Employees - Home Front Success

How to Keep Great Home Service Employees from Leaving

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!👍👍

OBSESS Over (Your Service Employees) FEELINGS!

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

I’m guessing the late poet Maya Angelou never owned a Home Services business! But her words are the key to build a “Critical Mass” residential services company. Here’s why…

Stage Managing a New Service Hire’s BIG WELCOME!

by Steve Toburen

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!)😲

How to Spread Your Load with ‘Shared Accountability’ in Residential Services

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: Reduce your personal pressure by sharing the accountability (and rewards) with your employees.

24-7 PRESSURE… 365 days a year!😲 Sound familiar? If you own or manage a residential services business… very likely this is your life!

True- we all have to deal with pressure and now more than ever. But for you the pressure is non-stop with workers in the emotionally perilous residential environment! Why? Because there are so many moving parts to your Home Services business!

The Why and How of Sincerely Thanking Your Service Employees!!

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: Bonus your people ’emotionally’ when you warmly express sincere (and specific) gratitude for their hard work.

Owning a home services business is not for the “faint of heart”! It can be a very lonely entrepreneurial journey.😥 In fact, many residential services business owners become isolated, suspicious and even cynical. I get it- I too spent far too many years on this negative path.

But then I realized needed help. And who knew better the pressures and struggles of working for homeowners than… my employees? So I started delegating authority AND sharing accountability with my workers. Amazingly…

Stop your “Nobody Wants to Work in Service Any More” Grumbling- NOW!

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: Don’t fool yourself with the “Nobody wants to do service work any more?” complaint. Instead, ask the more productive question: “Why doesn’t anyone want to work for… ME?”

Everyone from Fortune 500 CEO’s to your local competitors slamming down boilermakers at lunch are all desperate to hire more home service employees. And they’re all moaning the same complaint…

“Nobody wants to work any more!”😫

Seriously? Nobody? As in, “Not one single person?” Come on, people! As I write this the U.S. has a 3.6% unemployment rate. So a bit of simple math tells us that…

How to Attract (and Keep) Great Service Employees!

by Steve Toburen

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

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…

All Hail the ‘Triple-S’ Work Environment (Part 1)

by Steve Toburen

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…

Why you Should Thank Your Home Service Staff for Telling you ‘Bad News’!😲

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: Commend (and reward) employees when they share ‘bad news’ with you! Read on for the ‘why and how’…

I love surprises.🎆✨🎊🎉 Surprise gifts, surprise parties, and yep, being surprised with a kiss from Sioux!💖 (Even after 47 years I still appreciate her!) HOWEVER, in my Home Services business I had one cast iron employee rule :

NEVER, ever surprise me!

BEFORE Hiring Do a ‘Trial Hire’

by Steve Toburen

KickStart: BEFORE hiring even the best job applicant pay them to work with you for a day.

Have you ever received a text like this from a new hire? (Remember, this applicant interviewed great!)😥

If so, here’s the deal: You LOVE the Home Services industry. (Me too!) But hard as it is to believe…