Suzanne Waring is arguably Britain’s most straight-talking boss.
She’s the managing director of The Helping Hands Group in Lancashire and says honesty and trust are her absolute non-negotiables.
It’s the reason why she’ll never employ ex-prisoners or agency staff.
She’s not against rehabilitation but won’t do anything to jeopardise the business she founded in 1999.
“I don’t want anyone who has dropped out the back of a prison van working for me,” she told The Naked Founder podcast. “Let someone else give them a second chance.”
She said recruitment is hard because people don’t want to work. “They all want the handfuls of cash but they don’t want the graft,” admitted Waring.
The mum of twin boys was working for the police when she decided in 1999 to launch her own cleaning business.
Twenty-seven years later, The Helping Hands Group has four divisions, employs 40 people and has a turnover of more than £1m.
In Waring’s business, reputation is everything.
“The biggest thing for me is honesty,” Waring told The Naked Founder podcast. “When I see a potential client I’m honest with them. When I deal with my team I’m honest with them. I say it as it is. Honesty and trust are the biggest things for me.”
It’s one of the reasons why she has a zero-tolerance approach towards employing agency staff.
“I like to know the team,” she admitted. “I like to employ the team. I like to know everything about them. Agency staff drift in and out. There’s no loyalty there. They are not bringing anything to my party.
“They’re going to turn up and not know what they’re doing. They’re not going to be trained to the standard that I want them. There’s a lot of reasons why I don’t (employ agency staff).”
In 1999, Waring was working for Lancashire Constabulary and was a mum to twin boys when she decided to launch her own cleaning business.
That was the start of The Helping Hands Group and she’s been cleaning and maintaining domestic and commercial properties ever since.
Today, the business has expanded into four divisions and also employs registered nurses and healthcare assistants.
Waring has a policy of sending two staff to every job and her business has been completely bootstrapped.
The founder recently turned 60 and admits she has no plans to retire. “My dad retired at 77,” she said. “I’m not done. I’ve a lot more to do.”
The Naked Founder is sponsored by Financielle and produced by Dan Brown of Renowned.
You can listen to the episode here