An appliance repair HR manager recruits, trains and keeps the technicians who work alone in customers' homes. They run background and driving checks for staff who enter homes and drive company vans, pay brand training time correctly, set the tool policy, and handle employee relations for the shop and office.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, repair and maintenance businesses · BLS, May 2025
[Chief Operating Officer or Chief Executive Officer]
Location:
[INSERT LOCATION HERE]
1. Position Summary
As the HR Manager for our Appliance Repair division, you will be a crucial part of our team, responsible for hiring and training skilled professionals, nurturing a positive work environment and handling any employee relations issues. Your role will contribute significantly to our company's success by ensuring our team is composed of the best talent in the industry.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Manage and oversee all HR functions within the Appliance Repair division.
Lead recruitment, selection, and onboarding of new hires.
Develop and implement comprehensive training programs.
Handle employee relations and resolve conflicts.
Collaborate with management to align HR strategies with business goals.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Conduct interviews and assess candidates for suitability.
Provide orientation and training to new hires.
Develop and maintain positive relationships with employees.
Handle grievances and disciplinary issues.
Assist with performance management and employee development.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Turnover Rate: <10%
Time to Fill Open Positions: <30 days
Employee Satisfaction Rate: >85%
Training Completion Rate: 100%
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor's degree in Human Resources or related field.
Minimum of 5 years' experience in HR management.
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
Proficiency in HR software and Microsoft Office Suite.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous experience in HR management within the home services or appliance repair industry.
7. Physical Requirements
This role is primarily office-based but may require occasional travel to various company locations.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Full-time, Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM.
Minimal travel may be required.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $60,000 - $70,000 annually.
Benefits include Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance, 401k, and paid time off.
10. Company Culture and Overview
At [INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE], we believe in the power of people. We foster a culture of growth and innovation, offering our employees opportunities for personal and professional development. We are committed to delivering exceptional service to our customers and believe this starts with a strong, satisfied team.
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].
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Most of an appliance company's staff work alone in strangers' kitchens and drive company vans, and the techs worth hiring are hard to find. That shapes nearly every HR task.
Look for techs in the jobs next door
Keep a tech opening posted all year rather than waiting for a resignation. Then recruit where part of the skill already exists: delivery and install crews who know the machines, parts counter staff who know the part numbers, HVAC helpers who know refrigeration basics, and electrical students at local trade schools. In the interview, give them a meter and a dryer wiring diagram, then have them explain a fault in words a homeowner would follow.
In-home staff need a background check
Brands can require checks before your techs run their calls. Whirlpool, for example, asks that owners and employees who enter customers' homes pass a nationwide, state and local criminal and employment eligibility screening, with the results sent to Whirlpool before it authorizes the company. Checks bought from a screening company fall under the FCRA. EEOC and FTC guidance says to apply the same standards to everyone, and some states and cities have their own rules on using background information in hiring. Source: Whirlpool: Authorized independent service contractor application (ServiceMatters).
Van drivers get checked again later
Techs drive company vans all day, so ask your auto insurer how often it wants each driver's record pulled. The FTC says one written authorization can cover reports throughout employment, but only if it says so clearly and conspicuously. Word yours that way at hire, and under federal law a later check needs no new signature. State laws can add steps, so check yours before you set up repeat pulls. Source: FTC: Using consumer reports, what employers need to know.
Brand training is paid time
Brands expect techs to keep learning. Whirlpool, for example, asks its servicers to attend product training and webcasts as announced. Under federal rules, a class the company requires is never voluntary, and a class that makes a tech better at the repairs they already do counts as directly related to the job. Either one generally makes the time hours worked, so pay for it and count it toward overtime. Source: 29 CFR 785.27–785.31: Lectures, meetings and training programs (eCFR).
Decide who buys the tools
Many shops ask techs to bring hand tools and supply the costly gear, such as meters, gauges and appliance dollies. If you require techs to buy tools for your work, federal rules count it as a violation in any week when what the tech spent on them pushes their pay under the minimum wage or eats into overtime. Check your state's rules too. Write the tool list, who pays for what, and what happens to company tools when someone leaves, before the first offer goes out. Source: 29 CFR 531.35: Free and clear payment and tools of the trade (eCFR).
How much appliance repair HR managers make
The closest BLS group for appliance repair HR managers is human resources managers. Human resources managers who work for repair and maintenance businesses earned a median of $127,950 a year ($61.52 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s below the $149,280 median for human resources managers in all industries. About 310 of the 220,660 human resources managers in that survey work for repair and maintenance businesses.
A salary. The template's range sits below the low end of what BLS reports for HR managers in repair businesses, and close to what it reports for HR specialists. At that pay you'll likely hire an HR generalist, not the manager with five years of HR management the template asks for. Raise the range or change the title before you post.
Repair and maintenance businesses
$127,950$127,950 median Middle half $101,440–$165,770 10th–90th $87,580–$220,580
All industries
$149,280$149,280 median Middle half $111,110–$199,290 10th–90th $88,200–$267,810
$50k$100k$150k$200k$250k$300k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Repair and maintenance businesses
$87,580
$101,440
$127,950
$165,770
$220,580
All industries
$88,200
$111,110
$149,280
$199,290
$267,810
BLS doesn’t publish pay for human resources managers at household goods repair shops on their own, so these figures cover repair and maintenance businesses. 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
Has recruited for skilled hourly jobs where few applicants arrive fully trained
Knows the FCRA steps from the first disclosure to a final adverse action notice
Can explain when training time and tool costs touch minimum wage and overtime
Keeps a training log by tech, brand and appliance type
Writes pay and tool policies that techs read and sign
Teach these on the job
What each of your brands expects from the techs who run its calls
How your fleet policy handles a tech's new ticket or accident
Your tool list, allowance and return policy
Which techs hold EPA Section 608 cards and other certifications
Your workers' comp reporting deadlines
HR works in an applicant tracking system, the payroll and HR software, a screening vendor's portal for background and driving checks, and the brand portals that show who finished which course. Ask finalists where they'd keep those training records so one report shows who is cleared for what.
Appliance repair HR manager interview questions
Two of the 6 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 · Finding technicians
We need [four] experienced appliance technicians, and few apply. What would you do?
A strong answer: Builds a trainee path, recruits from related fields like HVAC or electronics, uses referrals, makes the pay plan clear, moves fast and supports certifications.
Behavioral · Onboarding
Tell me how you onboarded a new technician so they could run calls on their own sooner.
A strong answer: A written plan with ride-alongs with a lead, bench practice on common failures, safety and in-home conduct training, set check-ins, and a measure like time to first solo call.
The template's numbers are a first guess. Replace them after twelve months of tracking who you hired and who left.
Turnover Rate
Count everyone who left this year against your average headcount. Put first-year techs on their own line, since that's where most training money is lost.
Time to Fill Open Positions
Measure from approval of an opening to the candidate's yes. Keep experienced techs, trainees and office roles on separate lines; experienced techs take longest, so keep their ad running.
Employee Satisfaction Rate
Ask techs once or twice a year, without names, about routes, parts waits, tools and training, the things that send them to a rival shop.
Training Completion Rate
Per tech: brand courses, safety classes and onboarding steps done on time, against all those assigned to them.
Career path
Recruiter or HR generalistSources tech candidates and sets up their first week.
HR managerScreens and hires techs, tracks brand courses and writes the tool and pay rules.
HR directorSets HR for a multi-branch company and merges in staff from shops it buys.
It depends on how you pay it. Under IRS rules, an allowance isn't wages only when it's paid under an accountable plan: the tech spent the money on the job, shows receipts within a reasonable time, and returns anything extra. A flat amount added to each check with no receipts falls under a nonaccountable plan, so it's taxed as supplemental wages. Ask your CPA which setup fits.
How much does an appliance repair HR manager make?
Human resources managers who work for repair and maintenance businesses earned a median of $127,950 a year ($61.52 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $101,440 and $165,770 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
In what order should new appliance techs learn the work?
Start trainees on ride-alongs, then give them laundry and dishwasher calls on their own, then cooking. Save sealed system refrigerator work for last, after they earn any Section 608 card the work requires. Pair each trainee with one lead technician, and write down what they must show before moving up a step, so the trainee and the lead judge progress the same way.
Can you charge a tech for a part they lost or a unit they damaged?
Only within limits. The Labor Department's fact sheet on deductions treats damage to the employer's property, theft and tools used in the work as the employer's own costs to bear, even when the employee was careless. Under federal law, charging the tech for them can't push their pay below the minimum wage or cut into overtime, and having them pay you back in cash doesn't get around it. State law may set tighter limits, so check before you write the policy.
Can a tech's own night classes go unpaid?
Yes, in two cases. If a tech signs up on their own for an after-hours course at a community college or trade school, the time isn't hours worked, even when the course helps at work. The same goes for a voluntary after-hours course you set up that matches courses at an independent school, even if you cover the tuition. Training you require is always paid.
