Engaging Frontline Workers is Key to Retention

Key takeaways:
• Facility cleaning managers must listen to employee feedback and take action to build trust and improve retention.
• Improve staff retention by recognizing employee contributions and showing how their work creates cleaner, healthier environments.
• Cleaning managers can strengthen engagement through teamwork, training, manageable workloads, and adequate resources.

---

Inflation and the general state of the economy are putting pressure on budgets everywhere, and cleaning departments are feeling the squeeze, particularly when it comes to staffing. Many frontline workers earn modest wages while performing physically demanding work, and rising costs at home can make an already challenging job harder to justify.

Unfortunately, cleaning departments weren’t on the strongest footing with staffing levels to begin with. The latest Facility Cleaning Decisions Management Study found that only 53 percent of facility cleaning managers believed their departments were adequately staffed to start the year. Since then, recruiting and retention have continued to stutter. And now, Gallup released a 2026 report that employee engagement has fallen to its lowest level since 2020.

Managers need to step in. Fair compensation, manageable workloads, and adequate resources are essential to retention. But leaders can also influence whether employees feel valued, supported, and connected to their work.

Engagement won't solve every staffing challenge, but it can give employees more reasons to stay. Our leadership column on page 24 says engaging frontline workers starts with understanding what helps them succeed. Here are some additional ways to show employees you value their efforts.

Listen and act. Ask employees what's working, what makes their jobs harder, and how managers can help. Regular check-ins build trust, but following through on feedback is what reinforces it.

Recognize contributions. Cleaning professionals often work behind the scenes. Acknowledge their attention to detail, teamwork, and problem-solving, and connect their efforts to the larger mission of creating clean, healthy environments.

Build teamwork and ownership. Use brief team huddles to invite ideas, identify obstacles, and solve problems together. Giving workers a voice in improving procedures builds engagement and demonstrates respect for their expertise.

Support growth and pride. Provide training, reasonable workloads, and opportunities to develop new skills. Employees are more likely to take pride in their work when they have the tools and time to do it well.

Managers cannot control inflation or every budget decision, but they can shape employees' daily experiences. At the end of a shift, ask your team: What would make tomorrow a better day at work? Then listen, and act where you can. Retention begins with leadership that makes employees feel their work matters and their contributions are valued.

Corinne Zudonyi has been in the commercial cleaning industry for over 20 years and is proud to serve as Editor-In-Chief of Contracting Profits (the official publication of BSCAI), Facility Cleaning Decisions, and Sanitary Maintenance (the North American media partner of Interclean Amsterdam) magazines, publications that serve the professional cleaning industry. Additionally, Corinne manages CleanLink.com, the leading digital resource for the commercial cleaning industry, and she uses her industry knowledge to steer educational topics for Clean Buildings at NFMT East.  
Corinne is the sole U.S. representative to serve on the international Interclean Amsterdam Innovation Jury, where she weighs in on product trends impacting commercial cleaning on a global scale. She also works closely with Healthy Green Schools & Colleges to advance healthy and sustainable cleaning in educational facilities. As a member of the CLEAN Awards Jury, through Building Service Contractors Association International, Corinne also helps recognize cleaning contractors and their companies for outstanding service to the industry.  
Corinne can commonly be found moderating industry panel discussions, presenting education, and focusing on bringing awareness and affirmation for the wonderful work that people do to keep facilities clean and building occupants safe and healthy.  
Follow Corinne on LinkedIn here.