Manage & Lead
Human Resources and Leadership: Find, Hire, Lead and Keep the Right People for Your Team!
Running your own business in the building maintenance industry means wearing a lot of hats. You’re dealing with customers, suppliers, inspections, and of course, you’re keeping your crews moving. Contractor Wise knows that when it comes to managing employees, getting the right support makes all the difference. That’s where human resources (HR) comes in. A strong HR approach helps you keep your crew fully staffed with reliable, skilled workers who are motivated, paid fairly, and treated with respect. In short, good HR policies help keep your workforce happy and productive, so you can focus on growing your business.
The Basics of Managing your Workforce
Scheduling, Time and Attendance Tracking and Company Policies
There are a number of Payroll Service for Small Businesses. You can research some of them here. Scheduling and time and attendance tracking can link directly to your company’s payroll operations.
Develop company policies and procedures – this involves identifying needs, current processes and specific goals. You’ll want to develop company values and research legal requirements. Create a list of necessary policies, put into a document and provide to employees for them to read and sign. Use the checklist below to help you.
Download PDF: Company Policy & Procedure Development Checklist
The Five Major Functions of HR
The five major functions of HR include recruiting and hiring, onboarding, training and development, performance evaluation, and compensation and benefits.
Recruiting and Hiring. There are a many public and private job boards where you can post your available positions and gather candidates.
Download PDF: Recruiting Platforms
Screen and interview candidates to determine their skill set and if they would be a good fit for your business.
Download PDF: Employee Screening and Interviewing Checklist
Onboarding
Congratulations, you found a great candidate whom you would like to hire! The first step is to send an offer letter to the employee who completes the interview process. Here’s a template you can customize and use.
Download Word Doc: Employee Offer Letter Template
Effective onboarding requires being organized and prepared. Here’s an editable checklist you can customize for your business.
Download Word Doc: Employee Onboarding Checklist
Training and Development
Our Industry Training Resource page contains multiple options for online skills training. It’s important to have a plan for developing skills and ensuring your new employee fully understands the expectations of their role.
While training videos are convenient and a great place to start, in-person instruction from a supervisor, as well as in-the-field demonstrations, help solidify skills competency.
Here is a checklist to help you build your training plan.
Download Word Doc: Effective Training Recommendations for Janitorial Employees
Here’s a Training Guide Template that you can edit and customize for your business.
Download Word Doc: Janitorial Employee Training Guide Template
Workplace/Job site Safety Resources
Jobsite safety is a critical component of running your business. And the building maintenance industry often requires safety training to ensure the safety of both employees and the public. A great place to start is the Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) safety training in the U.S. and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety in Canada (CCOHS). But even these are not comprehensive for any one contractor, state or province. You must do your own research for anything required in your specific skilled area, your state or province.
Here is a link to the official US Government OSHA Training information:
Training | Occupational Safety and Health Administration
And below is a link directly to the OSHA Training Materials Library. You can find information for everything from PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to Workplace Violence.
Training and Reference Materials Library | Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Your resource for Canada Safety Compliance can be found with the link below, including a Business Safety Portal you can set up (free through your WSIB online services account).
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
Performance Evaluations
It’s important to schedule and conduct regular employee evaluations to benefit your business and employee development. Employees deserve feedback to help them understand where they are doing well and where they can improve. Here is a template you can use for conducting employee evaluations.
Download Word Doc: Janitorial Performance Evaluation form
Compensation and Benefits
A comprehensive compensation package includes both direct and indirect rewards, such as base salary or hourly rate, bonuses, benefits, equity and perks, all designed to attract, retain and motivate employees. The Departments of Labor in both the United States and Canada will provide industry information so you can determine what is competitive and fair.
United States Department of Labor The Department administers a variety of Federal labor laws, including those that guarantee workers’ rights to safe and healthful working conditions; a minimum hourly wage and overtime pay; freedom from employment discrimination; unemployment insurance; and other income support.
Additional Resource
Vet Jobs - VetJobs makes it easy to reach transitioning military, National Guard, Reserve Component members and veterans who have separated over the last several decades and are now productive members of the civilian workforce in all disciplines, including their family members.
Leadership
You’ve built your team, now it’s time to lead them. Driving performance, creating a positive workplace culture and retaining top talent all contribute to running a successful business. Here are a few “tried and true” resources that can help you build, assess, and retain a strong team.
Here is a list of the Top Ten Leadership Strategies that help build a strong team.
Download PDF: Leadership Basics Top Ten
Here are some of the tools mentioned in the Top Ten list.
Download PDF: GROW Model Discussion Template
Download PDF: RACI Responsibility Grid
A 9-Box Grid can be used to evaluate team members and help you formulate your plan to promote them, get their highest level of performance, or help them see that the role is not a good fit. Instructions for how to use the 9-Box Grid can be downloaded here.