An emergency call needs a clean handoff from the office to the field. The tech has to do the work, document it and tell the customer what happens next. Before you hire, decide who gives technical direction and who reviews the job file.
What to ask restoration applicants, and what you check
You and your HireBus team set these restoration questions during setup, and Iris asks them in each interview:
- Type of work. Ask about water mitigation, fire damage or contents work, and what they did without a lead.
- IICRC certifications. Ask which certifications they hold and whether they're current. You check the certificates yourself before an offer, and note the training they'd need before taking on the work.
- After-hours calls. Ask about the last after-hours job they took and how fast they got there.
- Documentation. Ask how they kept moisture readings, photos and job notes, and how they handed them to the office. In your own interview, your mitigation lead can walk through a past job file with them.
- Pay and the truck. Say what regular and on-call hours pay and whether the truck goes home with them.
Restoration roles to hire for
- Water mitigation technician. Field experience, equipment training, job records, and explaining next steps to a customer.
- Mitigation lead / crew chief. Plans the work, supervises techs, reviews records and works with the office.
- Estimator / project manager. Writes scopes in your estimating software and keeps the customer and the insurance adjuster updated.
- Office / job file coordinator. Takes the first call, keeps the records and sets up a clean handoff to the field.
Questions restoration owners ask
Can Iris verify IICRC certifications?
No. Iris asks which IICRC certifications the applicant holds and whether they're current. Your team checks the certificates and decides what training is still needed.
Can on-call availability be covered before the interview?
Yes. Put the rotation, the response time and the on-call pay in the role. Iris asks each applicant if that schedule works, and you confirm the arrangement before an offer.
Can we recruit for another location?
Yes. Tell HireBus where you're hiring. Plans differ in how many locations and roles they cover, and ad spend is separate. Compare the location and role limits.
Founder & CEO of HireBus. Brandon took over his father's window cleaning business in 2012 and grew it past seventy employees in six seasons. He founded HireBus in Denver in 2021 with Rick Breden, PhD, an industrial and organizational psychologist. Read our story.
