For JANCOA, One-Time Growth Hurdle Now an Accelerant

Cincinnati, OH — For a lot of small to medium-size businesses, growth is almost a surprise dividend — a sort of cheerful perk that arrives at the door unannounced through little or no planning.

And so it was for JANCOA — a Cincinnati-based janitorial services company that for the lion’s share of its 41 years measured success by what was left after its bills had been paid.

At the same time, growth was something that JANCOA management at times feared.

“Back then, we just didn’t have enough people. Our work is largely done at night, so it had to be completed by 6:00 a.m., and we were 38 people short. We were really in pain,” explains Mary Miller, CEO of the company that her husband founded back in 1972.

High employee turnover rates are common across the janitorial services industry, and JANCOA’s nearly 345 percent personnel churn was considered slightly under the industry average.

While the link between growth and retention may appear obvious, Miller says that in the case of JANCOA, it took a consultant to expose the magnitude of the problem.

“Basically, the consultant told us that he couldn’t help us to grow until we solved our people problem,” explains Miller, who says that the solution ultimately required JANCOA to reject the part-time labor models widely used within its industry and instead put in place a full-time workforce.

“Not only did we go to full-time employment, but also we began using background checks and pre-employment drug testing — so we began attracting better employees,” observes Miller, who says that the firm’s sizable workforce investment soon distinguished JANCOA from its rivals, which have continued to rely on part-time labor.

“What we have learned is that part-time people come to work part of the time, and that was not enough to give our customers what they need,” says Miller, who soon began to apply even greater thought to her firm’s workforce challenge.

By accepting the notion that no one wants to be a janitor forever, Miller says, she began to consider what could motivate JANCOA employees to think of work as more than just a pay check. Miller’s solution was what has become known as “The Dream Manager,” an ongoing program that inspires JANCOA employees to identify and ultimately pursue their personal dreams.

Says Miller: “It’s not just about cleaning toilets and mopping floors anymore. It’s about going after a bigger future and being excited about possibilities.”

First rolled out in 2003, the program is credited with opening a new chapter of growth for the firm by recently lowering the employee turnover rate down to as low as 45 percent annually, while helping to elevate employee morale across the firm.

Miller credits the program, combined with JANCOA’s full-time employment policy, with transforming the firm’s workforce from 65 part-time workers to 340 full-time employees and helping to grow its revenue from $3 million to more than $11 million.

According to Miller, JANCOA employees are today much more engaged with their work because they are working toward something more meaningful. However, that something may require a worker to eventually leave JANCOA.

“We realized that when you give people permission to leave, and in fact give them the tools to pursue opportunities, you are also creating loyalty,” explains Miller, who estimates that 57 percent of JANCOA’s employee referrals come from current employees, while 17 percent of its employee referrals come from previous employees.

“Most of the time, our industry is not one that people aspire to go into. Often we find that our people are in a transition mode, but what then happens is that they discover they like how we treat them,” says Miller.

As part of the Dream Manager approach, JANCOA employees are eligible for one-on-one coaching sessions and group classes to help them identify their dreams and develop action steps to achieve them.

“The people who come to work in our industry are typically undereducated, and learning to speak English is a common first pursuit,” explains Miller, who says that the Dream Manager program has led JANCOA employees to pursue college degrees, home ownership, and different professional accreditations.

Along the way, Miller says, JANCOA employees have increasingly helped each other to reach their goals: “When people feel better about themselves, they automatically begin to try to help other people — it’s just human nature.”