Over time, I’ve seen an interesting trend unfold in the pages of Contracting Profits. Rather than simply covering the how-to topics common in trade publications, we’ve continually addressed issues that are more controversial, generating industry dialog regarding a variety of topics. While our own staff writers often have lead the charge, most recently, I’ve noticed the ability of our regular columnists to help stir the pot as well.

I say, Bravo. In an industry that has offered the same services for decades, someone has to shake things up to avoid complacency. In this issue, both columnists are doing just that.

You’ll find John Walker mentioning what a lot of us would like to say — if you have so many problems with your workers, why not make sure you hire only the good ones?

Yes, it’s tough to find people willing to clean toilets in the middle of the night, but there still are good workers out there. As John suggests, you’ve got plenty of competitors in every town across America, and if you lure just a few good employees away from each, you’ll have a successful work force.

And if you’re starting to protest that you have to hire someone to fill all those vacancies you currently have, turn to Joe Fairley’s column where he asks why you even would look for new accounts if you don’t already have a proper plan to staff them. He offers a helpful checklist for assessing your current labor situation to determine how to plug the holes, promote the people who can be most helpful and plan for future profits based on talent.

Both of our columnists have been around the block, and they know contract cleaning can be tough, but they also realize that successful companies don’t fall down in the face of defeat. To stay on top of your market, you must ask tough questions, and then follow through with the answers — something I’m sure you’ll see in issues to come.




POSTED ON: 3/1/2001