Sunshine Coast cleaning business sweeps out clients as it struggles to replace workers

A Sunshine Coast cleaning service is struggling to find workers as staff move on to other jobs or leave the region due to the rental crisis.

A Sunshine Coast cleaning service is struggling to find staff and is turning down up to 20 calls a day from prospective clients.

Sunshine Coast Cleaner owners Rob and Christine McDonald have also had to let go of up to 50 existing clients and about 100 hours of work in the past two months as their cleaners leave and they cannot replace them.

Two months ago the couple had 12 workers and as of next week they will have just five on their books.

Mrs McDonald had been in business for seven years and she said it was the “hardest it’s ever been” to find staff, despite offering above the award wage.

The couple has advertised the role for three weeks and only had four applicants during the period.

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Mrs McDonald said two of the applicants had what they were looking for in workers but when she contacted them, they did not phone back.

On July 22, 2022, she sent out about 20 messages to prospective workers registered on Seek and had not heard back from anyone.

She said her husband was much like an entrepreneur and would change things to suit their new needs, but at the moment they had too much work and not enough staff.

“We’ll have to restructure to bring it down to a manageable size for what we’ve got,” Mrs McDonald said.

She said she lost one of her workers who had to move north out of the region after her lease ran up on her rental and the others were moving on to other jobs.

The cleaner said it was not unusual for staff to turn over, but it was unusual the couple could not replace them.

“It’s a battle to get through the day at the moment,” Mrs McDonald said.

In June, 2022, three restaurant owners told the Sunshine Coast Daily of their difficulties in finding workers and at least one Noosa region school has recorded a loss of enrolments because families could not secure accommodation in the region.