In this article5 min read
Find out what recruiting cleaning staff yourself really costs a Flemish or Brussels cleaning company, and why more and more companies hand that recruitment to a specialist partner.
Do you know the feeling?
You post a vacancy for a cleaner, and weeks later the position is still open. Meanwhile your team is working overtime, colleagues are filling in at sites that are not theirs, and the pressure on your planning keeps growing.
Once you finally hire someone, they are gone again within a few months. Back to square one: writing a vacancy, going through CVs, planning interviews, drawing up contracts.
You are in good company. High turnover and difficult recruitment are two of the biggest bottlenecks in the Belgian cleaning sector.
In short: outsourcing cleaning staff to a specialist partner costs less time and money on average than recruiting yourself. The main points:
- Recruiting yourself quickly costs 3,300 to 6,000 euro and six to nine weeks per filled vacancy
- Staff turnover costs a cleaning company up to half an annual salary per employee who leaves
- Recruit a Student usually supplies a suitable candidate within 48 hours
- Recruit a Student handles all the paperwork, from the Dimona declaration to payroll
What does it cost to recruit cleaning staff yourself?
How much does an in-house recruitment process cost a cleaning company? Count on roughly 4,000 to 6,000 euro per filled vacancy when you run the whole process yourself, from vacancy text to onboarding. Even with an experienced HR colleague in house, the cost quickly stays around 3,300 euro per hire, excluding the time managers spend on interviews.
On top of that comes the waiting time. An average recruitment process takes some 32 working days, well over six weeks between opening a vacancy and the first working day. For a cleaning company that needs extra hands at short notice for a new contract or a peak period, that is a stretch in which sites stay understaffed or colleagues have to work extra shifts.
These are costs that often remain invisible in the accounts, but they weigh on the profit margin of every assignment.
What does staff turnover cost in the cleaning sector?
What does it cost when a cleaner leaves? For operational staff such as cleaners, replacement costs run to 30 to 50 per cent of that employee’s annual salary. With an annual salary of 30,000 euro that quickly means 9,000 to 15,000 euro in direct and indirect costs per departure.
Those costs go beyond the new hire. They are also in the time a team leader spends redistributing tasks, in the quality that temporarily drops at a site, and in the client who notices that the contract is running less smoothly than agreed.
The cleaning sector in Belgium counts roughly 1,500 companies and 50,000 employees: a sector where turnover is therefore not exceptional but a structural factor in day-to-day planning.
| Situation | Average cost | Average lead time |
|---|---|---|
| Recruiting yourself with an experienced HR colleague in house | ± 3,300 euro per hire | 6 to 9 weeks |
| Recruiting yourself without an experienced recruiter in house | 4,000 to 6,000 euro per hire | 6 to 9 weeks |
| Outsourcing to Recruit a Student | Fixed, transparent cost per assignment | Within 48 hours |
Anyone who wants to limit that turnover structurally needs a fixed, reliable pool of staff rather than starting from zero each time.
Would you like to start saving on recruitment costs now? Recruit a Student helps cleaning companies in Flanders and Brussels find reliable staff quickly and flexibly. From selection to contract: we arrange everything. Request a no-obligation conversation.
Why outsourcing is faster and cheaper
Why do more and more cleaning companies choose to outsource their recruitment? The answer lies in speed and relief. Recruit a Student usually supplies a suitable candidate within 48 hours, against an average of six to nine weeks for a fully in-house recruitment process.
Recruit a Student also takes all the paperwork off your hands: from the Dimona declaration to contracts and payroll through the payroll agency. You focus only on the quality of the service at your sites.
With Recruit a Student you also build, step by step, a fixed pool of students and flexible staff who already know your company and your sites. At every seasonal peak and every contract that has to be staffed again, your pool is ready when you need it.
Work out your real recruitment cost
Count the time of your team leaders, the cost of job platforms and the waiting time, not just the salary of the new employee.
Map out your turnover
Do you know how many departures you replace each year, and what that costs you in understaffing at your sites?
Combine it with a fixed student pool
With Recruit a Student you build a pool of trusted staff who already know your sites, ready for every new season.
Leave the paperwork to us
Recruit a Student arranges the Dimona declaration, the contract and payroll; you focus on your core business.
Compare outsourcing with in-house recruitment in concrete terms
Request a quote and put the figures side by side for your own situation.
Conclusion
Recruiting cleaning staff yourself quickly costs a Flemish or Brussels cleaning company thousands of euro and several weeks per vacancy, with the structural cost of staff turnover on top. Outsourcing cleaning staff to Recruit a Student shortens that lead time to 48 hours, takes the administration off your hands entirely and builds a fixed pool of staff who know your company.
Recruitment for your cleaning company is a recurring process that calls for structure, forward planning and the right partner at your side.
At Recruit a Student you have one fixed contact who knows your company. No being put through, no repeating explanations. Your account manager guides you at every step: from selecting the right staff to managing your fixed pool and all the paperwork, from the Dimona declaration to payroll.
You call one number. We arrange the rest.
- Qualified and screened staff
- A fixed pool tailored to your cleaning company
- Complete administrative relief
