How do/would you charge employees?

[Niko Molina]

You run a professional detailing business by yourself. It's going well. You realize you're overwhelmed by the amount of clients you're getting...you need help. You need guys working for you to help detail these cars..

Mobile or fixed. Doesn't matter. If it's mobile, you decide to invest in a SECOND rig that your other detailer can operate...OR, you decide to open a fixed location so that you have both a fixed AND a mobile operation. If it's fixed, you simply need more employees to help you run the show. With either situation...

I think we can all agree knowledge and experience separates a beginner from an amateur from a master detailer.

Paying Your Employees
How do you pay those guys? The guys just starting out to the guys that have been working for you for 4 months to a guy working for you for a year?

Require Them To Increase Their KNOWLEDGE?
Do you recommend they read certain detailing books (i.e. Mike Phillip's books) or watched videos and receiving a bonus check or a pay raise? That's increasing their knowledge and turning them into better detailers. To prove they actually read the material, you could have "tests" you constructed yourself that they would have to take. "Passing" said test would show you they have retained the information they read from the detailing handbook and they have increased their knowledge, resulting in a reason to increase their pay.

Require Them To Increase Their EXPERIENCE?
Increase their pay based on the amount of cars they detail? That's increasing experience. The more they've been around the scene and have actually done the work hands-on is a reason to increase their pay.

Require Them To Increase Their KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE?
Or a mixture of both? Do you provide them with the resources to educate themselves (books/videos), require that they read/watch AND require them to have a certain number of cars detailed in order to receive raises?

All Paid The Same Regardless of Knowledge/Experience
Or are they all paid one flat rate? The beginners, amateurs, and vets all make $15/hr or something like that.

[CCC4me]

I've always preferred piecework. As their knowledge increases so will their production and therefore pay. Also, it makes it a little more straightforward when it comes time to fix errors--either they do it on their time (not the clock) or another detailer will and charge back the cost to the original detailer. A generous piecework rate will incentivize them to increase their skills as opposed to trying to force it upon them.