The Changing Landscape of the Labor Market

img The Changing Landscape of the Labor Market

When I talk to potential customers, the most common complaints I hear are about employee turnover and the lack of time spent servicing their facility (i.e. details get missed and overall quality is lower than needed). I know the simple answer to why they are experiencing this – the person or persons doing the actual cleaning are not being paid enough.

When I opened the Vanguard Cleaning business in Louisville in May 2010 the state unemployment rate was 10.2%, the US rate was 9.6%. The economy was still reeling from the financial crisis that started in 2007 and many businesses were struggling to survive.

I have witnessed fantastic growth and development in Louisville and Lexington in the past 5+ years, and it has been a wonderful time for our local economies, businesses and workers. The unemployment rate in Kentucky has declined to 4.1% as of February 2019! The lack of available workers and the growth of shipping and logistics in our region have dramatically impacted starting wage rates (Amazon is at $15, many others at this level or beyond). To keep up, retail and food businesses such as Target and Panda Express have raised their starting rate to $13.

At Vanguard Cleaning, we always work with our customers to create a transparent pricing solution that will create a Win-Win-Win situation (Customer, Vanguard and the actual people doing the cleaning). We all want the same thing from our vendors, consistent and quality service that is set up for long term execution!

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