A basement waterproofing dispatcher routes in-home inspectors to their visits and books install crews into jobs that run two or more days. On storm nights they work the list of homeowners whose pumps have stopped, and they place and move the locate requests outside digs depend on.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building finishing contractors · BLS, May 2025
As a Dispatcher, you will play an essential role in our Basement Waterproofing operations. You will assign projects, track job progress, and manage crew routes, ensuring the smooth and efficient running of our services. Your role will contribute significantly to maintaining our reputation for delivering excellent, timely services to our clients.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Assigning and scheduling waterproofing projects to teams based on skill, availability, and geographic location.
Tracking job progress and ensuring completion within the stipulated timeline.
Managing crew routes to optimize efficiency and time management.
Coordinating with teams and clients to address any schedule changes or issues promptly.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Monitoring the workflow of various projects.
Coordinating with teams for updates and feedback.
Maintaining a database of project timelines, crew schedules, and client feedback.
Resolving any project or scheduling conflicts in a timely manner.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Project Completion Rate: >90%.
Crew Route Efficiency: >80%.
Client Satisfaction Rating: >4.5 stars.
Reduction in Project Delays: <10%.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High School diploma or equivalent.
At least 2 years of experience in a dispatcher role.
Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills.
Strong communication and interpersonal abilities.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience as a dispatcher in the home services or construction industry.
Familiarity with basement waterproofing or similar services.
7. Physical Requirements
Able to work in a sedentary position for extended periods.
Able to handle standard office equipment.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5 pm.
Occasional weekend or evening shifts may be required during peak periods.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $40,000 - $45,000 per annum.
Benefits include Health, Dental, and Vision insurance, and a 401k plan.
10. Company Culture and Overview
Our company values its employees as much as its customers. We believe in fostering a vibrant, collaborative, and growth-oriented environment where each team member can excel. We encourage continuous learning and offer numerous opportunities for professional development. Join us and be a part of our mission to provide top-notch basement waterproofing services.
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
The board holds three kinds of work: inspections that sell jobs, installs that tie up a crew for days, and pump calls that can't wait for morning.
Inspectors need room on the map
An in-home visit means a walk through the basement, often a look outside, and a price at the kitchen table, so it runs long. The dispatcher books each inspector's visits by area, with real drive time between them. On a wet day with a pile of new calls, they fill openings with nearby homes first, and hold the slots your general manager sets aside for home sale deadlines.
One drain job, several days
A crew that breaks the floor on day one comes back to set pipe, the pit and the pump, then pours. Once the operations manager sets how many days a job needs, the dispatcher holds those days in a row for one crew, so a trench isn't left open while the crew works elsewhere or over a weekend. If the contract adds a dehumidifier that needs an outlet, they book the electrician before the crew's last day.
Working the storm-night list
On a stormy night the pump calls come in after the office closes. The dispatcher checks each address against install and warranty records, notes whether the power is out, the alarm is sounding and how high the water is, and logs the time. They send the on-call tech in the order the operations manager set, call each homeowner back with an honest arrival time, and leave the list, with what happened on each call, for the morning.
Locate requests have a window
Take Pennsylvania's utility line law as an example. It counts anchoring and augering with powered equipment as excavation. The locate request goes in three to ten business days before digging starts, and work may begin on the third business day after it, not counting the day it was received. If frozen ground or a soaked yard pushes a wall anchor dig past the tenth business day, that request no longer fits the window, so the dispatcher places a new one. If marks wash out, they ask for new marks. Source: Pennsylvania Underground Utility Line Protection Law (1974 Act 287).
How much basement waterproofing dispatchers make
Dispatchers who work for building finishing contractors earned a median of $25.29 an hour ($52,610 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s above the $50,340 median for dispatchers in all industries. About 460 of the 202,810 dispatchers in that survey work for building finishing contractors.
Salaried in the template, with benefits and a retirement plan, paying under the median in the BLS figures here. Storm evenings add hours, and a salary alone doesn't make a dispatcher exempt from overtime.
Building finishing contractors
$52,610$52,610 median Middle half $47,500–$61,840 10th–90th $42,560–$74,490
All industries
$50,340$50,340 median Middle half $42,750–$62,450 10th–90th $36,030–$78,140
$30k$40k$50k$60k$70k$80k$90k
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 finishing contractors
$42,560
$47,500
$52,610
$61,840
$74,490
All industries
$36,030
$42,750
$50,340
$62,450
$78,140
BLS doesn’t publish pay for waterproofing contractors on their own. These figures cover building finishing contractors, 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
Books multi-day jobs as blocks and keeps a crew from being double-booked
Orders a day's inspections so the drive between homes stays short
Keeps calm, exact notes on a long list of night calls
Tracks locate request dates and start dates for every outside dig
Calls homeowners about a change before the truck would have arrived
Teach these on the job
Drain, pump, wall anchor and crawl space jobs, and what each needs
Your inspector territories and booking rules
Your state's locate request rules
Who is on call each night and how to reach them
Which pumps, batteries and alarms you install
The board usually lives in the CRM's install calendar or in a field service app, next to truck GPS and the state's online locate request portal open beside it. Ask candidates whether they've scheduled jobs that last more than a day.
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 · Sorting rain-day calls
It's raining hard and [12] people call with water in their basements, including [3] past customers under warranty. How do you sort them?
A strong answer: Puts water near electrical or furnaces and fast-rising water first, then warranty customers and vulnerable households, gives honest times, and keeps the manager posted.
Behavioral · Staying calm when plans fall apart
Tell me about a time you kept calm when the schedule fell apart, such as an install running days over or a crew truck breaking down.
A strong answer: Stopped to re-rank jobs by urgency, called crews and customers in order of impact, kept the board updated, and asked the manager for help early.
Pull these weekly from the schedule, log storm and weather changes on their own lines, and choose targets after a season of your own numbers.
Project Completion Rate
Each Friday, mark every job on the board as done on its last booked day or not. For each miss, note whether weather, a missing locate or a crew change pushed it.
Crew Route Efficiency
From truck GPS, compare drive time with time parked at homes for each inspector and crew. Look for long drives between visits that a better order would have cut.
Client Satisfaction Rating
Survey scores and reviews that mention arrival times, schedule changes and storm-night response. Read each low one and check what the board looked like that day.
Reduction in Project Delays
Count jobs that started or finished later than promised in a month, and put it next to the same month a year earlier. Tag each delay with its cause: weather you can't fix, a double-booked crew you can.
How does a waterproofing dispatcher split work with the operations manager?
The operations manager decides which crew does which kind of work, what goes on the trucks and which storm calls come first. The dispatcher puts those choices on the board and keeps it true through the day, calling homeowners whenever a time moves. When the board can't hold everything, the dispatcher brings the choice to the operations manager rather than making it alone.
How much does a basement waterproofing dispatcher make?
Dispatchers who work for building finishing contractors earned a median of $25.29 an hour ($52,610 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $47,500 and $61,840 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
Who places the locate request for a waterproofing dig?
In Pennsylvania the law puts that duty on the excavator, the company doing the digging, and at some waterproofing companies the dispatcher places it while booking the job. Record the request number and the earliest legal start date on the job. The crew lead still checks the marks on site before anyone digs.
What should a dispatcher do when a storm caller's power is out?
Note it and tell the caller plainly that a tech can't restore power. Check the install record for a battery backup and how old it is. Then follow the rules your operations manager set for these calls, such as whether a tech goes out, so every dispatcher gives the same answer.
What counts toward crew route efficiency?
How much of the paid day crews and inspectors spend at homes instead of on the road. For multi-day installs the drive is mostly the first morning, so most gains come from ordering inspections and service visits well. Measure it the same way every week before you set a target.
