Where to find reliable cleaners, how to write job posts that attract them, how to screen and interview, background check and classification rules, paying correctly including travel time and how to keep good cleaners once you hire them.
Cleaning companies sell trust: clients let your staff into homes and offices, often when nobody is there. One unreliable or dishonest hire can lose a client. At the same time, turnover in cleaning is high, and every departure means recruiting and training again. A consistent hiring process is one of the best investments a cleaning business can make. See how to start a cleaning business for the bigger picture.
EZTime task management lets you assign one-time or recurring tasks to each shift and see them done.
Cleaners compare jobs on pay, hours, location and how they will be treated. A good post includes:
Hiring checklist complete.
Our cleaner job description guide has a template you can adapt.
Start with a five-minute phone screen to confirm availability, location, transport and pay expectations. Then interview in person with practical questions:
Listen for honesty, attention to detail and reliability. A paid trial clean with an experienced team member shows real skills; if the candidate does productive work, pay for it.
Many clients expect background-checked cleaners, and some contracts require it. Follow the rules: under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, you need written disclosure and authorization before using a consumer reporting agency, and specific steps before taking adverse action. Many states and cities have fair chance or ban-the-box laws that limit when and how you can ask about criminal history, often not until after a conditional offer, and require an individualized assessment. Apply the same standards to all candidates for the same role.
Cleaners who work your schedule, at your clients, using your methods and supplies, are generally employees. Treating them as independent contractors to avoid payroll taxes and overtime is a common and costly mistake. See independent contractor vs. employee. As employees, they need Form I-9 and W-4 and must be covered by workers’ compensation in most states.
Two federal deadlines apply to every new cleaner, plus the test that decides whether they are an employee at all:
A cleaner who works your client list, on your schedule, with your supplies and your checklist, is very unlikely to be in business for themselves. Treat them as an employee from day one and keep the new-hire report on your onboarding checklist next to the I-9.
Cleaning companies face particular pay risks because staff move between sites:
See cleaning company payroll for more detail.
Do not wait until you are short-staffed to recruit. Cleaning demand often grows in steps, such as when you win a new commercial contract, and a rushed hire under pressure is more likely to fail. Keep a short list of qualified candidates from previous rounds, maintain a few part-time or on-call cleaners who can pick up extra shifts and plan hiring before you sign new contracts. Our guide to winning cleaning contracts explains how to plan labor for new work.
Give every new cleaner a clear start: a welcome, your standards and checklists, safety and chemical training, how to clock in at each site, client etiquette and who to call with problems. Pair them with an experienced cleaner for their first jobs. See cleaning staff training and the house cleaning checklist.
EZTime lets cleaners see their schedules and client addresses on their phones, clock in at each site with a GPS stamp or NFC tag, complete checklists with photos and swap shifts with approval. Hours, including travel between sites, are tracked for payroll. See EZTime for cleaning services.
Referrals from your best cleaners, local job boards, community organizations, workforce programs and people with hospitality or housekeeping experience. Referral bonuses often bring the most reliable hires.
Cleaners who work the schedule you set, at your clients, using your methods and supplies, are generally employees. Misclassifying them creates back pay, tax and penalty risk.
Generally yes. Travel between job sites during the workday is work time for non-exempt employees and counts toward overtime.
Yes, with written disclosure and authorization under the Fair Credit Reporting Act if you use a screening company, and following state and local fair chance laws on when and how criminal history can be considered.
Yes, but total weekly pay must meet minimum wage for all hours worked, including travel, and overtime must be paid on the regular rate for hours over 40.
Ask practical ones: ‘Walk me through how you would clean a bathroom from start to finish.’ ‘What would you do if you broke something in a client’s home?’ ‘How do you handle a client who is home and talking while you work?’ Listen for a clear order of tasks, honesty and calm judgment.
Usually when you are turning down work, working evenings to keep up or cannot take a sick day without cancelling clients. Hire before you burn out, and when you have enough recurring work to give a new cleaner steady hours.
EZTime handles digital HR forms, e-signatures and site schedules on the employee’s phone, in English, Spanish, French, Russian or Arabic.