The True Cost for Good Employees

Episode 87

In the quest to build a successful business, one critical component often surfaces: the cost of hiring and retaining good employees. If you’re a cleaning company owner, you know the cost of hiring is more than what you pay. Hiring requires your time, payroll costs, insurances and the threat of firing to rehire. it’s clear that the expense associated with good employees extends far beyond their hourly wage. While the hourly rate is indeed the initial hook to attract talent, sustaining a strong and dedicated workforce requires a multifaceted approach.

The True Cost of Good Employees is More Than a Paycheck

The comprehensive costs and strategies involved in keeping excellent employees engaged and motivated require resources and understanding what’s important to your team members. This level of awareness from you as an owner helps to create company culture.

Beyond the paycheck, employees seek value in the form of benefits and opportunities for growth. Cleaning companies that invest in training, provide uniforms, or offer referral bonuses create an environment where employees feel valued and appreciated. Simple gestures like an “employee of the month” program with gift cards as rewards can foster a sense of community and recognition. These initiatives are often seen as small perks. But these steps can significantly enhance job satisfaction and loyalty among employees.

Moreover, there are innovative approaches that companies can adopt to support their employees’ personal goals. For instance, offering financial counseling sessions can be a game-changer for those aiming to purchase a home but struggling with credit issues. These sessions, often conducted in collaboration with local banks or financial planners, provide valuable insights at no additional cost to the employer. Such initiatives not only serve the personal aspirations of employees but also demonstrate the company’s commitment to their long-term well-being.

Continued Learning Creates Value for Employees

Educational opportunities are another crucial aspect of retaining good employees. For industries where English is not the first language for many workers, offering English language classes can be incredibly beneficial. These classes empower employees by boosting their self-esteem and enhancing their ability to communicate effectively in various situations. Encouraging participation in voluntary training programs can also help employees acquire new skills, thereby increasing their self-worth and potential for career advancement.

The True Cost of Good Employees is Your Time

Finally, it’s essential to emphasize the importance of financial planning and saving for the future. Introducing 401k programs and arranging for financial planners to educate employees about the benefits of investing early can have a lasting impact. Understanding concepts like deferred taxation and the power of compound interest can motivate younger employees to start saving, ensuring financial security in their later years. By providing these learning opportunities, employers are not only looking out for their staff’s present needs but also securing their future, thereby fostering a loyal and committed workforce.

When you’re looking for ways to develop your business, first develop your team. Contact me here for more strategies and steps about growing your cleaning business.

This Week’s Podcast transcript can be found below.

 

00:08 Ray
Joel, we’re back. We are talking about the cost of good employees. I assume you’re talking about more than just hourly rate.

00:17 Joel
Absolutely, because hourly rate is one thing. You have to attract a person to come to a job site. That hourly rate is the initial hook to get somebody to come work for you. But what are the real costs to keep employees? If you want to keep good employees, you have to offer more than an hourly rate. Maybe it’s training; Maybe it’s uniforms; Maybe it’s a referral bonus; Maybe it’s employee of the month where they get a gift card to a local grocery chain or a Visa, a MasterCard gift card where they can use it on whatever they want to use it on. But it even goes beyond that. I know that some companies will do some things that you don’t think are benefits, but they really are. And a lot of people that work in this industry have some goals that they would like to own a house, but they don’t always have the funds to do it. Or their credit rating is so bad. So maybe you bring in people for lunch and learns to talk about this is how you can help clean up your credit. This is how much money you should be setting aside each week so that you come up with this little bit of nest egg so that you can put a down payment on a house.

01:24 Ray
Can we touch on that one right there? (Sure.) This is specifically for our listener. They may or may not be aware that the service you just described is often through counseling with a local bank, a local financial planner. And it’s a benefit to either of those individuals or either of those businesses to come in and present.

01:44 Joel
It’s no additional cost to the employer, but it’s like, Hey, anybody who’s looking to purchase a house and might have some questions of how to start financing it, we are going to have so-and-so in on this date at this time to do a 30-minute presentation, follow by questions and answers. It gives them an opportunity if there’s something that they want to do that they can come in on their own time. But you’re presenting them with a platform for additional learning and how to reach their goals. There are companies out there that will send their people to mandatory trainings. And yes, they have to be paid for those trainings and the employer is going to pay for the class. But if it’s something that the employer doesn’t mandate but says, “Hey, there’s this training that’s there. Are you interested?” Some people like English as a second language. And a lot of people in this industry don’t happen to speak English. Not that it’s bad. But a lot of people would like to know a little bit more conversational English so that they can interact with either coworkers or the client in everyday life. On the bus, out in the market, whatever.

02:48 Joel
By offering these types of things, you help people with their self-esteem and self-awareness and give them a platform to increase their self-worth. I took advantage of all those types of things in my early career. Every time there was an opportunity to learn something, even if it was on my own, my employer put out there, I took it. People go through some turbulent times in life. Other things that can be done are 401k programs where they’re saving for a future and having financial planner coming and explaining why that’s so important to put money aside. It’s $10 that we’re asking to invest a week of your own money. But you’re not going to pay the tax on that because it’s deferred taxation. But when you go to retire, that’s to build into something else. If you have an employee that’s 21 years old and starts putting away money at $10 a week, by the time the retirement age.

03:38 Ray
I know that in New York State, there’s a 401k match. I don’t know about the legalities in other states, but simply making that available and helping any employee understand, but especially the younger employees understand that at this point, time is their ally.

03:51 Joel
Time is their ally, and having someone who knows more about it that’s coming in. It’s not the employer talking about it. It’s somebody who is more knowledgeable about it. I can teach cleaning. I cannot teach on 401k. I cannot teach on credit card counseling. Things like that. It’s not my gift. But having someone that comes in and can talk to people and help them with those aspects of their life so that they have that money later in life is huge. Because now you’re trying to not look out for your staff today, but you’re actually, as an employer, trying to look out for them tomorrow.

04:22 Ray
You’re showing them, as the cleaning company owner, why to remain there as an employee.

04:27 Joel
The longer you stay and you don’t job hop, that starts to build. Once it starts really rolling, oh, boy, does it roll.

04:34 Joel
Yeah. Great advice for the owner, Joel. Thank you.

04:36 Joel
You’re welcome.