Are you paying your cleaners right?

The guide to paying cleaners to keep them

Pay isn’t just a cost line — it’s your single biggest lever on turnover, and turnover is one of the most expensive things a cleaning business does. Here’s how to think about it.

What underpaying actually costs

Paying a dollar an hour under market feels like a saving — until you count what it drives:

• Turnover. Replacing a trained cleaner costs weeks of recruiting, onboarding, and reduced quality while the new hire learns the sites. That cost routinely dwarfs the wage “saving.”
• Quality and complaints. A revolving door of new, undertrained staff shows up as missed details and client complaints — which cost you accounts.
• Your time. Every departure is hours of your week spent hiring instead of growing.

The calculator shows where you sit; if you’re well below the median, that gap is a turnover risk with a real price tag.

When it pays to pay above market

• To hold your best people. A small premium over the median for your top performers is far cheaper than replacing them — and the calculator helps you size that premium honestly.
• For hard-to-staff sites or shifts. Overnight, medical, or remote sites often need a pay edge to keep them reliably covered.
• When it lets you charge more. A stable, well-paid crew delivers the consistent quality that justifies premium pricing — pay up, then price for it (don’t compete on the cheapest bid).

Paying above market only works if your pricing carries it — which is exactly why knowing your numbers matters.

Do this, not that