Best EMPLOYEES Steps for finding, hiring and keeping dependable employees. By: Phillip Lawless, Editor Attract The B Phillip Lawless is editor of Cleaning & Maintenance Management magazine; he can be reached at PLawless@ GrandViewMedia.com. A graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Lawless has over 13 years of professional writing and edit-ing experience. for more info Visit www.cmmonline.com and type in search keyword: Employees . For more information on related products, visit www.cmmonline.com , select DIRECTORY from the main navigation bar, and enter keyword: Hiring . Business leadership is a concept that is discussed endlessly online, in print, on television and at in-dustry events. Executive-level decision making past, present and future is commonly mulled, studied, criticized and debated. Yet, the best executives and managers always understand that they do not work in a vacuum. Though CEOs, directors and regional managers obviously have an impact on the day-to-day oper-ation of a business or organization, it is employee motivation and teamwork that frequently makes the lion’s share of success possible. Especially in the world of commercial cleaning — no manager can complete a full day of cleaning and safety responsibilities without dependable employees. No matter how smart, experienced or dedicat-ed, a manager must depend on his or her team to successfully meet the needs of each facility. Simply put, a manager’s goal should be to find quality workers, get these employees on the same page and convince them all to (figuratively) pull in the same direction. Even in this difficult financial era, there are prov-en steps that can help cleaning departments and companies flourish. While the process of finding new employees and motivating workers often feels like an uphill battle, the joy and excitement created by a well-built team functioning at a high level will prove worthy of the struggle. In The Field Experienced facility managers and building service contractors (BSCs) have tried-and-true hiring prac-tices that they have learned through decades of accepting applications and interviewing potential employees. But for inexperienced managers and newer busi-nesses, finding and hiring workers based on trial-and-error can be a painful process. Finding employees: Many managers and busi-nesses understand that current employees can be a good source for referrals, and organizations sometimes boost this process by offering referral bonuses. One modern update to referral programs is a longevity-style bonus for the referring employee — the recommended hire must stay with a com-pany for a set amount of time before the employee is paid a bonus. By offering the referring employee payment af-ter 90 days or a longer length of time, employees are more likely to recommend someone that is a better long-term fit for a position. Matthew Kastel, manager of baseball opera-tions and events at the Maryland Stadium Author-ity, says his operation still has success with basic job listings. 18 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® August 2014
CMM – Archives August 2014: 18
