Most cleaners worry about getting good help. Without good staff, you don’t have a business. Being the kind of boss for whom others want to work is a big part of making your future plans come true.

You may think you are calling someone in for an interview, but they are really interviewing you. You only have a couple of minutes to convince that person how nice you are, how well your business is run, and how happy they would be working for you.

We have a lot of strikes against us when it comes to recruiting employees. Kids don’t say they want to grow up to be dry cleaners. Even dry cleaners don’t want their kids in the industry. Let’s look at some of the reasons why people don’t want to be dry cleaners and see if you can’t beat the odds by overcoming the drawbacks.

Health and Safety

Most small plants don’t have formalized Health and Safety programs, but that doesn’t mean you can’t protect your workers. Do you have SDS sheets for every chemical substance in your plant? Do your staff know where the sheets are and how to use them? Who has first aid training in your plant? Show your people the first aid kit and get them proper PPE.

Are your pipes insulated? Uncovered pipes are one of my pet peeves. Why do we consider it normal for our people to get burned regularly? Would you choose a job for your children where they are periodically injured? It may be just a ‘small burn’, but why should there be any burns?

Why do I have to risk my technicians’ safety to work in your plant? Spend the money to insulate your pipes and protect people. You will also save money on gas, and your plant will be cooler in the summer.

You can get NOMEX ‘sleeves’ that protect people’s arms. Your pressers can wear them quite comfortably. Our guys wear coveralls – even in the summertime – since we are always touching a pipe or a machine. It is better to be uncomfortably hot than to have a nasty burn.

Schedule

Your competition for new employees is not the cleaner down the street but the big box store. They know the value of good staff and will tailor a schedule to match an employee’s lifestyle. Does an employee need to pick up their kids at a certain time? Do they need special days off? A lack of flexible scheduling might be enough to make an employee go elsewhere.

Our technicians work 10-hour days (sometimes 12), which makes it easier to finish big jobs. But they only have to commute four days instead of five, and every weekend is a long weekend. Do you think that doesn’t affect their job satisfaction?

Equipment

Do you have nice machines for them to use? Or do you expect them to spend four hours a day bagging clothes? What a depressing job that would be. Your machines don’t have to be new, but they have to be clean and functioning correctly. Do they work well enough that employees can do their expected work?

Unless you have experienced it, you have no idea how the atmosphere changes in a plant when someone gets a new machine. They know that you have spent money on them by buying the new equipment. You care about the work they do and are trying to help them do it well. Most people respond very well to that.

Creature Comforts

How comfortable is your plant? Do you have HVAC? Some plants are absolutely unbearable in the summer. It’s hot. It’s humid. The work is hard and repetitive. Why would anyone choose to work there?

Most of the employees in our industry are people who don’t have any other option. Because of their lack of education or language skills, they have no choice. But that doesn’t mean you can take advantage of them and not care for them.

Do you have a lunch room (and I mean more than half a broom closet)? Do you pay overtime? Do you offer coffee breaks? Compare what you offer your employees with what one of the big stores gives to their employees. You have to give people a better work situation to attract better employees.

Training

I have mentioned it many times: spend some money training your people, whether it’s an online class, a trainer you bring to your plant, or a course they travel to attend. They will appreciate the investment you make in their future, and they will do a better job for you. The more they know, the easier your job will be. You will spend less time supervising, pay fewer claims, and employees will be comfortable doing their jobs.

You have to do something!

Did you notice that I haven’t said anything about wages? Pay rates have to be fair, but they are not everything. Being appreciated is huge. We all have to eat, but we also want to be valued. How do you express your appreciation for your employees?

The bottom line is, would you work for you? If you answer ‘No’, you are the only person who can fix the situation. Without good people, all you have is a warehouse filled with old machines. Wouldn’t you rather have a thriving business with long-term employees and a future upward trend?

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Kevin and Paula Marois founded Calgary-based Integrity Mechanical in 2003 to service plants in western Canada. He writes on issues related to equipment, its purchase, maintenance and use. You can reach Kevin at office@imicanada.ca or via his website www.imicanada.ca.