How do you keep your crew motivated and paid when work slows down?

Great question. Slow season used to stress me out, because when the schedule dries up, morale drops fast and paychecks shrink. That’s a hard combo.

What changed everything for us was realizing we can’t “hype” our way out of a slow month. We had to build a business model that doesn’t rely on peak season chaos.

Over the last year, we intentionally stopped taking on more seasonal clients (like short-term rentals) and focused on onboarding second homeowners who need consistent, year-round support.

We shifted toward a subscription-style model with recurring visits throughout the month, like:

• Monthly cleaning (even light cleans when they haven’t been up)
• House watch / property walks
• Hot tub cleaning
• Snow plowing

Then in the shoulder seasons we stack in the “seasonal add-ons” like:

• Dryer vent cleaning
• Window cleaning
• Other preventative home care services

Even if we only had one core service (like cleaning), we’d still sell the same thing: consistency.

Because what our second homeowners really want isn’t just a clean house. They want peace of mind.

Yes, they may have cameras, alarms, temp sensors, and leak detectors. But nothing replaces the comfort of knowing a real person walked their home, checked it, and would catch issues before they become expensive problems.

So instead of being reactive, we became steady. Not rushed. Not random. Not seasonal. Just dependable support from a local team.

That shift has helped us keep our techs busy year-round with minimal downtime, and we also keep marketing year-round so we stay top-of-mind. You don’t fix a slow month by yelling louder. You fix it by being more relevant to the right people.

That’s a challenge a lot of us face during slower seasons. One thing that’s worked for me is being upfront with the crew about the situation and involving them in finding solutions. Transparency builds trust, and people appreciate knowing what’s going on rather than being left guessing.

On the motivation side, I try to keep them engaged with smaller projects — things like equipment maintenance, training, or even community service jobs that don’t bring in big revenue but keep everyone active and learning. It helps morale and builds skills for when business picks back up.

As for pay, some owners set aside a “slow season fund” during busy months to cover reduced hours later. Another option is offering flexible schedules or partial shifts so everyone gets something rather than laying people off completely. Even small gestures, like bonuses tied to training completion or loyalty, can go a long way in showing you value them.

I think combine transparency with creative ways to keep people busy, and plan financially during peak times so you can support the team when things slow down. It’s not easy, but keeping morale high now pays off when the busy season returns.

Preventative maintenance contracts, cleaning/organizing vehicles and taking inventory

We do residential house cleaning.  We also have our slow seasons.  Usually in January.  We ask our team to take vacation during this time.  In the summer time (we are in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with about 5-6 months winter) we get our team to distribute doorknockers.  

We offer year-round property maintenance contracts that roll from one season to the next. So for us, our staff wages are always covered, even if there is no work to be done on site. Not to say that our staff stay idle. There is always something to do. 

To note, we have two shoulder seasons.

1. Winter to Spring transition: There is no snow to move, but we cannot start the spring cleanups yet. 
2. Fall to Winter transition: Fall cleanups are complete, and it's not snowing.

We offer seasoned firewood and waste bin rentals. During our shoulder seasons, these two services ramp right up.  We also use this time to get the growing-season equipment ready and, likewise, the winter equipment in the late fall. 

I've seen lots of service companies venture into holiday lighting. If you are good at it, you can make some mad money. People love their Christmas lights!