Property managers considering an in-house janitorial hire usually compare hourly wage against a contractor's quote and stop there. That comparison misses most of the actual cost.
What an In-House Hire Actually Costs
Beyond wages: payroll taxes, workers' compensation coverage, supplies and equipment purchased and maintained by the building, training time, and management overhead for someone on your team to supervise the work.
The Coverage Gap Problem
A single in-house cleaner has sick days, vacation, and eventually turnover. When that happens, the building goes uncleaned or a manager scrambles to cover the gap. A contracted service has crew depth — if one person is out, the route still runs.
Equipment and Supply Costs
Floor machines, vacuums, chemicals, and restroom consumables all get purchased, stored, and replaced by whoever owns the cleaning function. A contractor amortizes equipment costs across many buildings; a single-building in-house program carries the full cost alone.
Specialized Scope Gaps
Medical and dental tenants require EPA-registered disinfectants and documented protocols that a generalist in-house hire may not be trained on. Floor care — strip-and-wax, carpet extraction — requires equipment and technique most in-house programs don't maintain.
When In-House Makes Sense
For a very large single-tenant building with a dedicated facilities team already in place, in-house staffing can work. For most multi-tenant commercial buildings, the total cost and coverage-gap risk usually favor a contracted program with a written scope and accountability built in.