A reader writes: “I may be old school but my attitude is that workers are to do what they are told to do without question. It is the job of management to make decisions, not them. Do you concur?”

Based on your rather high turnover of staff who do not stay more than thirty days, I believe you need to ask why this is happening since hiring and losing people can be a hidden cost that can radically impact your bottom line. Although I appreciate your being from the “old school” and may be a wealth of information as to systems and processes, I respectfully disagree with your attitude towards todays workers who come from a vast spectrum of society. The key point to understand is that each person is simply that: a person with individual needs, aspirations and desires. You need to accept the reality that as a “baby boomer” you were trained in a totally different environment than is acceptable today among the younger generations.

Other than in an emergency situation, where absolute obedience is necessary to protect and save lives you need to adopt a different attitude towards your staff. Some are experienced, dependable and require little supervision. Others are new to the industry and need to be given training, guidance and feedback on a regular basis.

You, and your management team need to get to know not only the skill sets of your staff but also to recognize their strengths and weaknesses. My recommendation is that you acknowledge your need to receive “people relations” training so that you can effectively reduce your turnover.

We are not in the cleaning business as much as we are in the people business. I encourage you to act accordingly.

Your comments and feedback are always appreciated. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean...

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678-314-2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net.


posted on 7/5/2017