How Jan/San Distributors Can Retain Good Employees

Q: What advice do you have for retaining sales reps?

A: Retention is a critical issue for all new employees. I would take a phased approach. For the first 45 days, new hires need a lot of feedback, guidance, support, and encouragement. Twenty-two percent of turnover happens within the first 45 days. It's a critical time. And let's face it: learning to sell is hard. Learning to sell a new industry is even harder. These employees need a lot of mentorship, attention, and encouragement.

From months three to six, new hires still need support, but they also need opportunities to practice, succeed, and fail—creating safety around failure is reassuring. Don't throw them into the deep end too quickly, but do let them practice swimming in that part of the pool in a controlled environment.

From six months on, it's all about celebrating success, giving positive feedback and encouragement, and ensuring employees are establishing strong relationships with their customers, peers, and colleagues.

Q: What can jan/san distributors do to keep multiple generations of employees satisfied?

A: When it comes to leadership training and teaching essential communication skills, I always remind people that, as humans, we all have one basic, fundamental need: to be seen and heard. Making all employees at every level feel seen and heard is the most fundamental and essential role of leaders, managers, and frontline supervisors. If people feel seen and heard, at any age in any generation, they will be more likely to share their concerns, offer support, commit to working through the challenges, and celebrate success together.

Making all employees at every level feel seen and heard is the most fundamental and essential role of leaders, managers, and front-line supervisors. Sorry that I got on my soap box, but, man, it's important.

Q: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a survey in June of Americans who have recently changed jobs. It found changes in work-life balance are 50 percent more predictive of overall changes in job quality for women than for men. Do you find that to be a noteworthy consideration for jan/san distributors, and what can they do with that information?

A: Women are much more likely to bear a greater share of family responsibilities—caring for children/parents and managing households—than their male counterparts, and their careers often suffer for it. The most recent labor force participation rate showed the percentage of women age 16 and older actively working dropped from 57 percent in March to 56 percent in July 2026. The workforce participation rate for women started growing in the mid-1970s as women in great numbers entered the workforce, reaching an all-time high of 60 percent in 1999. But since then, their participation rate has been steadily decreasing.

The Pew Research Center and the Brookings Institute have reported that this decline is due to a lack of institutional family care support, alongside a mix of demographic aging and education shifts. Jan/san employers need to recognize that the flexibility and work-life balance women need is because of the complexity of the many roles they lead in their lives, and without that flexibility, women will look for work elsewhere.

Q: Investopedia suggested in August that half of workers say they're ready to quit but remain stuck in their job. Is this an opportunity to win back these employees?

A: It's never too late to help employees feel seen, heard, and appreciated. It's like planting a tree—the best time to do it was 20 years ago; the second-best time is today. Workers are stuck in their jobs because businesses are not in a hiring mood. But once they are, those employees will quit like they did in the Great Resignation, where roughly one-fifth of the workforce quit their jobs.

Now is a great time for jan/san distributors to review compensation to make sure it is keeping up with inflation. Now is a great time to start training supervisors and managers on how to give positive feedback. Now is a great time to look at ways to improve the mood, morale, and experiences employees are having at the company. Remember, quitting a job is scary and carries uncertainty. Focusing on retention will benefit everyone.

Q: If you were running a jan/san distribution business, what is the single thing you would lean into to both attract and retain employees across all positions?

A: Oh, that’s an easy one to answer! I'd train all of my supervisors and managers in some fundamental communication skills, like how to navigate conflict, how to give positive feedback, how to actively listen, how to show empathy, and how to make employees feel seen and heard, because employees want to feel like they matter.

The great news is that all of these skills are able to be taught and developed, no matter what generation we're talking about. Employees don't quit their jobs; they quit their bosses. My priority would be to train those bosses.

Jake Meister is the Managing Editor for Trade Press Media Group's Cleaning Group of brands. He works on three magazines: Sanitary Maintenance, Contracting Profits, and Facility Cleaning Decisions, as well as on Cleanlink.com, the home of all three publications. Jake has over five years of experience covering the commercial cleaning industry as an employee of Trade Press Media Group but also spent time as a freelance journalist for the company.
Jake has attended many commercial cleaning events where he enjoys connecting and networking with representatives from all corners of the industry. This often lays the groundwork for profile articles featured across the group. He excels at identifying outstanding individuals and/or programs that showcase the great things the commercial cleaning industry represents.
In addition to writing, Jake moderates many of CleanLink's educational webcasts, and he is the voice behind much of the social posts.
Follow Jake on LinkedIn here.

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How Jan/San Distributors Can Conquer Tight Labor Markets