A commercial HVAC HR manager recruits and keeps the techs, installers and office staff a commercial contractor needs. They clear workers for school and customer sites, keep training and apprentice records, set travel pay rules, and work within the union contract if the shop has one.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Median pay, HVAC and plumbing contractors · BLS, May 2025
Oversee all human resources functions for our Commercial HVAC division while ensuring efficient hiring, onboarding, and compliance processes. Champion team well-being by implementing best practices in employee engagement and performance management. Serve as a key contributor to operational excellence and foster a positive company culture.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Lead the recruitment process to attract, hire, and retain top talent in the Commercial HVAC industry.
Develop and administer comprehensive onboarding programs to ensure new hires are compliant and effectively integrated.
Monitor and enforce staff compliance with internal policies and industry regulations.
Implement programs and initiatives that promote overall team well-being and professional growth.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Coordinate daily HR activities, including screening resumes, scheduling interviews, and conducting onboarding sessions.
Maintain and update employee records and ensure compliance with labour laws and industry-specific standards.
Provide ongoing support to managers and staff regarding HR policies and compliance questions.
Monitor employee performance metrics and organize regular check-ins to address any issues proactively.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Time-to-Hire: Achieve an average of 30 days per hire.
New Employee Retention Rate: Maintain a retention rate of 95% within the first year.
Onboarding Satisfaction: Secure an onboarding satisfaction rating of >4.5 stars from new hires.
Compliance Adherence: Ensure 100% compliance with mandatory training and industry regulations.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Business Administration or related field.
Minimum of 5 years’ experience in HR management or a similar role.
Proficiency in using HRIS systems and common recruiting platforms.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills with an ability to handle confidential information.
6. Preferred Experience
Experience in the Commercial HVAC or home services industry.
Prior background working in a unionized or heavily regulated industry.
Demonstrated track record in improving employee retention and compliance processes.
Familiarity with managing a diversified workforce in a technical and service-focused sector.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to operate in an office environment with extended periods of sedentary work.
Occasional requirement to lift or move materials up to 10 lbs.
Capacity to participate in occasional site visits in varying environments (e.g., cooling/heating systems installation sites).
Maintain a professional demeanor in fast-paced or potentially stressful settings.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Standard working hours typically Monday through Friday during core business hours.
Occasional requirements for extended hours during peak recruitment or operational periods.
Minimal travel required for occasionally attending offsite meetings and industry events.
Flexibility to handle on-call situations during critical operational periods.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Competitive salary range between $75,000 and $90,000 USD annually.
Performance-based bonus structure to reward achievement of key HR metrics.
Comprehensive health benefits including Medical, Dental, and Vision.
401(k) plan with company matching and additional fringe benefits such as paid time off and professional development opportunities.
10. Company Culture and Overview
We are committed to building a collaborative and innovative work environment where every team member is valued.
Our culture emphasizes continuous growth, open communication, and a shared passion for elevating customer satisfaction within the Commercial HVAC industry.
We are driven by a mission to support one another while delivering top-notch service and fostering career advancement opportunities for all employees.
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
Commercial jobs come with rules the customer sets and rules the government sets. HR makes sure every worker sent to a site is paid, trained and cleared the way the contract demands.
Each worker needs the right trade classification
On Davis-Bacon jobs, pay depends on the class of work each person does. The Labor Department says no national definitions exist for these classes, so local practice settles questions. A worker gets the lower apprentice rate only when registered, by name, in an approved program. That approval comes from the Labor Department's apprenticeship arm or a recognized state agency. HR keeps each worker's class notes and apprentice papers where payroll can find them. Source: U.S. Department of Labor: Davis-Bacon and Related Acts compliance principles.
Union or open shop changes the rules
Some commercial HVAC contractors are union shops, with pipefitters or sheet metal workers under a labor contract. There, wages, raises and many work rules come from that contract. The NLRB says an employer generally can't change wages, hours or working conditions for those workers without bargaining with the union first. HR works with the union's business agent on hiring, grievances and fringe reports. In an open shop, HR writes those rules itself. Source: NLRB: Bargaining in good faith with employees' union representative.
Schools check your workers first
Many school districts want proof that workers are cleared before they work on campus. In Texas, for example, contractor workers who come back again and again and can be with students without constant supervision must be fingerprinted. Construction crews fenced off from students, under a no-contact rule, can be exempt. If you order your own report from a screening company, the FCRA requires a notice on its own sheet, not buried in the application, plus the worker's written OK. Some states and cities add their own limits. Source: Texas Education Agency: Fingerprinting requirements for school district contractors.
Travel to distant jobs can be work time
A commercial crew may spend a week at a school or plant hours from the shop. Under federal rules, overnight travel counts as work time when it falls during the worker's normal hours, and that includes the same hours on a day off. HR writes the travel and per diem policy, makes sure payroll counts those hours, and checks state rules that may go further. Source: 29 CFR 785.39: Travel away from home community (Cornell LII).
Safety cards and fall protection records
General contractors often ask for proof of training before a crew starts. OSHA's 10- and 30-hour outreach cards are voluntary under OSHA and don't meet its training rules, though some states, cities and customers require them. Fall protection is different. OSHA requires fall training for construction workers who could be exposed to falls. The employer must certify it on paper, listing each trainee, the date, and who signed off. Source: 29 CFR 1926.503: Fall protection training requirements (Cornell LII).
How much commercial HVAC HR managers make
The closest BLS group for commercial HVAC HR managers is human resources managers. Human resources managers who work for plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors earned a median of $132,700 a year ($63.80 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 370 of the 220,660 human resources managers in that survey work for HVAC and plumbing contractors.
Salaried, with a possible year-end bonus for hiring goals or clean prevailing wage and safety audits.
HVAC and plumbing contractors
$132,700$132,700 median Middle half $110,800–$158,580 10th–90th $90,210–$198,170
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
HVAC and plumbing contractors
$90,210
$110,800
$132,700
$158,580
$198,170
All industries
$88,200
$111,110
$149,280
$199,290
$267,810
BLS reports HVAC and plumbing contractors together, residential and commercial. 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
A record of filling journeyman-level trade jobs
Working knowledge of prevailing wage rules
Comfort working with a labor contract and a business agent, if you're union
Records that hold up to a customer or government audit
Straight talk with foremen and crews on job sites
Teach these on the job
Your trades, crafts and apprentice levels
The wage determinations on your current jobs
Each GC's badging, site orientation and drug testing rules
Your travel, per diem and vehicle policies
Your HR system and training tracker
You'll want payroll software that can pay one worker several rates in a week, such as a prevailing wage rate on one job and a shop rate on another, plus a tracker for training cards and site clearances. Union shops also need a clean way to report hours and fringe contributions to each fund.
Commercial HVAC HR manager interview questions
They have their own page: 6 questions that test this job, what strong and weak answers sound like, and a work exercise to run with your finalists.
Base these numbers on your own hiring history and the requirements in your customer contracts. Review them each quarter.
Time-to-Hire
Days from posting a job to an accepted offer, pulled from your hiring software. Keep journeymen, apprentices and office hires apart in the report, because each one fills at its own pace.
New Employee Retention Rate
Of the people hired in a given month, count how many are still employed a year later. Mark departures that come when a big project ends, so layoffs don't read as turnover.
Onboarding Satisfaction
Star rating from a short survey new hires fill out after their first month. Ask whether they had their tools, training cards and site badges when they needed them.
Compliance Adherence
Required trainings, registrations and site clearances that are current, divided by all that are required, from your training tracker. Spot-check a few job sites each quarter against the GC's list.
Career path
HR coordinator or payroll specialistHandles onboarding papers, training records and payroll questions.
HR managerRuns hiring, compliance, safety records and labor relations.
HR or labor relations directorLeads HR across branches, or bargains with unions as the company grows.
What does HR handle at a commercial HVAC contractor?
Recruiting and keeping techs, installers and office staff comes first. HR also owns the paperwork that gets those workers onto commercial sites: new-hire forms, apprentice papers, training records, site clearances and the travel policy. They help foremen and office leads handle discipline and complaints. In a union shop, they also handle the labor contract day to day.
How much does a commercial HVAC HR manager make?
Human resources managers who work for plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors earned a median of $132,700 a year ($63.80 an hour) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $110,800 and $158,580 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and bonus terms.
How should HR plan for the end of a big project?
Start talking with operations months before the job ends. Move who you can to service work or the next project, and keep a recall list of people you want back. If you have a union contract, follow its layoff and recall rules. Tell people early and plainly. Before you lay off a large group, talk with an employment lawyer.
When should a commercial HVAC contractor hire a separate safety manager?
There's no set size. Many contractors this size give safety to the HR manager at first. They add a safety manager when general contractors start asking for site-specific safety plans and frequent audits, or when workers' comp costs climb. If HR keeps safety, give them field time each week, not just a desk full of records.
What should a commercial HVAC HR manager job posting cover?
Say if you run a union or open shop, about how much of your work falls under prevailing wage rules, and whether the role also owns safety and payroll. Give your headcount and number of branches. Mention site visits and any travel to job sites, and say whether the job manages a payroll clerk or works alone.
