Hopefully you’ve come to realise that systems in your business reduce stress, allow you to work less, take more time off without worrying that you have to be ‘on call’ every minute of the day, and also creates happier, more productive employees. And customers are happy because they get a predictable experience.
If you are unable to work, having written systems can allow someone to simply ‘take your place’ with minimum training. Now you can finally get ‘off the truck’. If you want to hire someone to answer the phone, simply hand them your Operations Manual and watch them begin immediately.
And remember, as owners we have not one job but three:
- A Marketing Business with the purpose of lining up new business
- A Service Delivery Business which job is to deliver world class service
- A Client Retention Business to keep the clients we already have.
And you’ll recall, with all our ‘hats’ to wear, many small business owners are simply ‘burned out.’
The answer could be – hire an employee!
As I write this, I’ve just returned from a holiday in Morocco. Because of systemising my business, it has kept running without me. I’ve had an employee answering the phone and booking in work while I’ve been lying around beside a pool in the sun.
Now, ‘parenting employees’ is the most difficult thing I’ve ever done, but having a technician and having the business on ‘autopilot’ is the best way to be. The problem is... how exactly do you find a suitable employee?
First, let me tell you about my previous experience of trying to recruit. The difficulty we face is that there is no perceived glamour in cleaning carpets and upholstery. In fact, people can be a little embarrassed to tell their friends that they are just a cleaner.
That means that most people who apply for your vacancy will be totally unsuitable. They may be able to clean, but our job involves much more than that. It includes for example: being smart and ‘personable’ so that clients feel happy with us in their homes (and remember, we go into private places where no-one else is invited), being able to converse with clients; being able to upsell without a hard sell; being able to explain why they should have carpet protector and the benefits of regular cleaning and so on.
I’ve previously used the Job Centre and others to try to hire. In my view this is a huge mistake and will result in a large quantity of unsuitable prospects. Why? I’ve found that the Job Centre’s priorities are totally different from mine. I want a top-quality technician... they want to get someone off of the unemployed list. That’s why they’ve sent me amongst others, a man totally covered in paint (presumably he was in the middle of a job!) and plenty of others who told me exactly how to clean carpets and swore at me whilst doing so. I’m guessing they’ll be using bad language with my clients too.
So, here’s the easiest way I’ve found to hire a suitable employee without spending hours filtering out all the non-starters. It really is quite ingenious!
Run a small classified ad in the local paper. Direct all applicants to a recorded message that explains exactly the type of person you are looking for. (There are now many telecoms companies in the UK that can provide this at a cost of around £50 including a freephone number). This message can be quite detailed and will cost considerably less than explaining it all in an advert in the paper. Then invite applicants to leave a message explaining exactly why you should hire them. This way, you can hear what they sound like and you don’t have to spend hours on the phone while they interview you for the job. You can tell straightaway whether or not they sound like they can communicate well with your clients. If they sound good, phone them back and get them to fill in a Job Application Form. You’ve immediately filtered out most, if not all of the time wasters. It’s that easy.