A janitor at a commercial cleaning company cleans client buildings under contract, such as offices, schools, medical offices and stores, often after the people who work there have left. They empty trash, clean and restock restrooms, dust, vacuum and mop to each site's checklist, then lock up and report anything broken.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building services companies · BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $28,130, middle half $30,590 to $38,520, 90th percentile $46,250. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Lead Janitor or Field Supervisor
Department
Operations
Schedule
Day or evening shift, by contract · The template lists 7 to 3 for day custodians; contracts that clean after closing run evenings, with on-call for events
Responsible for maintaining clean, sanitized, and safe environments within client properties while supporting the overall operational excellence of the company.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Perform routine cleaning tasks including dusting, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, and window cleaning.
Sanitize restrooms, office areas, and common spaces to ensure a hygienic environment for occupants.
Maintain cleaning equipment by performing regular inspections and basic maintenance.
Follow established safety protocols and procedures to protect self and others.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Clean and disinfect all assigned areas including floors, surfaces, and fixtures.
Report any maintenance issues or safety hazards to the supervisor immediately.
Replenish cleaning supplies and ensure proper storage of equipment.
Interact professionally with customers and staff, addressing requests and concerns in a courteous manner.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Cleaning Quality Rating: >95% compliance with internal standards.
Task Completion Rate: 100% of scheduled tasks completed daily.
Customer Satisfaction Rating: >4.8 stars on post-service feedback.
Response Time to Maintenance Requests: <1 hour per reported issue.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High school diploma or equivalent is required.
Minimum of 1 year of experience in janitorial or custodial services.
Strong attention to detail and ability to follow cleaning protocols.
Excellent time management and communication skills.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience working in commercial or residential properties.
Knowledge of eco-friendly cleaning practices and products.
Previous exposure to facility maintenance and upkeep.
Familiarity with cleaning equipment and sanitation procedures.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 25 pounds.
Prolonged periods of standing, walking, and bending during shifts.
Exposure to various environmental conditions including cold or hot areas.
Capability to work in confined spaces as needed.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Regular shift hours typically from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM with some flexibility required.
On-call duties may be required during special events or emergencies.
Minimal travel is expected between multiple client sites.
Work predominantly in indoor environments with occasional outdoor tasks.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly rate range: $13 - $18 per hour based on experience and location.
Performance bonuses available based on customer satisfaction and efficiency targets.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance provided.
401k plan with company matching as applicable.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We foster an inclusive workplace where every team member is valued and empowered to contribute.
Our commitment to growth creates ample opportunities for professional development and advancement.
We believe in maintaining high standards of service that positively impact our clients and community.
Our team is driven by a strong sense of pride and accountability in delivering exceptional service.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
A school custodian works for the school and knows one building. A janitor at a cleaning contractor works for you, in the client's building, often alone, under rules the client sets.
Often the only person in the building
Evening janitors often have a floor, or a whole building, to themselves. OSHA names working alone, working in isolated spots and late-night hours as risk factors for violence at work. Give each night janitor a check-in routine and a supervisor who answers the phone. Make the rule clear: leave and call for help rather than go see what made a noise. Source: OSHA: Workplace violence overview and risk factors.
Keys and codes belong to the client
Janitors carry keys, cards and alarm codes for buildings full of private records. Sign keys out and back in. Never write a code where someone could find it. Keep doors shut behind you, and never prop an exit open to haul trash. One lost key can mean rekeying a client's building, and one stranger let in can cost you the account.
Medical offices change the trash
Medical and dental offices are common accounts. OSHA has said cleaning staff in health care settings may be exposed to blood, especially in patient care and lab areas when they clean up spills or handle infectious waste. It doesn't generally count janitors elsewhere. Even in an office restroom, though, the employer has to judge whether staff could touch blood when handling used sanitary products. Decide which accounts and tasks are covered before you staff them. Source: OSHA interpretation letter, June 3, 1992: janitorial and housekeeping workers under the bloodborne pathogens standard.
The safety data sheets go where the crew goes
Many janitors drive between client buildings during a shift. In that case OSHA lets the safety data sheets stay at your main office, as long as the crew can get the facts at once in an emergency. A binder in the car or an app that works inside each building does that. Train janitors on chemical hazards when they start, and again when a product with a new hazard arrives. Source: OSHA: Hazard communication standard (29 CFR 1910.1200).
The client may run its own check
Schools, government buildings and some offices want background checks or badges before a cleaner can work there. If an outside company runs your check, federal law calls for a stand-alone written notice and the person's written permission first. If the report may lose them the offer, they first get their own copy and the FTC's summary of FCRA rights. State and city laws can limit how you use criminal records, so look up yours. Source: FTC: Using consumer reports, what employers need to know.
How much janitors make
The closest BLS group for janitors is janitors and cleaners. Janitors and cleaners who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $17.21 an hour ($35,790 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $36,840 median for janitors and cleaners in all industries. About 829,300 of the 2,209,760 janitors and cleaners in that survey work for building services companies.
Hourly, with the template's bonuses for customer satisfaction and efficiency. Drive time from one building to the next during a shift counts as hours worked under federal rules, so pay for it.
Building services companies
$35,790$35,790 median Middle half $30,590–$38,520 10th–90th $28,130–$46,250
All industries
$36,840$36,840 median Middle half $32,240–$44,060 10th–90th $28,640–$50,270
$20k$30k$40k$50k$60k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Building services companies
$28,130
$30,590
$35,790
$38,520
$46,250
All industries
$28,640
$32,240
$36,840
$44,060
$50,270
BLS doesn’t publish pay for janitorial companies on their own. These figures cover services to buildings and dwellings, which include them. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Can be trusted alone with keys, codes and private papers
Cleans to a checklist and checks their own work before leaving
Reads chemical labels and follows the mixing and glove steps
Reports leaks, damage and anything odd the same night
Comes in for every scheduled shift, on time
Teach these on the job
Each building's checklist, closet and lock-up steps
Auto scrubbers, burnishers and carpet extractors
Your blood and sharps steps, where an account calls for them
Restroom disinfecting and how long each product must stay wet
Your time clock app and night report
Janitors work from a cart with liners, paper, spray bottles and microfiber, plus a backpack vacuum, a mop and bucket, and at bigger sites an auto scrubber or burnisher. Most clock in at each building through a phone app. In the ad, name the floor machines a new hire will learn.
Janitor interview questions
Two of the 10 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Security and client privacy
You're cleaning a [dental office] alone after hours. Someone in scrubs knocks on the locked glass door, says they work there, left their phone inside, and asks you to let them in for one minute. What do you do?
A strong answer: Stays friendly, keeps the door shut, and says the site rules don't allow them to let anyone in. Offers to call the site contact or the supervisor so the client decides, and notes the time and what happened in the night report.
Behavioral · Floors and slip prevention
Tell me about a machine or tool you learned to use, at a job, at school or at home, where you had to follow the steps exactly. How did you learn it?
A strong answer: Names the machine, how they learned it, the checks before use, such as the cord, guards or the area, and a step others skipped and why it mattered. Stopped and asked when something went wrong.
Base targets on how each building has scored in past months, since a busy clinic and a quiet office floor don't compare.
Cleaning Quality Rating
Inspection scores on this janitor's areas, done by the lead or supervisor on your standard checklist. Inspect on random nights so the score shows normal work.
Task Completion Rate
Checklist items marked done in the night report, compared with the building's nightly and weekly task list. Each skipped item needs a reason, such as a locked office.
Customer Satisfaction Rating
Client survey scores and complaints tied to the buildings this janitor cleans. Read each complaint before scoring it: a missed trash can is theirs, a broken dispenser may not be.
Response Time to Maintenance Requests
How long the janitor takes to act on a client request or a problem someone reported, from your app or the night log. Count only requests made while the janitor was on shift.
What does a commercial janitor do on a typical night?
They arrive at the first building, turn off the alarm with their own code, and work the checklist: trash and recycling, restrooms, break rooms, dusting, then vacuuming and mopping last. Before leaving they restock, note any problems in the night report, set the alarm and lock up. On a route, they do it again at the next building.
How much does a janitor make?
Janitors and cleaners who work for building and home services companies earned a median of $17.21 an hour ($35,790 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $30,590 and $38,520 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Is a janitor the same as a custodian?
Often, yes. Custodian is common in schools and public buildings, where the job may add room setups, small repairs and day duties. At a cleaning contractor, both titles usually mean cleaning client buildings under a contract. Putting both in the ad helps people searching either word find it.
Do janitors need experience?
The template asks for a year of janitorial or custodial work. Showing up and honesty matter more, and cleaning skills come fast with training. People from restaurant closing shifts, warehouse work or home cleaning often do well. Floor machines and your chemicals are taught after hire.
Should janitors work alone or in teams?
Alone works for small offices on a route and keeps costs down. Teams fit large buildings, floor projects and sites where the client worries about safety after hours. Some companies pair a new janitor with someone for the first weeks. Once they lock up and report well, they move to solo buildings.
What should a janitor job ad include?
The shift start and end, the buildings or route, whether a car is needed between sites, and any background check or badge a client requires. Describe the physical tasks plainly, such as lifting trash bags and pushing a floor machine. Say what training covers and when raises or bonuses start.
