I’ve had to let people go. Yes some I really liked, but let's be honest, some I've just put up with way too long. There I said what I think a lot of us are thinking and possibly doing and it is not a bad thing.
Yes, some were nice people and some you just learned to work with. Most of them are hardworking in their own way. People I’d shared coffees with. People who, in a different context, I’d possibly have a beer with.
But at some point, you realise liking or tolerating someone isn’t enough. Because when they’re in the wrong job (or the wrong fit for the team), they’re not just holding themselves back. They’re dragging the whole thing down. And in this line of work, commercial cleaning, that ends up costing both you, a client and us, the cleaning company.
It costs you in performance. It costs you in the morale of your team. And it can even cost you in reputation.
I’ve seen it play out firsthand. A cleaner or even a supervisor who’s lovely on a personal level, but just can’t deliver on the job. One who’s always cutting corners. Or needs to be micromanaged just to hit the basics. You try everything. Extra training. Moving them to a different team. Checking in more frequently.
You want them to succeed... I always do
But there comes a moment when you realise, “This is what it’s going to be. They’re not going to change.” And when you don’t make the call, someone else pays for it. Usually the clients. Or the rest of your team. Or both.
I’ll be honest here. As a business owner, these decisions weigh on me. I don’t enjoy letting someone go. I sit with it. I second-guess. I replay what I could’ve done differently. And sometimes I still wonder if I gave them every chance. But being a leader means making the hard calls, even when they don’t feel good. Because avoiding it doesn't spare anyone, it just delays the fallout.
But every time we keep someone too long because they’re “nice,” or “not that bad,” or “trying,” we’re making a decision. We’re choosing comfort over accountability. And the longer we wait, the more damage gets done.
Because here’s the truth no one likes to say out loud...
Bad staff don’t just underperform, they corrode
They corrode trust. They corrode the culture you’ve worked hard to build. People stop caring. They start doing the bare minimum. They think, “Well, why should I give my best if they don’t have to?” And in an industry like commercial cleaning, where most of the work happens behind the scenes, that mindset can destroy the quality of our service.
I know this because I’ve gotten it wrong before.
I’ve kept people for too long, hoping they’d lift. Wanting to believe the extra coaching would fix it. And every time I’ve done that, I’ve paid for it. The rest of the team paid for it. And honestly, the team member paid for it too, because deep down, they could feel it wasn’t working. We both could.
When leaders avoid these calls, the team starts to think, “This is the standard now.”
This is what we allow. And the ones who are working hard, who care about the job, start wondering why they bother.
That’s why we take this seriously at In-Tec. If someone isn’t a fit, we will no longer wait six months or more to figure it out. We will now step in early. Of course we will give them the support and tools they need to succeed. But we will also draw a line. Because we’re not just here to tick boxes. We’re here to take care of our clients. And that means building a team that takes pride in their work and takes responsibility when they fall short.
We used to try and rescue everyone
Now we support them, but we don’t rescue. There’s a difference. Supporting someone means giving them every opportunity to improve. Rescuing means carrying them when they’re not willing to walk. That’s not fair to the rest of the team. It’s not fair to our clients. And it’s not helping the person either.
This is a skilled industry. Our cleaners are professionals. And they deserve to work in a team where everyone pulls their weight. That only happens when we’re honest about who belongs and who doesn’t.
Our clients also depend on us. They trust that the people we send to their site are capable, responsible, and trained. That trust is earned over time, but it can be broken in a single shift. One bad experience. One careless mistake. That’s all it takes. So when we talk about letting go of the wrong people, it’s not just an internal issue. It’s a promise to the people who count on us.
Sometimes, the kindest thing you can do—for the person, the team, and the business—is to say: this isn’t working. Keeping someone in the wrong place helps no one. Not them. Not you. Not the people they work with.
If you’re seeing the signs on your site (sloppy work, low standards, things always being missed) ask yourself the harder question. Is it the cleaner? Is it the system that supports them? Or is it a leadership decision waiting, no, that needs to be made?
Standards aren’t about being perfect. They’re about showing everyone on the team what “good” looks like. It gives people something to aim for, and something to be proud of. And when someone can’t or won’t meet those standards, it’s not personal. It just means this isn’t the right place for them.
And that’s OK.
But letting them stay anyway? That’s not kindness.
That’s disrespectful to the rest of the team.
Because when standards slip, it’s not just a missed bin or dirty floor. It’s a broken promise to the people who expect better and deserve more.
So, if like me, you are evaluating your team, looking at them post the last five years and thinking that you have ended up hiring the wrong person, you are not alone. I get that the decision may be a hard one, however my support team has seen the change in our team once we let the bad ones go.
Yes, we are all human, however tough decisions have to be made, for the better of everyone.
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