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Before you hire your first cleaning employee it's important to have the right policies and procedures in place -- not only to explain company policies, but to outline procedures for terminating employees. Firing an employee will be one of the toughest decisions you as an employer have to make. But making sure that you have the right procedures in place will make the process go as smoothly, well, at least as smoothly as possible in that situation. It's important to give all new employees a company handbook on his or her first day of work. At a minimum, your cleaning company's handbook should specifically state your company's attendance policy, work performance, personal conduct standards and evaluation procedures. The handbook should also state what will happen when an employee fails to meet your company's standards. It's not only important to give your employees the handbook, but to explain your company's policies. Many companies will have their employees sign a form that indicates the employee has received and understands what's contained in the company's handbook. As well as a company handbook, it's important to have written job descriptions for the various categories of employees - cleaning worker, team leader, supervisor, etc. Writing job descriptions will help you to define the skills and experience you want in an employee and what you expect of your employees. Job descriptions also show that you are expecting every employee to do the same duties and that you do not show favoritism. Besides having a handbook for your employees, you must also be prepared to document behaviors that violate company rules. Have a standard form for filling out violations. Your form should include the employee's name, job position, date and location the infraction took place and recommended corrective action. The employee and a supervisor should sign and date the form. Once the employee and supervisor signs the form, place it into the employee's file. Employees should also have a written job performance review. Employers may do performance reviews at 30 days, 90 days, 6 months and one year. Don't wait too long before giving your employees a review - if you don't let them know they are not doing their job correctly, how will they be able to improve? You need to have grounds to fire an employee who does not meet your cleaning company's expectations or one that violates your company's rules. Documentation is critical. The proper documentation will show that you had just cause for firing the employee. What are some of the key areas that you may experience problems? The most common problem areas for cleaning companies are tardiness and absenteeism. When you issue a warning to an employee, clearly state the problem and what will happen if the behavior does not change. For example, don't just say your behavior on Saturday is not acceptable. Do say, you have been late three times in the past two weeks and then explain why the employee needs to be on time. Document everything in writing and make sure the employee understands he or she must change his or her behavior. How many warnings you give depends on the situation. There may be certain situations, such as stealing, that you'll fire an employee with no previous warnings. In this case, be sure to list the possible scenarios that warrant immediate termination in your policy manual. Another important factor in limiting potential problems is giving your employees the proper training. You should make sure that all employees have an orientation. During orientation, go over your cleaning company's handbook and cleaning and safety procedures. It's best to use standardized training programs so all new employees are trained the same. Have them sign off on each section of training, stating that they've received training and understand the procedures. Since this is a lot of information to absorb in one sitting, you may want to conduct the cleaning and safety training separately from the orientation. So if you have to fire an employee, what procedures should you follow? Make sure your paperwork trail is in place and then arrange a meeting with the employee. Be honest and explain to the employee you are terminating their employment. Remind the employee there were multiple warnings, and that you gave the employee the opportunity to correct his or her behavior. If it's an incident such as stealing that calls for immediate termination, explain that this is a violation of the company handbook. It's a good idea to have a witness present when you have this meeting with the employee. Also, ask the employee to sign and date a Termination Statement that explains the reason for the termination. If the employee will not sign the form, have the witness sign with a note that the employee refused to sign the form. Some employers will have this meeting off-site to lessen disruptions to other workers. This might not be possible for your cleaning company. However, you should have the meeting when there are no other employees around. Do not allow a terminated employee to return to your office (or any building they've cleaned) to collect personal effects. Either escort the employee to the building to retrieve those items or collect the items yourself and send them to the employee's house to prevent any potential problems from an angry employee. Will firing an employee lower staff morale? It will most likely have the opposite effect. If you noticed potential problems with an employee, others on your cleaning staff also witnessed the employee's bad behavior. Firing someone who is ignoring company policies will show to your other employees that you are firm and fair and require everyone to abide by the same rules. Firing an employee is never easy. But following the proper procedures from the day an employee is hired, will protect you and your cleaning company from potential problems and lawsuits. Copyright (c) The Janitorial Store (TM)
Article Source: http://www.cleaningarticles.com
For more cleaning tips and information on starting and running a successful cleaning business, visit Jean Hanson at www.TheJanitorialStore.com. And while you're there, sign up for Trash Talk: Cleaning Tip of the Week. Read cleaning success stories at www.cleaning-success.com.
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