employee retention

How to Keep Great Home Service Employees from Leaving

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KickStart: “There are two things people want more than sex and money: recognition and praise.” Mary Kay Ash, Founder of Mary Kay Ash Cosmetics

I count four very strong “wants” (desires) in Mary Kay’s quote above. And yet, I’m guessing YOUR #1 business desire/ want/ need is finding committed, hardworking and (most of all) reliable employees!

This ongoing recruiting quest for quality workers is brutal in today’s hiring crisis. But wait! You likely already have these reliable employees… already working for you!👍👍

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Stage Managing a New Service Hire’s BIG WELCOME!

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KickSTART: Program a brief but enthusiastic welcome reception for a new service employee when they arrive for their first day of work.

CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve recruited, verified, interviewed and hired a Very Best Person.👍 (Hopefully you’ve also performed a ‘Working Interview’ to make sure ‘Charlie’ won’t hate doing the work you’re offering!)

Even better, immediately after hiring Charlie you gave him a tour of your company. You also warmly introduced Charlie to your office staff.

Your goal? To foster an immediate sense of belonging and commitment to help Charlie fight the inevitable ‘New Hire Remorse’! (Too often my ‘New Hire’ would bail on me even before his or her first day on the job!)😲

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Keep New Home Service Workers From Bailing Out on You… Before They Even Start!

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KickStart: Tie your new employee to your company emotionally when you ‘stage manage their hiring’.

CONGRATULATIONS! You’ve hired a great new employee! Charlie is pumped about his new career, you’re over-the-moon excited and you can’t wait till Charlie starts on Monday morning! But then…

home services employee quits job last minuteOn Friday afternoon you get the dreaded text: “Steve, I appreciate the opportunity. But I’ve decided to go a different way in my career. Best wishes and I’m very sorry to do this to you. Charlie”

AAAARGH! What happened? Who knows?🤷‍♂️ Charlie got a better offer, his previous job called him back to work and/or his wife made fun of his new job working for your company! (You and I both know our Home Services industry is wonderful. But come on… we don’t have the greatest public image!)😲

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How to attract (and keep) great service employees!

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KickStart: Share money, praise and profits to attract and keep the Very Best People!

pigs get fat - hogs get slaughtered

I learned so much from my residential customers. After all, our clients had to be financially successful even to afford our high prices💲💲 So, I would just 1) ask questions and 2) LISTEN to my client’s answers.

One very wealthy CEO (who I suspect was a bit bored in retirement) often regaled me with his stories. Since I was trying to build a Critical Mass Business that could run without me I focused on Paul’s hiring tips. His first tip was…

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The ‘Triple-S’ work environment (Part 3)

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KickStart: Develop a STABLE company that homeowners AND your employees trust.

I can hear it now. “What’s with this ‘Triple-S’ stuff? Has Steve gone off his meds again?”🙄 Nope- Steve is just trying to save you from yourself! But don’t fret…

You’re not alone! Most Home Service business owners (including me) really are their own worst enemy!😲 However, after a lot of agony I finally developed a Home Services business that provided a…

1) Safe, 2) Sane, and 3) Stable work environment for employees. Let’s review the first two…

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The ‘Triple-S’ work environment (Part 2)

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KickStart: Reliable people (the ones you want to hire) will only stay long-term in a sane, non-crazy work routine.

All businesses are desperately searching (praying?)🙏 for safe, sane (no-drama), and stable (reliable) employees.💖 You too? Of course you are! After all, your business growth (and inevitable turnover) means you should constantly be ‘recruiting’!

WARNING: For you as a Home Services Pro sane and stable employees are critical! Why? Because you’re sending your workers into your customer’s ‘inner sanctum’, their home!

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All hail the ‘Triple-S’ work environment (Part 1)

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home services battle fighter

KickStart: Promote a 1) Safe, 2) Sane and 3) Stable atmosphere in your company to attract and keep the Very Best People. (HINT: It starts with YOUR example.)

If you’re reading this I’m guessing that you (like me) are a steely-eyed Home Services ‘gladiator’ (entrepreneur) that glories in the daily cut-and-thrust of commerce!

I was (Sioux says I still am)🙄 an adrenaline junky that ‘gets his fix’ from winning in the grand game of business! Is this you too? If so, here’s your danger…

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How to measure (and reward) your service employee’s performance

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KickStart: Pay your star employees more while also banking more profits yourself with this ‘WEB Plan’ concept.

co·nun·drum  /kəˈnəndrəm/ (noun) “a confusing and difficult problem.” Yep, our Residential Services Industry is full of… (wait for it) ‘conundrums’! For example…

stressed home service manager

Conundrum: You want (and need) to pay your employees more and yet… you still need to make a profit. YOUCH!

SOLUTION: Develop my concept of a Worker Efficiency Bonus (WEB) Plan that that A) holds your workers ACCOUNTABLE when they mess up but also B) REWARDS an employee when he or she creates extra profits for your company.👍👍

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Attract (and keep) great home service employees with ‘two-tier compensation’!

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KickStart: Rework your employee’s compensation (and culture) to reward extra effort while also holding them accountable for ‘avoidable mistakes’.

The definition of “compete”: “trying to get something others are also trying to get!”

“Ummm, thanks Steve but my middle name is ‘Compete’.😁 I’m getting my competition’s customers like crazy! So, I’m also getting their profits too! WOO-HOO!”

CONGRATULATIONS, ‘Compete’! However, in today’s brutal hiring environment you must ‘differentiate’ yourself from 1000’s of competing employers to successfully compete for- GREAT EMPLOYEES! But fear not, help is on the way…

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