Why Your Commercial Cleaner Staff Retention Rate Matters (+ Examples)

When I talk to new potential clients, one of the most common complaints I hear is:

“We're sick to death of seeing new cleaners all the time.”

If you agree with this sentiment, I don't blame you.

Imagine this—you walk into your office on Monday, and there’s a cleaner you’ve never seen before. But this isn't the first time. Maybe you’ve even lost track of how many new faces you’ve seen. And with every change, the service feels inconsistent. One cleaner knows to wipe down the boardroom table every night. The next doesn’t. One remembers to double-check the bathrooms before they leave. The next skips it.

This cycle isn’t just frustrating.

It’s a symptom of a much bigger problem in commercial cleaning: high staff turnover.

📊 Case Study: Car Dealership Achieves $480,000 ROI, 11% Productivity Gain with In-Tec

But the conversation of how high staff turnover in commercial cleaning impacts you goes far beyond the inconvenience of seeing a new person every week. Because when cleaners aren’t sticking around, you’re the one who feels it. You’re the one who notices when the job isn’t being done right. You’re the one who has to follow up. You’re the one dealing with the ripple effect of a cleaning company that can’t hold onto its staff.

So let’s talk about it. Why do so many commercial cleaning companies struggle to retain their cleaners? What does that mean for your business? And most importantly, how can you spot the warning signs before you find yourself trapped in an endless cycle of turnover and frustration?

A Stable Cleaning Team Means Better Security, Cost, + Efficiency

When you have the same cleaners on-site, day in and day out, you don’t just avoid problems—you actually gain real, tangible benefits.

Let’s talk about security. I’ve got a client who’s about to start doing defense work, which means they’ve had to overhaul their entire security process. That includes training their cleaners on exactly how to handle document control, site access, and restricted areas. Now, imagine if their cleaning company had a revolving door of staff. How much time would they waste constantly retraining a new cleaner every few weeks?

But for this client, that’s not a problem—they’ve had the same cleaner from us for 14 years. That’s the power of retention. When a cleaner stays with a site long-term, they learn the alarm system inside and out. They know which doors should be locked and which shouldn’t. They know how the building operates in a way no new cleaner ever could.

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Security, however, isn't the only benefit. When your cleaner has high retention rates, it will positively impact your overall cost and efficiency.

Take one of our sites where the same cleaner has been there for over three years. Over time, they’ve worked out a more efficient way to clean, cutting down on wasted movement, improving workflow, and getting more done in the same amount of time. That means we’ve been able to go beyond the original contract scope—taking on extra tasks that make the site look even better without increasing costs.

That’s what happens when a cleaner is allowed to actually settle in and get better at their job. They stop just doing the work and start optimising the work. And that’s where you, the client, start seeing more value for money. So the next time you notice a new cleaner showing up at your site for the third or fourth time in a month, ask yourself—what is that inconsistency costing you?

Signs Your Commercial Cleaner Has Retention Problems

To be quite honest, even if you're not around to see how many new faces are showing up on your site, day in and day out, it's going to be pretty bloody obvious if your commercial cleaner has trouble retaining their cleaning staff. 

If you’ve got a well-trained cleaner—someone who’s been at your site regularly—they know what to clean and when. They know your cleaning standards and outcomes. They've been trained properly on the unique needs of your site. They know your expectations, and things just get done the way they should. But when cleaners are constantly changing, that’s when you start noticing things slipping.

You’ll see it in the small details. One day, you notice the bin hasn’t been put back in the right spot. The next, the rubbish isn’t being disposed of properly. Maybe you have a preference—like making sure the toilet seats are always put down after cleaning—and suddenly, it’s not happening anymore.

🔎 Related: The Role of Proper Training in Quality Cleaning Service Delivery

And that’s because the new cleaner doesn’t know your site. They haven’t been around long enough to understand the way things are supposed to be done. (Moreover, it sounds like your cleaners don't have an auditing process in place to catch those issues before you do.)

But the real red flag? Security risks. Yes, we're talking about security once more. I’ve got sites where the cleaners are trained that if certain offices are left locked, they open them, clean the office, and lock them again. But when a new cleaner gets sent in?

One of two things happens:

• Either they don’t unlock the office at all—because they’re not sure if they should.
  
  
• Or, even worse, they unlock the office, clean it, and then forget to lock it again.

That’s when things start to go wrong. Now, if you’ve got a different cleaner coming in every few weeks, are they really going to remember your security protocols? Are they going to remember what documents they can and can’t touch, or which areas require extra care? Probably not.

And here’s the real problem. You don’t catch these security issues before they happen. You only realise there’s a problem after a door gets left unlocked. After someone’s had access to something they shouldn’t. After a sensitive document has gone missing. By then, it’s too late. All because your cleaning company couldn’t keep a single cleaner on-site long enough to actually learn how to do the job right.

How to Spot a Commercial Cleaner with a Retention Problem Before You Hire Them

So, how do you know if a cleaning company actually keeps its cleaners, or if you’re about to sign up for a business that churns through staff every few weeks? Easy. Just ask them one simple question:

“What’s your average employee retention rate?”

And then watch what happens. Because if they can’t give you a straight answer, it’s because they don’t have one. They’ll fumble. They’ll say something vague— “Oh, we have really low turnover,” or “Our team loves working here.” But if they don’t give you a number, it’s a red flag.

🔎 Related: Why You Should Want a Contract with Your Commercial Cleaner

At In-Tec? I know exactly what our retention is. Most of our employees have been with us for over two years. My longest-standing employee, who I mentioned earlier, has been with us for 14 years. I don’t have to dance around the question. Because we actually know our people stay.

But don’t just take my word for it. Meaning, the second thing you should do? Ask their clients. A company can say whatever they want about themselves. But their clients? They’ll tell you the truth.

Ask them:

• “Do you see the same cleaner every week?”
  
  
• “How often does your cleaning team change?”
  
  
• “Have you ever had to retrain a new cleaner because the last one disappeared?”

If a cleaning company actually keeps its people, their clients will know. Because they’ll actually see the same cleaner.

Next, here's what you do:

Ask them what they do for their employees at Christmas.

I know it sounds weird. But just say, “Hey, what do you do for your staff around the holidays?”

And listen to what they say. Some will give you a polished answer—“Oh yeah, we throw a big Christmas party, we take care of our people,” blah blah blah. But most of them? They’re lying to your face. And you can check. If they say they have a Christmas party, go to their LinkedIn. Do they ever post about it? Do they ever mention celebrating their staff at all?

Probably not.

Now, at In-Tec, we deliberately don’t post about our team online. Sure, you might see a few photos here and there, or a video that is only shared with their permission. That’s because we actually respect their privacy. But if you go to our website? You’ll see them. You’ll see our team in uniform, in videos, working. You’ll see them smiling.

🔎 Related: How to Tell If Your Cleaners Use Sham Contractors (+ Why It Matters)

That’s what actually matters. Do they look like they want to be there? That’s how you know. Because if a cleaning company can’t give you a straight answer about how they treat their employees, it’s because they don’t want you to know.

How Do We Retain Our In-Tec Cleaners for So Long?

I often get asked, “How does In-Tec keep its cleaners for so long?”

And the truth is, it’s not complicated.

We do three things—we give them the right tools, we train them properly, and most importantly, we give them enough time to do the job right. This is exactly what you want to hear from commercial cleaners about how they treat and support their staff. A cleaner who actually wants to stay at their job is a cleaner who does the job properly. They’re not rushing, they’re not cutting corners, and they’re not half-assing it because they’re already thinking about quitting.

🔎 Related: Why ESG Alignment Matters with Your Commercial Cleaning Partner

But in most cleaning companies? That’s exactly what happens. Because when a cleaner is underpaid, undertrained, and completely unsupported, why would they stay? They don’t. They burn out, they move on, and suddenly you’re seeing a different face at your site every week.

And guess what? That affects you.

• It affects your cleaning standards, because new cleaners don’t know your site.
  
  
• It affects your security, because you’ve got random people constantly rotating through your building.
  
  
• It affects your efficiency, because you’re wasting time chasing after problems that shouldn’t exist in the first place.

We don’t burn through staff. We don’t overwork them. We train them properly, we pay them fairly, and we set them up to succeed. Because at the end of the day, a cleaning company that actually values its employees is a cleaning company that’s going to deliver better service for you.

And that’s exactly why our cleaners stay.

Happy Cleaners = Happy Clients Is a Fact

I say this all the time: Happy cleaners = happy clients. And I know some people hear that and roll their eyes. They think it’s just some fluffy, feel-good line. But it’s not. It’s fact.

And I know this firsthand. Years ago, when I was a cleaner myself, I worked for two very different types of bosses. One treated me like garbage. He didn’t care if I had the right equipment, didn’t care if I had enough time to do the job properly, didn’t care if I had any support. So I didn’t care either. I did the absolute bare minimum to get through my shift.

But then I worked for someone who actually treated me well. And you know what? I went above and beyond for that guy. I did the best job I could every single day. Not because someone was standing over me, checking my work—but because I actually wanted to.

🔎 Related: What Commercial Cleaning Audits Are + Why Most Cleaners Avoid Them (+ Examples)

That’s the difference.

So, if you’re thinking about hiring a cleaning company, ask yourself this: Are they actually investing in their employees? Because if they’re not, you’re the one who’s going to feel it. And if you’re stuck with a cleaning company that churns through staff every few months, then what you’re really getting isn’t a cleaning service. It’s just an endless cycle of inconsistency and frustration.

That’s not how it has to be. You deserve more.

Because when a cleaning company actually invests in its people, you feel the difference—every single day. You see it in the way your site is cleaned. In the trust and consistency that builds over time. In the fact that you don’t have to chase people down to fix problems because they aren’t happening in the first place.

So if you’re tired of wondering who’s going to show up this week, maybe it’s time to start expecting better. Because a stable, reliable cleaning team isn’t a luxury—it’s what you should be getting from the start.