Cleaning Company Red Flag: High Staff Turnover

Posted by Marketing, February 25, 2022

We’ve written before about some of the red flags your cleaning company might be showing that tell you it’s time to reconsider who cleans your premises. One we’ve alluded to in the past but thought deserved its own article is high staff turnover.

The cleaning industry is known for high employee turnover in general, and it’s time to address some of the reasons why this is the case. We’ll take a look at some of the reasons your current cleaning company may have a hard time retaining employees, why this should matter to you, and what to consider if you’re ready for a change.

1. Recruitment isn’t carried out well

Work towards a good staff retention rate starts before a cleaner even starts out at their new job. Recruitment and onboarding are vital to building cleaning crews who are engaged with their work.

When done properly, this means hiring people who see a future for themselves within the cleaning industry rather than treating it as a mere pit stop. It also means cleaning operatives receive proper training and know who to go to for support before starting. This way, they can hit the ground running.

2. The cleaners aren’t paid fairly

It’s easy to see how you’d lack dedication to your employer if you weren’t paid well – especially if the company you work for has some of the other issues mentioned in this article. 

As we’ve written about on this blog in the past, when cleaners are paid the real Living Wage, they feel more appreciated and more dedicated to their jobs. They’re also less likely to jump ship to join another company with better wages. 

Paying cleaners fair wages means being able to hire and retain talented people who are engaged with their careers within the company and the cleaning industry as a whole.

3. Bad management

There’s a saying that people don’t quit jobs, they quit managers. In order to feel a sense of belonging at their workplace, people need to feel like they’re seen and heard by their managers and that they have a good level of support behind them.

In many cleaning companies, cleaning operatives have very little, if any, face time with their managers. It’s easy to see how you would feel unsupported in that situation. This could also mean issues cleaning operatives have don’t get addressed properly and in a timely manner, which can easily lead to resentment and ultimately resignation.

4. Cleaning is difficult work

Cleaning is often dismissed as “unskilled labour” which is an unfair sentiment. Being able to clean a large space to exact specifications and maintaining health and safety is challenging and requires proper training and experience. 

On top of this, you’re often required to work early and late hours which can be difficult on top of other life commitments, and the work can at times be physically challenging.

While some of the challenges mentioned in this section are not something cleaning company management can solve completely, a good level of respect and appreciation of your staff goes a long way.

Why you should care about cleaning staff turnover

Now that we’ve gone over some of the reasons why many cleaning companies have a high staff turnover, let’s address why you as a cleaning client should care about this. 

First of all, it’s hard to get a consistent cleaning result when people on your cleaning crew are in constant flux. When a cleaning company has to constantly hire new people to take over from departed employees, it can be tempting for them to skimp on training. This can further negatively affect your cleaning results as well as make health and safety issues more likely.

A bad or uneven cleaning service can have many negative effects. These can include more sick days for your employees, lower productivity, a hit to the public perception of your organisation, and much more.

High staff turnover also means higher costs related to hiring and training, and these costs will eventually have an impact on your cleaning quote.

Another potential risk when cleaning companies have to hire new employees on a  continuous basis is that they don’t vet new staff members properly. This could mean not being rigorous in checking people’s right to work in the UK or, where necessary, carrying out DBS checks. This, in turn, could pose safety issues within your facilities.

Changing cleaning companies – what you need to know

Something that may or may not come as a surprise to you is that even when you change cleaning companies, many of the same cleaners may stay on board. This is due to TUPE legislation. With this in mind, you might wonder what the point even is in changing cleaning companies if you’re unhappy with your cleaning results.

However, as we’ve talked about in this article, and in our 20+ years of experience within the industry, the fault for a bad cleaning result usually stems from the managerial level. You can read more about TUPE transfers here.

How we do things differently at Glenn

At Glenn Cleaning & Support Services, we understand that our people are our most valuable asset. This means that we always treat them with the respect and appreciation they deserve and work tirelessly to support them in their roles as well as offer them career advancement opportunities.

What this means in practice is offering robust, ongoing training to all of our cleaning operatives and encouraging them to take ownership of their careers. Many of our Account Managers actually started at Glenn as cleaning operatives, so they know the industry inside and out. 

As a result of all this, we’re proud to say we have a good employee retention rate, and the average number of years spent in service at Glenn is six years.

If you’re looking for a new contract cleaning company, you can read more about what makes Glenn different or simply give us a call on 01234 404242.