A home builder HR manager hires and trains the company's superintendents, sales agents, office staff and crews, and keeps the records labor law requires. They also set up pay plans for model home sales staff and make sure new hires learn site safety before they work on a lot.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, residential builders and remodelers · BLS, May 2025
Serve as the key HR leader to drive recruitment, training, and labor compliance initiatives for our home building operations. Cultivate a supportive team culture that fosters employee engagement, development, and performance excellence. Ensure HR policies, practices, and compliance measures are met and aligned with industry standards and business growth goals.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop and execute recruitment strategies to attract top talent for home building operations.
Design and implement comprehensive training programs that support skills development and career growth.
Monitor labor compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and company policies.
Collaborate with leadership to foster a positive team culture and ensure effective communication across departments.
Oversee employee relations, performance evaluations, and career development initiatives.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Review and update job postings and screening of applicants for various operational roles.
Conduct interviews, coordinate onboarding processes, and facilitate training sessions for new hires.
Manage HR documentation to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local labor regulations.
Address employee concerns, resolve workplace issues, and support consistent team engagement.
Coordinate with department heads to identify and fulfill staffing and training needs.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Time to fill open positions: less than 30 days on average.
Employee retention rate: target of >90% annually.
Training completion rate: achievement of >95% for all scheduled sessions.
Compliance audit score: 100% adherence to labor regulations and company standards.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration, or a related field.
5+ years of HR management experience, preferably within the home services or construction industry.
Strong knowledge of labor laws, regulatory requirements, and HR best practices.
Excellent communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills.
Proficiency in HR software and Microsoft Office suite.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous experience working in the home building, construction, or related service industries.
Proven track record of successfully recruiting and training a diverse workforce.
Experience in developing and implementing HR policies and procedures in a fast-paced environment.
Demonstrated ability to foster a positive and inclusive team culture.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to work in an office environment with extended periods of sitting and computer usage.
Occasional need to lift light office supplies up to 20 lbs.
Minimal physical exertion required while performing job duties.
Comfortable with periodic site visits and tours of operational facilities, if necessary.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard work hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Occasional extended hours during peak recruitment or compliance audit periods.
Minimal travel required for industry events, training sessions, or facility visits.
On-call duties may be required during critical HR or compliance events.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Salary range: $70,000 - $90,000 per year, commensurate with experience.
Annual performance bonuses based on achieving recruitment and training KPIs.
Health, dental, and vision insurance coverage provided.
401k retirement savings plan with company match.
Additional fringe benefits including paid time off, professional development support, and wellness programs.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are a growth-oriented home building company that values innovation, collaboration, and integrity.
Our team-centric environment empowers every employee to contribute and grow within a supportive, inclusive culture.
We invest in our people through continual learning opportunities, celebrating success and fostering accountability in a dynamic industry.
Join us to be a part of a forward-thinking organization where your expertise in HR will shape our operational excellence and employee success.
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
A builder employs salespeople at model homes, superintendents on scattered lots and an office in between. Each group raises its own pay, licensing and safety questions.
Model home sales and overtime
Federal overtime rules exempt outside salespeople only when their selling happens somewhere other than the employer's own business locations. Any fixed site a salesperson uses as a headquarters counts as one of those locations. An agent who works from a model home or sales center most days likely doesn't fit. Track their hours, and plan for minimum wage and overtime unless another exemption applies. Have your employment lawyer review each sales role. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 541.502, outside sales away from the employer's place of business.
In Missouri, staff sales agents can skip the license
Missouri's real estate licensing law doesn't apply to an owner selling its own property or to that owner's regular employees. A builder's employed agents selling the company's homes fit that wording. A commission-only agent hired as a contractor may not. Decide early whether your agents will be employees or licensed outside agents, and check the rule in each state where you sell. Source: Missouri Revised Statutes 339.010: real estate licensing definitions and exemptions.
Site safety comes before the first lot
OSHA's construction rules require employers to teach each worker to spot and avoid unsafe conditions, along with the rules that apply to their work. At a builder, that goes beyond the crews. New assistant superintendents, warranty techs and sales agents who walk buyers through framed houses should get it too. Build a short site orientation into onboarding and keep a signed record for each person. Source: eCFR: 29 CFR 1926.21, safety training and education in construction.
Spell out when commission is earned
A new home sale can take months to reach closing, and some fall apart on the way. Put the plan in writing: whether commission is earned at contract or at closing, what happens when a buyer cancels or loses financing, and what an agent gets for sales that close after they leave. Have a lawyer check it against your state's wage payment rules.
Superintendents come from other builders
Experienced superintendents are usually working for another builder in your market. Recruit in the slower months before spring starts pick up, and ask candidates about the size of their last community and how they handled failed inspections. Track why superintendents leave, since losing one in the middle of a community shows up as delays on every house they ran.
How much home builder HR managers make
The closest BLS group for home builder HR managers is human resources managers. Human resources managers who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $133,790 a year ($64.32 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 330 of the 220,660 human resources managers in that survey work for residential builders and remodelers.
Usually a salary with an annual bonus. BLS shows most HR managers at residential builders earning more than the template's range. It's closer to HR specialist pay, so expect to pay more for five years of management experience.
Residential builders and remodelers
$133,790$133,790 median Middle half $104,040–$168,860 10th–90th $86,570–$206,460
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
Residential builders and remodelers
$86,570
$104,040
$133,790
$168,860
$206,460
All industries
$88,200
$111,110
$149,280
$199,290
$267,810
BLS reports home builders and remodelers together. 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
Sound grasp of overtime, minimum wage and pay timing rules
Building commission and bonus plans that hold up
Recruiting superintendents and sales staff in a tight market
Onboarding that gets new hires safe on site fast
Calm handling of complaints from crews, staff and buyers
Teach these on the job
Your state's real estate licensing rules for sales staff
Your construction stages and job titles
Your HR and payroll software
OSHA construction training topics
How your communities and model homes are staffed
Plan on a payroll and HR platform, applicant tracking software and a training log. Name your systems in the job ad, and state whether the safety program sits with HR.
Home builder 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 · Keeping superintendents
Superintendents are leaving for competitors, and you'll be three short before spring. Walk me through your plan.
A strong answer: Learns why through exit and stay interviews, checks pay and workload against the market, promotes ready assistants, builds a pipeline with schools and trade partners, and speeds up hiring.
Behavioral · Fair investigations
Tell me about a time you investigated a field employee's complaint about a superintendent or crew lead.
A strong answer: Interviewed the employee, the supervisor and witnesses separately, checked records like timecards, texts and schedules, decided on the evidence, protected the employee from retaliation, and closed the loop with both.
The template's targets are placeholders. After a year, reset them using your own hiring calendar and turnover by role.
Time to fill open positions
Measure the days between approving an opening and getting a signed offer back. Report superintendents, sales agents and office roles separately, since each hires from a different pool.
Employee retention rate
Track who stays through a full year, by role and by community. Read exit interviews for patterns, such as workload, commission timing or a single manager.
Training completion rate
Compare scheduled sessions, including site orientation and sales compliance training, with signed attendance records. Follow up with anyone who missed one before they go back on site.
Compliance audit score
Run a yearly self-check of I-9s, time and pay records, exemption decisions, posters and training files. Fix each gap found with a due date and an owner.
Career path
Payroll administrator at a contractorLearns time records, deductions and benefits.
HR generalistRuns onboarding, new hire forms and day-to-day staff questions.
HR managerRuns hiring, training and labor compliance for the builder.
Vice president of human resourcesLeads HR across several divisions at a larger builder.
HR sets up the process and checks references. The operations manager the new superintendent will report to should lead the job questions: how they run inspections, manage trades and talk to buyers. Have each finalist walk a house in progress and list what they notice. HR then makes sure every candidate gets the same questions and the same walk.
How much does a home builder HR manager make?
Human resources managers who work for residential builders and remodelers earned a median of $133,790 a year ($64.32 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $104,040 and $168,860 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
What training should a home builder set up first?
Start with site orientation for anyone who sets foot on a lot, then conduct and harassment training for everyone. Sales agents and customer service staff should get fair housing training before they talk to buyers. After that, build role training, such as how superintendents keep a schedule and how sales writes a contract.
How much time does a home builder HR manager spend on job sites?
Desk work fills most of the week. Site trips come up for an orientation at a model home, an injury report or a meeting with a crew. That means walking unpaved lots and climbing temporary steps into a framed house. The template's lifting line covers carrying training binders or a box of safety gear.
What HR work comes with opening a new community?
A new community usually brings a model home, sales staff, a superintendent and sometimes a new city or county. Check that area's local wage, leave and fair-chance hiring rules, put up the required notices at the sales office, and schedule site orientation before the first crew arrives.
