to improve.”
“This is not being done the way we trained it.”
“I need you to correct this going forward.”
That is part of leadership.
Good employees will usually respond. Poor employees will make excuses.
And that tells you something.
Money matters… but not as much as some people think
Yes, employees want fair pay.
Of course they do.
And if your pay is way too low, that can absolutely hurt motivation and retention.
But let me tell you something from experience…
Money alone will not make a poor employee into a great one.
If somebody is lazy, careless, unreliable, or full of excuses, another dollar an hour is not going to suddenly turn them into Employee of the Year.
Pay people fairly, yes.
But do not fool yourself into thinking money fixes character.
It doesn’t.
One thing that really helps motivation: respect
People work better for bosses who treat them like human beings.
That does not mean you become soft. It means you are respectful, fair, and consistent.
If employees feel like you only notice mistakes, never listen, never explain anything, and act like they are disposable, motivation will suffer.
But if they feel like you are fair, serious, and respectful, you have a much better chance of getting solid effort from the right people.
Respect goes a long way.
The truth: some people cannot be motivated
This is probably the most important point in the whole article.
Some people cannot be motivated by you because they are not motivated by themselves.
That is not your fault.
If you train them, give them tools, explain expectations, check their work, correct them, and they still keep doing the same nonsense over and over again, then you may have the wrong person.
Do not let one bad hire drain the life out of your business.
New employers often hold onto weak employees too long because they are afraid of having nobody.
I understand that fear.
But many times, keeping the wrong person creates more problems than starting over.
A bad employee costs you in:
- customer satisfaction
- stress
- rework
- lost time
- and sometimes lost accounts
That gets expensive.
Final thoughts
If you want employees who do a good job, motivation is important.
But motivation does not start with speeches, gimmicks, or trying to “pump people up” every day.
It starts with:
- hiring the right person
- training them properly
- setting clear expectations
- giving them the right tools
- checking their work
- praising what is done well
- correcting what is done poorly
- and replacing people who simply do not care
That is the real answer.
A lot of business owners waste time trying to motivate bad hires when they should be focusing on building a team of people who have at least some pride to begin with.
Get the right people.
Train them right.
Lead them properly.
And do not expect miracles from people who never had the right attitude in the first place.
That will save you a lot of grief in this business.