A custom closet HR manager hires for three very different jobs: design consultants who sell in homes for bonuses or commission, shop workers who run saws and the CNC router, and installers who drive company vans into customers' homes. They keep the pay plans, driving records and background checks behind each hire.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, building finishing contractors · BLS, May 2025
Serve as the HR Manager for our Custom Closets division, driving recruitment, regulatory compliance, and a positive team culture to support operational excellence.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Lead full-cycle recruitment efforts to attract top talent in the custom closets industry.
Ensure adherence to local, state, and federal employment regulations and internal policies.
Develop and implement employee training and professional development programs.
Foster a positive, inclusive, and collaborative team environment that supports employee engagement.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and screen candidate applications and conduct interviews in a timely manner.
Oversee onboarding processes, including scheduling orientation and training sessions.
Monitor HR documentation, employee records, and compliance metrics daily.
Address employee queries and resolve any HR-related issues to maintain workplace harmony.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Recruitment Efficiency: Achieve a 90% fill rate within 60 days for open positions.
Compliance Rate: Maintain 100% adherence to legal and internal HR standards.
Employee Retention: Achieve an annual retention rate exceeding 85%.
Employee Satisfaction: Secure an average satisfaction rating of over 4.5 stars in employee surveys.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources Management, Business Administration, or a related field.
A minimum of 3-5 years’ experience in an HR role with a focus on recruitment and compliance.
Strong communication, organizational, and interpersonal skills.
Proficiency in HR software applications and Microsoft Office Suite.
6. Preferred Experience
Direct experience in the home services or custom closets industry.
Demonstrated familiarity with modern recruitment platforms and HR best practices.
History of working in fast-paced, dynamic environments with evolving staffing needs.
Proven track record of building and sustaining a positive team culture.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to sit and stand for extended periods during work hours.
Capability to lift documents or materials weighing up to 20 lbs.
Occasional travel between office locations and on-site operations.
Comfortable working in a standard office environment with minimal physical demands.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours are from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
Occasional evening or weekend work may be required during peak recruitment periods.
Minimal travel between home office and other operational sites.
On-call duties during critical staffing or HR emergencies.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary Range: $55,000 - $70,000 per year.
Eligibility for an annual performance-based bonus.
Comprehensive Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance packages.
401k plan with company matching contributions.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We foster an innovative work environment that champions excellence and professional growth.
Our collaborative team values proactive communication, inclusivity, and mutual support.
The company is dedicated to continuous learning and development, ensuring every employee can thrive.
We pride ourselves on delivering top-quality custom closet solutions paired with exceptional customer service.
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
Designers sell at kitchen tables, shop workers cut and edge parts, and installers drive to houses and work inside them. Each group brings its own hiring rules and paperwork.
A designer's bonus needs a clear trigger
Designers' bonuses in the template turn on conversion, and sales reps' commission on closed projects. Both raise one question: when is an order closed? Answer it in a plan each designer or rep signs. Say whether the money is earned at signing, after the cancel period or after install, and what a canceled order or a remake at the company's cost does to it. Have an employment lawyer check the plan against your state's wage law.
Teens stay off woodworking machines and tools
Under federal child labor rules, 16- and 17-year-olds may not use power-driven woodworking machines: no running or feeding them, and no setting up, adjusting, repairing, oiling or cleaning them. Pulling parts straight off a circular saw's table is barred too, but carrying, stacking, sorting and loading parts away from the saw is fine. The definition also covers portable power tools that cut, nail or fasten wood, so the limits follow a teen onto an install crew. Anyone 14 or 15 is kept out of the shop entirely. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 570.55, power-driven woodworking machines (Hazardous Occupations Order 5).
Install vans bring driving records
Installers drive company vans to homes, so HR checks driving records at hire and on a schedule. When a van's rated or actual weight reaches 10,001 pounds, counting any trailer, and it's driven in interstate commerce, FMCSA rules apply. Then the company must get each driver's record from every state that licensed them in the last three years, within 30 days of hire. It must pull a new record at least every 12 months, review it, and note who reviewed it and when. Source: eCFR: 49 CFR 391.25, yearly driving record review.
Checks before anyone works in a home
Designers and installers spend hours inside customers' homes. If an outside firm runs your background checks, the FTC's consumer report rules apply. First comes a notice in writing, on a page of its own and not inside the job application, and the applicant's signed OK. Before a report costs anyone the job, they get the report itself, the FCRA summary of rights and a chance to flag errors. The FTC also suggests reviewing your state's laws on consumer reports. Source: FTC: Using consumer reports: what employers need to know.
How much custom closet HR managers make
The closest BLS group for custom closet HR managers is human resources managers. Human resources managers who work for building finishing contractors earned a median of $119,610 a year ($57.51 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 150 of the 220,660 human resources managers in that survey work for building finishing contractors.
The template pays a salary, an annual bonus and a matched retirement plan. Its range sits far under the BLS median here, which rests on a small count of HR managers in this contractor group. Settle whether the job sets policy or mainly runs the paperwork, then price that job locally.
Building finishing contractors
$119,610$119,610 median Middle half $97,340–$166,420 10th–90th $83,370–$197,330
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
Building finishing contractors
$83,370
$97,340
$119,610
$166,420
$197,330
All industries
$88,200
$111,110
$149,280
$199,290
$267,810
BLS doesn’t publish pay for closet companies 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
Has hired salespeople, shop workers and field crews at the same company
Writes pay plans that say exactly when a bonus or commission is earned
Orders background and driving checks only after the required notices go out
Knows which shop tasks a worker under 18 may and may not do
Explains a designer's pay plan to a candidate in plain words before the offer
Teach these on the job
Your design consultant pay plan and bonus rules
Your shop machines and the training each one needs
Your vans, trucks and who is cleared to drive each one
Your background check company and its forms
Your HR and payroll software
HR runs on a payroll and HR system, an applicant tracking tool and an account with a background check company. Keep a list of who is cleared to drive which vehicle where the dispatcher can see it.
Custom closet 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 · Recruiting installers and designers
You need two installers and a design consultant within a month in a tight labor market. How do you find them?
A strong answer: Uses targeted sources such as trade schools, cabinet shops and design programs, referrals, clear job ads with pay ranges, and a fast structured process with a skills check.
Behavioral · Training programs
Tell me about an onboarding or training program you built for installers or for panel saw and CNC operators. How did you know it worked?
A strong answer: Describes skill checkoffs and a mentor, and results such as faster ramp-up, fewer errors or more new hires staying.
Agree targets with the COO from last year's hiring and exits, kept apart for design, shop, install and office.
Recruitment Efficiency
Days from posting to start date, on separate lines for designers, shop workers, installers and office. Count a seat as filled only when the person shows up for the first day.
Compliance Rate
Track open items each month, not just files checked: a driver whose yearly record pull is overdue, a designer working under an unsigned plan, or a shop hire with no machine training sign-off. Report the count and the oldest item.
Employee Retention
Count the people on payroll in January who are still there in December, for design, shop and install apart. Read each group's exit reasons next to its pay plan and schedule.
Employee Satisfaction
Hand the survey out at a shop meeting and an installers' morning meeting as well as by email, so crews who rarely sit at a computer answer too. Report shop, field, design and office apart.
Career path
HR coordinatorKeeps applicants moving for design, shop and install openings.
HR managerOwns hiring for designers, the shop and installers, plus pay plans and checks.
HR directorAdds benefits planning and HR for each new market the company opens.
Can a closet shop train a 17-year-old on the saws?
Only through a formal program. Under federal rules, a registered apprentice may do that work only when it's part of the training, brief and closely supervised by a journeyman. A student-learner needs a school vocational program and a written agreement, signed by the employer and the school, that says the same and includes a schedule of work steps. State law can be stricter. Without one of those, keep teens off the machines.
How much does a custom closet HR manager make?
Human resources managers who work for building finishing contractors earned a median of $119,610 a year ($57.51 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $97,340 and $166,420 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
Should a closet company check designers' driving records too?
If designers drive to homes for work, you may want to, even in their own cars. Settle which roles get checked before anyone applies, and treat everyone in a role the same. Ask designers for proof of their own auto insurance, and ask your insurer how it covers staff who drive personal cars on company business. Use the same consent forms and notices for designers as for installers.
What should HR do when a background check turns up a conviction?
Don't decide on the spot. Look at what the offense was, how long ago it happened, and whether it bears on working alone in a customer's home. Send the pre-adverse notice with the report and give the person time to respond, since reports can be wrong or about someone else. Before you adopt a policy, ask your employment lawyer what your state and city allow you to ask and weigh.
Where do closet companies find shop workers?
Cabinet shops, furniture plants, sign makers and trade school programs in woodworking or CNC machining. Someone who has run a panel saw or loaded a CNC router learns your system quickly. For entry jobs, look for people who measure carefully and follow a cut list. Ask your shop manager to sit in on interviews, and let each finalist see the floor.
