CHICAGO — When the owners of drycleaning businesses can’t find enough help to fill roles due to a tight labor market, they are sometimes forced to roll up their sleeves and pitch in on the production side, rather than perform the actions only leaders can accomplish.
For this American Drycleaner Your Views survey, we asked owners about the roles they are currently playing in their businesses and why.
When asked to describe the current employment levels at their companies, the majority felt they were in a comfortable position, with 45.2% reporting they had “the right number of employees,” and 35.7% saying they could “use a few more.” On the other end of the scale, 7.1% felt they did not have enough employees “to keep up with demand,” and 4.8% said that “labor limits what services we provide.” The remaining 7.1% reported that they had “too many employees.”
“I do more with fewer employees,” a respondent says. “This is the reality of what I term ‘COVID Economics.’ This year, 2024, I hope to finally surpass 2019 in revenue.”
When they describe their role at their company, there are extremes at both ends, with 39.5% saying that “production demands pull me away from leadership too often,” while 27.9% report that “I am solely focused on leadership and growth.” Tying with 16.3% each were owners who say they “occasionally pitch in to help production” and “almost all my time is spent in production.”
“I have done it all, from bookkeeping to production and delivering, and now machine repair tech,” one respondent says. “It’s very hard to manage when you are working in your business and not on your business.”
“During the pandemic,” another says, “I was forced back into routes and day-to-day customer service management as our staff and clients shrunk. Post-pandemic, I still oversee customer service, but I’m back in the office trying to grow the company through profitable sales growth only.”
“Growth, culture and training employees to become leaders,” was the answer of one respondent when asked what they saw as their most important role as a leader. “I try to fire myself from many things and delegate these things to capable staff members. This sounds good, but it’s rather difficult.”
No matter what their role in their business, half (50%) of owners reported working more hours now than they were before the pandemic. Of the remaining half, 23.8% reported working about the same, while 26.2% said they were working less.
“It is wonderful to work on your business and get out of the day-to-day weeds as much as possible,” says an owner. “This leads to better decisions, more profitability and a better company for owners and our team.”
“You must balance time on the floor with time at the desk,” another owner offers. “The view from the penthouse is as important as the view from the shoreline. Both are necessary for leadership.”
The “Your Views” survey offers a current snapshot of the trade audience’s views. The publication invites qualified subscribers to American Drycleaner emails to participate anonymously in the unscientific poll each quarter.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Dave Davis at [email protected].
