How to Hire Cleaning Business Employees — Ultimate Guide & Checklist

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Hiring employees for your cleaning business isn’t a luxury, and as your service grows, it becomes a differentiator from you and your competition.

Your employees are the bread and butter of your business, and, more importantly, poor hiring costs time, money, and reputation. Done right, hiring becomes your competitive advantage. In this guide, we’ll talk through exactly how to hire cleaning business employees, including how to decide whether you’re ready to hire, what onboarding should look like, compliance, retention, and more.

Before we dive in, please note: This article is written to help you grow your cleaning business but is not intended to be taken as legal advice. Always consult with legal and financial professionals when it comes to hiring for your maid service.

Step 1. Know When It’s Time to Hire Cleaning Employees

You’re ready to hire employees when your schedule is consistently full, to the point where you have to turn down new opportunities because you don’t have the bandwidth or resources to staff them. That’s the first sign.

Second, are you consistently booked 2–4 weeks out? If demand is proven and stable, it’s time to hire some help.

Looking at finances, if you’ve standardized your services and can afford wages (and downtime), then you’re golden.

Finally, employees can’t operate off vibes, so if your services have a standardized workflow that you can teach to others, that’s a good signal that you’re ready to take on new employees.

Step 2. Decide What Roles You’re Hiring For

Before posting a job, define exactly what you’re hiring. If you can identify where exactly you need the help and on what basis, you’re more likely to find people who can meet you where you’re at.

Common cleaning business employee roles:

• Residential cleaner
• Commercial cleaner
• Team lead / trainer
• Float cleaner (fill-ins, deep cleans)

For early-stage businesses, it’s important that you hire cleaners first, not managers. Management only makes sense once volume is consistent and you need someone to take the operations and logistics off of your plate.

Step 3: Prepare Your Business to Be an Employer

You can’t just wake up one day and decide to be someone’s employer. There are a handful of preparation steps you’ll need to take first, but don’t worry — they’re not that difficult! 😉

Operational setup

• Written SOPs for every service
• Clear quality standards
• Defined work schedules and service areas

Legal & admin setup

• Employer Identification Number (EIN)
• Payroll system
• Workers’ compensation insurance
• State and federal employer registrations

If this isn’t in place, hiring will actually magnify the disorder here, so make sure you’re set up for success.

Step 4: Write a Job Description That Attracts the Right People

A high-performing cleaning job description must:

• Be explicit about duties and expectations
• Clearly state pay range and schedule
• Address physical requirements upfront
• Explain why someone should work for you

Here’s a great example from The Villages Maid Services, which expanded its operations to a new state and needed employees:

Are You The Type of Person Who Loves To Clean As A Form Of Art?

Hey there! The Villages Maid Service is on a mission to build a team of talented individuals who not only love to clean, consider it an art form (because it is!), and also love to serve people through their labor. If that’s you – ahhh – you’ll be in good hands here!

What’s Different About Working For The Villages Maid Service?
— Competitive pay that reflects your hard work + tips + bonuses
— Flexible scheduling that works with your life – you have full control
— Growth opportunities
— We have your back
— Hassle-free – no drama, no fuss
— We realize the value you bring and constantly recognize you for your efforts

What We’re Looking For:
— Detail-obsessed individuals who take pride in their work
— Reliable cleaning techs who are already working as subcontractors and have their own business setup
— People who want to learn and grow with us
— Those who understand that cleaning isn’t just a job – it’s an art!

The Perks:
— Seriously competitive pay (because we know your worth)
— Supportive team environment
— We’re easy to work with – and always pay on time
— Room for advancement
— Regular hours (because work-life balance matters)

Requirements:
— Own a vehicle to get from job site to job site
— Valid driver’s license and car insurance
— General liability insurance
— Clear background check
— Prepared to work as your own boss
— Ready to provide your own supplies and equipment
— Amazing communication skills
— An eye for detail and a love of cleaning

Sound Like You?
If you’re ready to join a company that values you as you should be valued, while building something special, we want to hear from you! Whether you’re a cleaning pro or just have a passion for making spaces shine, there’s a place for you here.

Note: We welcome and celebrate attention to detail. If you’re the type who notices when pictures aren’t perfectly straight, you’ll fit right in!

Job Type: Contract
Pay: $21.32 – $25.68 per hour
Expected Hours: 4 – 40 per week

Benefits:
— Flexible schedule

Application Question(s):
— Do you carry your own cleaning supplies?

Experience:
— Cleaning: 1 year (Required)

Work Location: In person

If you want to copy this format, you can access our free job posting template in Google Docs here!

Step 5: Where to Find Cleaning Business Employees

Use multiple channels simultaneously to get applicants. People search on different sites, and many employees are hired through a referral of a friend!

Here’s where we recommend to start:

• Job boards (Indeed, ZipRecruiter, Craigslist)
• Local Facebook job groups
• Referrals from current cleaners or clients
• Your website’s Careers page, if you have one

Hiring is a numbers game in any industry. The right combination of volume and filtering beats “perfect” hiring ads every time!

Step 6: Screen and Interview Candidates Properly

Effective screening includes:

• Phone or video pre-screen
• Availability and reliability confirmation
• Work history review
• Reference checks

Our industry experts always recommend group interviews for hiring cleaners. Why? Because it filters significantly faster than one-on-one meetings. You can quickly see who shows up, engages, follows directions, and interacts professionally, all at once. In bulk, it saves hours of individual scheduling and screening.

Group interviews also turn hiring into a system, not just a scramble whenever you need help. Stephanie Pipkin, Owner of Serene Clean, talked all about her secrets to hiring faster and smarter in this podcast episode:

Finally, you should make a point to interview for behavior, not just experience:

• “Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult client.”
• “What does ‘doing a job right’ mean to you?”

You want to know how people will react to situations they may not have encountered before, and behavioral questions can give you a good sense of how these employees will represent your brand.

Step 7: Hiring IC vs. W-2 Employees

This is where most cleaning business owners get confused, so let’s break it down.

W2 employees

W-2 employees are individuals you hire to work directly for your business. You’re responsible for providing them with equipment, supplies, and a workspace to perform their job. You pay them a salary or hourly wage, and they’re responsible for paying their taxes.

Pros of hiring W-2 employees:

• More control — You control schedules, cleaning methods, products, and quality standards
• Greater consistency — Employees can be trained to follow the same processes on every job, which makes it much easier to maintain predictable quality
• Lower long-term cost potential — While W-2 employees cost more upfront, they don’t charge per-job premiums. For recurring services, they can actually be more cost-effective over time
• Stronger loyalty and retention — Employees tied into your company culture are less likely to leave or work for competitors

Cons of hiring W-2 employees:

• Higher upfront costs — Employers are responsible for payroll taxes, insurance, and benefits. Yes, this means even during slow periods
• More administrative work — W-2 employment requires ongoing compliance with payroll, tax, and labor regulations

W-2 employees are best for cleaning businesses focused on consistency, control, and long-term growth.

Independent contract cleaners

Contract cleaners are self-employed individuals or companies that offer their services to businesses for a fee. Basically, you pay them an agreed-upon amount for their services, and they’re responsible for paying their taxes and expenses. In the United States, you might also hear contractors called “1099 employees”, though they’re not actually employees of the company they’re doing services for. Contractors in the cleaning industry often work independently and provide their own equipment and supplies.

Pros of hiring contract cleaners:

• Lower upfront costs — You pay only for work completed and do not cover payroll taxes, benefits, or workers’ compensation
• Staffing flexibility — Contractors make it easier to scale labor up or down based on workload
• Access to niche expertise — Some contractors specialize in services, i.e., deep cleaning, carpet cleaning, or windows
• Reduced administrative burden — Contractors manage their own taxes and benefits
• Lower benefit liability — You’re not required to provide health insurance, PTO, or retirement benefits (though your business still needs proper insurance coverage)

Cons of hiring contract cleaners:

• Limited control — You have less authority over schedules, methods, products, and training, which can lead to inconsistent quality
• Availability issues — Contractors may not be available when you need them
• Higher long-term costs — Contractors often charge premium rates to cover their own expenses, which can be less cost-effective at scale
• Lower loyalty — Contractors may work for competitors or stop accepting work at any time

Contract cleaners work best for new or small cleaning businesses with variable demand, limited cash flow, or occasional specialized jobs. As your business grows and consistency becomes critical, many owners transition to W-2 employees.

QUICK TIP FROM THE AUTHOR

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Get the go-to guide for cleaning business owners to make sure you’re asking the right questions every time.

• What to avoid asking (and why!)
• Questions for hiring virtual assistants
• How to gauge a candidate's work ethic and values

Take the guesswork out of interviews and start hiring like a pro. Get your guide now!

Step 8: Make Competitive Offers That Reduce Turnover

Retention is often a cleaning business’s #1 biggest challenge. To keep employees that want to work for you, make sure your offer is competitive. We recommend:

• Transparent hourly pay (yes, you should include it in the job description)
• Predictable schedules
• Performance incentives or raises
• Paid training
• Respectful management

Retention is cheaper than rehiring. Always.

Step 9: Onboard Cleaning Employees the Right Way

Onboarding gets easier as you go, trust us. Onboarding must include:

• Legal paperwork (W-4, I-9 for employees)
• Safety training
• SOP walkthroughs
• Shadow shifts with experienced cleaners

Your ultimate goal is to hire employees who can perform without constant supervision, and that starts with investing in thorough onboarding.

Need more info? For a full checklist, you can read our comprehensive guide to onboarding here!

Step 10: Train, Measure, and Retain

Ongoing success comes from:

• Regular quality checks
• Clear feedback loops
• Advancement opportunities
• Recognition for consistency

When you check these boxes, employees are less likely to quit. Remember the saying that people don’t quit jobs, they quit bad managers or toxic work environments. If you take those out of the equation, you’re more likely to retain your staff over long periods.

Final Checklist: How to Hire Cleaning Business Employees