How to Hire Your First HVAC Office Manager

Hiring your first HVAC office manager is a big step. The office manager oversees the entire workplace making sure everything is running smoothly and customers are happy.

Finding the right person to wear multiple hats is challenging, but it’s a necessary task in establishing a scalable HVAC business. In this post, we’ll walk you through the steps to hiring an office manager that is qualified, ambitious and a good fit for your HVAC business.

Here’s what you’ll get from this article:

Define an HVAC office manager daily tasks
Focus on traits that make up the best candidates
Easy, expert strategies for creating an effective job ad
Top platforms for posting your job ads
Key ways to prepare for interviews

By the end of this article, you’ll have the power to hire the best HVAC office manager for your business today!

What Does an HVAC Office Manager Do?

Responsibilities vary depending on the specific position and company, but there are several consistent duties among HVAC office managers:

Lead the HVAC technicians who install and fix the units
Establish a high level of customer service and satisfaction
Onboard training for new employees
Respond to service calls by dispatching technicians
Plan and coordinate office meetings and events

These are just a few of the countless responsibilities of a great HVAC office manager.

Maybe you are the owner and have been doing all these duties yourself until you grew enough to hire someone. Likewise, maybe other office personnel have been dividing various office tasks–as happens in so many small HVAC businesses.

Now that you know what HVAC office managers do, how to go about hiring one?

Top Qualities to Seek in Candidates

What are some of the personality traits you look for when hiring an HVAC office manager? There’s the obvious ones like being a hard worker and being punctual. However, what else should you be looking for in candidates?

1. Flexibility

Your new HVAC office manager will be completing a long, varying list of daily tasks throughout a typical day. Which means, they have to be comfortable under pressure and willing to switch gears quickly and professionally.

2. Organizational and Project Management Skills

Office managers have to juggle many different projects and customers. Keeping up on all these projects, as well as knowing when to delegate to others, is crucial.

3. Leadership

The office manager needs to lead the team. You need an optimistic “glass is half full” type of personality. As a result, the best office managers keep everyone motivated and working as a team, even on the high-stress days.

4. Dedication

An ideal office manager shows dedication and isn’t satisfied until a job is done right and the customer is satisfied. You want to hire an employee that goes above and beyond when it is needed.

These are just a few of the qualities needed for a successful HVAC office manager. Now, it’s time to implement these qualities into your job description.

Craft an Eye-Catching Job Ad

When writing a job ad, begin by looking at existing ads already posted. This will give you an idea of what your competitors are doing.

Before writing the ad, jot down exactly what you want in an employee. Are you looking for an office manager with 10 years of experience or a hungry go-getter that has just a few years experience?

The next step is to decide on a pay range for the position. Obviously, your company budget factors into this decision, and you have to consider what the going rate is in your area of the country.

When writing your ad, match your job title to keywords a candidate will be searching. In this case, “Experienced HVAC Office Manager” or “Entry Level HVAC Office Manager” might be ideal.

Include a quick summary of your business. Questions to ask yourself may include:

Why would someone want a career here?
What is unique about working at this business?
Are there any benefits or perks that may attract top talent?

At this point in the ad description, list the position’s requirements. Include what is required (candidate must have minimum 5 years office experience) to what is desired (do you have any direct HVAC experience?).

Close with a strong Call to Action with your business phone and email address. Also, consider including links to your LinkedIn or other social media profiles to attract top tier candidates!

Post Your Hiring Ad!

You’ve got your ad right where you want it. Now, it’s time to get it out there to potential candidates. There are many different options for posting your job ad–from the big employment sites, to trade school job boards.

Major Job Boards

Where is the first place employers and job seekers go when posting or looking for employment? The most popular job boards are a great place to post your ad but many have charges associated with the listing.

Here is a list of the current most popular job boards for the HVAC industry:

Local Area Platforms

Free platforms, such as Facebook and Craigslist are also a good choice for posting your job ad, especially if you’re on a tight budget!

Facebook: Though Facebook’s job board was recently discontinued, you can still post a job ad on your company’s Facebook page, which doesn’t cost you anything.
Craigslist: A job posting on Craigslist has a nominal cost, but it’s low. It’s becoming a less popular option, but job hunters still land jobs on Craigslist every day.

Trade Schools

The job boards at trade schools are a great way to attract new talent that may be in training or just graduated and looking for a first job. Look in your local area for HVAC trade schools and check out their job board!

Expert Tips for Interviewing Candidates

Before you start the interview process, have a brief, 15-minute phone screening process set up. After all, you don’t want to waste yours or the candidate’s time.

In this interview, review their experience. For example, are they currently working? Where and why do they think they would be a good fit for the job?

Additionally, here are a series of questions to ask during the interview process:

Why are you interested in the HVAC office manager role, and what experience do you bring to the table?
Have you led a team before as an office manager? Describe your day to day duties.
What challenges did you experience at previous jobs, and how did you solve them?
What qualities do you have that make you a good fit for an HVAC office manager?
What kind of mindset do you think you need for this role?

After narrowing down your list of candidates, and you’ve discussed internally with your team, you’re ready to make an offer.

See how FieldEdge can further your employee’s experience! Book your FREE personalized demo today!

YOU’RE HIRED: Your First HVAC Office Manager Will Be a Success!

Follow the steps and strategies in this post to hire your first HVAC office manager.

In this post, we:

Defined the day-to-day duties of an HVAC office manager
Focused on personality traits that make up the best candidates
Established leading strategies for building a well-written job ad
Showed top steps for posting your job ad
Introduced the best insightful interview questions

Now, you have everything you need to find a candidate that is the perfect fit for your HVAC business. You’re on your way to hiring your first (and hopefully last) HVAC office manager!