The janitorial business is basically a people business. You don’t have some piece of proprietary technology that churns out widgets. Rather, assembling a stellar team and leading them to serve others determines success in the cleaning industry. To make this happen, you must have the right people in the right leadership seats. Stated another way, if you don’t have high quality supervisors and managers, you won’t retain good customers. It really is that simple. But how do you know if you have the right people? Additionally, how do you know if those right people are in the right seats? Let’s explore what Gino Wickman says in his book, Traction, and apply it to the janitorial world.
The Right People
According to Traction, getting the right people on your team is actually a pretty simple process, but one we often overlook. First, we want to have a solid understanding of what our core values are at the company. At my company, those values are humility, integrity, excellence, and ownership mentality. You want to rate each person on each of those values. Do they strongly display the value? Are they definitely not on board with a specific value? Or do they lie somewhere in between?
The right people will display all of your core values. With each value, you should be able to say, “Yes, Jane scores high on that.” If someone is not on board with a specific value, they are most likely not the right person for your organization. I know what you are thinking. This is so elementary. Yes! But most companies fail to perform this simple exercise.
The Right Seats
It is not enough for someone to be the right person. The right people also need to be in the right seats. To know if someone is in the right seat, we apply the GWC test. Do they GET it? Do they WANT it? Do they have the CAPACITY to do it? When someone “gets” it, they understand the position, how it relates to other positions in the company, how it fits into the structure of the whole, and what the primary objectives are.
A person “wants” it when they truly have a desire for the job. They know what the job entails and they are excited about performing well in that job. They see the job as a good fit for them. And finally, does the person have the capacity to perform the duties of the job? Do they have the skillset and the intellectual capacity to fulfill that role?
Applying This In Your Cleaning Company
Let me encourage you to apply the right people test and combine it with the GWC test. This should help you gain a better understanding of where your team stands and perhaps move you forward in a better direction.
