The 6-Step Process That Transformed My Cleaner Hiring (And Saved My Sanity)

Picture this: You post a job listing, get a bunch of applications, schedule interviews, and then... crickets. Only 30% actually show up.

That was my reality for way too long. I'd sit on Google Meet waiting for someone who was never going to show up, getting more frustrated by the minute.

If someone can't even show up to an interview when they're supposed to be on their best behavior, what makes you think they'll show up to clean a property?

So I developed what I call the "6 I's" hiring process.

The 6 I's That Changed Everything

1. Identify 
This is where you find potential cleaners: Indeed, Facebook groups, and referrals.

2. Interview 
I do 15-minute video interviews only. No in-person meetings because, like I said, only 30% show up anyway.

You can tell within the first five minutes if someone's going to work out. I ask specific questions like

• Where are you located, and are you willing to travel?

• How long have you been a professional cleaner? (Minimum one year for us)

• How many cleaning jobs are you doing per week?

• Do you work independently or with a partner?

• Are you insured, and if not, are you willing to become insured?

• Can you provide two references?

3. Investigate 
Call those references. It can be as simple as "Mary applied to work with us. Would you recommend her?"

I also ask them to send me links to Airbnbs they currently clean so I can check the cleanliness ratings. You can't attribute everything to one cleaner, but it gives you a data point about the quality of properties they work on.

4. Insure 
This is about insurance and background checks. Every cleaner needs general liability insurance (18 to 50 dollars a month typically) because my business insurance doesn't cover independent contractors, and Airbnb's AirCover doesn't cover cleaner damage either.

Background checks are non-negotiable when cleaners have access to door codes and can show up anytime.

5. Inspect 
Every new cleaner gets a test clean as their first assignment. I never put them on an A-property or a same-day turn for their first clean. That's asking for stress.

I assign them to a B or C property with plenty of time, then schedule a quality control inspection afterward. If they don't follow the checklist or upload pictures when they're supposed to be on their best behavior, I know they won't do it later.

6. Initiate 
Set up a probationary period of 2-3 cleans where you're both testing each other out. Get all the 1099 documentation sorted, and most importantly, never stop hiring.

The Game-Changing Interview Hack

Remember how only 30% showed up to interviews? I implemented a system that has, so far, solved this problem for us.

Now when someone schedules an interview, they automatically get a text message that says:

"Thanks for scheduling an interview with us. You've received a calendar invite with the Google Meet link.

To make sure our time is used efficiently, please watch the video linked below about working with our company.

15 minutes before your interview, please text us 👍️ to confirm you'll be there. If we don't get this text, we'll assume you can't make it and cancel the interview."

Here's why this works: It immediately signals that we're detail-oriented people. If someone can't follow simple instructions for an interview when they're supposed to be on their best behavior, they definitely can't handle the attention to detail required for quality cleaning.

No thumbs up? The interview gets canceled. Simple as that.

I also have a rule: you can miss one interview, but if you miss the second one, you're done. I had someone apply three times and never show up to a single interview. Finally told them we weren't moving forward.

The System That Runs It All

I track everything in a Notion pipeline (Notion is free, by the way). As soon as someone schedules an interview, their profile gets created automatically. They move through different stages: Interview Scheduled → References Needed → Test Clean Needed → Probationary Cleans → Need Documents → Fully Onboarded.

Each stage triggers automatic emails and text messages. When they move to "References Needed," they get a Google form to fill out. When we get references back, their references automatically get texted. It's all automated, which saves me hours every week.

The best part? I don't have them buy insurance until after they've passed their probationary cleans. Why make someone spend money on insurance if we don't know it's going to work out?

Why This Matters So Much

With Airbnb cleaning, you cannot afford to have unreliable people on your team. Guests check in at specific times. Properties need to be ready exactly when they're supposed to be ready. One no-show cleaner can ruin a guest's entire experience and tank your ratings.

That's why I'm so rigid about the interview process now. It's better to be picky upfront than deal with the stress of unreliable cleaners later.

The whole system took time to build, but now hiring runs almost entirely on autopilot. I spend my time talking to qualified candidates who've already proven they can follow instructions, instead of sitting around waiting for no-shows.

If you're building your own cleaning business and struggling with hiring reliable people, I get it. It's one of the hardest parts of scaling, but getting the process right makes everything else so much easier.

I walk through this entire hiring system step-by-step in our Airbnb Cleaning Course ($100 off below), including the exact interview questions, reference check templates, and the Notion setup that automates everything.

Because honestly, trial-and-error with hiring is expensive. Every bad hire costs you time, money, and potentially damaged relationships with hosts. Having a proven system from day one can save you months of headaches.

Hope this helps you build a more reliable team!

P.S. That 3-minute video I send to candidates before interviews? It covers pay (25 dollars an hour), that they're independent contractors, which apps we use (Booking Koala for residential, Breezeway for Airbnb), and that everything is merit-based. It saves me 5 minutes at the start of every interview and ensures everyone comes in with the same baseline knowledge.

Questions? Just hit reply; I read every email.

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