Amtec Hiring Guides

How to Hire Maintenance Managers in Tacoma

Amtec Hiring Guides

How to Hire Maintenance Managers in Tacoma

Current Environment

A marketing team needs a marketing manager. A retail store needs a store manager. A maintenance department needs a maintenance manager.

Whenever you have a diverse team of people that needs to be coordinated, there must be someone who has been put in charge of delegating and overseeing all of the tasks and responsibilities of each individual and the collective team as a whole. What makes a maintenance manager a bit different is that the scope of their responsibilities is somewhat larger than with your standard managerial role in that they are not just a manager of people, but must also be well-versed and skilled in many of the maintenance-related trades.

History

The second industrial revolution started the need for maintenance professionals. Historically, maintenance has been viewed as an expense, necessary but not wanted. Although some organizations may still hold this idea to be true, many companies today regard maintenance as an essential part of business operations and an area where an experienced maintenance professional can find ways to decrease costs and diminish the impact on the bottom line.

Will COVID-19 Affect the Maintenance Field?

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected employment and the job market. While it has radically upended life as was previously known in almost every way, there are renewed efforts at work that are frantically working to return businesses and institutions to what was once considered to be normal as quickly as possible – or at least to what will become the “new normal”.

2021 has seen a mix of responses as economies start to open up once again now that the distribution of the vaccine has increased. There is much to be hopeful about. The role of the maintenance manager will continue to be important in helping companies – big and small – to prepare for the future.

With new regulations being suggested by the CDC, much of this adherence and practice will be supervised by maintenance managers. The COVID-19 outbreak has acted as a catalyst for change and has reiterated the need to pay attention to how facilities are being managed and maintenance services are being delivered. All built environments, owned or leased offices, warehouses, retail stores or manufacturing facilities, will require careful consideration and tailored plans.

How will Recruiting maintenance managers Help Your Company?

How will Hiring maintenance managers Help Your Company?

While the exact scope of work differs depending on the size of the company, a typical maintenance manager is responsible for keeping the ground operations running by managing and overseeing all maintenance-related activities.

Hiring the right maintenance manager can and will make a significant difference when it comes to ensuring your company’s facilities are well managed and it will reduce the stress of knowing that even the smallest of details are well cared for and looked after.

The qualified maintenance manager will exert strong leadership and will work toward getting the job done properly through others. Delegating work to subordinates is an important function of management otherwise nothing ever gets done. Delegation frees up precious time so the manager can focus on high-level, high-value activities.

In being a great leader, the maintenance manager will get things done by inspiring and empowering others to do great work for them. They foster motivation by giving subordinates autonomy to do the job by creating a supportive environment, and by giving recognition when the job is done well.

In addition to showing strong leadership, the most successful maintenance managers are both flexible and humble, but still bring a high level of confidence and competence to the job.

Having a strong maintenance manager in place is a great way for a company to grow and do more with less. Successful managers who know how to motivate and encourage a team of technicians and supervisors will be the ones who can propel an organization to embrace new technologies, such as predictive maintenance tools, in an effective and productive manner.

Before we get to exactly how to hire the best maintenance manager in [city_name] let’s review some of the details…

maintenance-manager Details

Responsibilities

Maintenance managers oversee a team of maintenance supervisors who manage technicians and workload during a particular shift. Depending on the size of the organization, managers report to either a maintenance director, president, or vice president of operations.

Maintenance managers also carry  out the following tasks and responsibilities:

  • Strategic Planning
  • Coordination of Responsibilities
  • Training and Development of Employees
  • Set the Team Vision
  • Build a Proactive Work Culture
  • Implement Health and Safety Procedures
  • Document Previous Work on Assets
  • Aim for Preventative Maintenance Culture
  • Support Supervisors and Technicians
  • Assign Appropriate Tasks with Trust

Looking for another position? View other positions we place in Tacoma, Washington.

Education

Maintenance managers who lead maintenance departments, including managing staff, budget, purchasing, reporting, etc. will need a bachelor’s degree in business or a related discipline. This includes administrative services and facilities managers. Some roles in smaller facilities, however, may only require an associate of arts degree plus several years of on-the-job experience.

Many people enter the profession with a high school diploma and a significant amount of relevant experience. There are also several professional credentials that maintenance managers may choose to complete.

Here are resources to help you find community colleges in California, Arizona, and your own state.

Top Schools

  • Community Colleges in California

  • Community Colleges in Arizona

  • Search Community Colleges in Your State

Salary Range

maintenance managers in the U.S.

$53k
Low
$93k
Average
$141k
High
326k

Total maintenance managers Employed in the U.S.

84.7%

Men

15.3%

Women

maintenance-manager Salary Comparison

National

As stated the role of the maintenance manager is a crucial one. As such, the role can be paid handsomely, even at the bottom salary level. More experienced leads to higher compensation and more managerial duties which leads to higher compensation.

Washington

The average annual salary for maintenance managers in Washington was 102k in 2019. The hourly wage averaged $48.86.

For more detailed compensation information for maintenance managers in Tacoma, download our free compensation/salary report below.

Working in Tacoma

Tacoma is a picturesque city in Washington on the banks of Puget Sound, located just north of its neighbor and “big sister” Seattle. But Tacoma is definitely a city with its own identity. Due to its thriving job market and progressive culture, Tacoma is also known as the City of Destiny.

Its natural beauty, ocean-front location, focus on arts and culture, and its proximity to the impressive Mount Ranier give Tacoma a ton of character.

Here are a few additional “pros” for living and working in Tacoma.

Pros

    • The crown jewel of Tacoma is Point Defiance Park, which some compare to  NYC’s Central Park as far as size and stuff to do.  The park has 760 acres of trails, gardens, forests, playgrounds, and waterfront activities like boating and swimming.
    • It’s also home to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium.
    • Museums: The city boasts several world-renowned museums: the Museum of Glass, the Tacoma Art Museum, and the Washington State History Museum.
    • Tacoma Arts Live features three theaters, the Tacoma City Ballet, Tacoma Philharmonic, Tacoma Symphony Orchestra, and Puget Sound Revels.
    • Tacoma gets good reviews on its food scene, and most locals would point to Ruston Way for the best seafood restaurants, or cross the Tacoma Narrow’s Bridge to the charming city of Gig Harbor for more waterfront dining options.
    • The cost of living is lower than in neighboring Seattle. This calculator estimates that Tacoma is 34% cheaper overall than Seattle, and the median home cost is 56% less.

While there are many good things people report about living and working in Tacoma, there are a few complaints.

Cons

    • When comparing Tacoma to Seattle schools, the school data shows that Seattle has better statistics for Pre-K-12 schools. Tacoma has more students per teacher and a lower high school graduation rate, and while 28% of students go on to get a 4-year degree, 62% achieve the same in Seattle.
    • The Tacoma Aroma. What?? It’s a rancid, unpleasant odor that occurs occasionally in the tidal flats. Describe it as that kind of sulfuric, rotten egg smell. It’s a byproduct of industrialization in the area.

Current Weather

Not your city? View other cities where we place maintenance managers.

Demand for maintenance managers in Tacoma

Demand for maintenance managers in Tacoma

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the national job outlook for maintenance managers at 6%, 2% higher than the national average for overall job growth (4%).

New ways to build and manage facilities utilizing “smart building” technology is expected to affect the work of facilities managers over the next decade. This technology will provide facilities and maintenance managers with timely and detailed information, such as equipment failure alerts and reminders to do maintenance. This information should allow facilities managers to complete their work more efficiently.

The supply of candidates and demand for open positions have a direct correlation to a company's ability to hire. Download a free Supply and Demand report for maintenance managers in Tacoma, Washington below.

How to Hire the Best maintenance managers

Finding and hiring the best maintenance-manager candidates can save you money right away and well into the future.

The costs of making a bad hire are well documented. The cost can run as much as 30% of the employee's first-year earnings according to the US Department of Labor. Bad hires can cost a whopping $240,000 in expenses related to hiring, compensation, and retention per The Undercover Recruiter. 74% of companies who admit they've hired the wrong person for a position lost an average of $14,900 for each bad hire according to CareerBuilder. These statistics support our long-held position that behavioral questions are the best way to get to know your candidates and past behavior is the best indicator of future performance.

Recruiting Best Practices

The information below comes from the best practices Amtec uses for finding the highest quality candidates.

Defining the Position

When defining the role you are creating, we recommend a position profile to fully evaluate the position you are hiring for. You must decide if the engineer can work remotely or must work in Washington. If working in Tacoma is essential, make sure you include that in your job posting so candidates can decide how many miles they can commute.

How to Source the Best Candidates

When you are looking to source the best quality candidates for your open positions, make sure you have done the legwork to hire an "A Player". You can do this by making sure your company's perspective is aligned with the current market, you have taken into account the job responsibilities, as well as what type of characteristics you are looking for to fit your company culture. Then proceed to write a job posting to attract high-quality candidates.

Characteristics of maintenance managers

Maintenance managers are a critical link in the organizational structure of a maintenance department. Once an organization has enough employees to warrant adding this level of management, it is important to select or groom the right type of individual for this position.

The right individuals will be well-versed not only in the technical side of maintenance but also have the right leadership and team-building skills to motivate and encourage supervisors and technicians; serving as the catalyst for an entire maintenance department to thrive and grow into the future.

For more detailed compensation information for maintenance managers in [city_name], download our free compensation/salary report below.

How to Screen Candidates

You wrote a job posting, posted the position online, and received a lot more resumes than you’d bargained for! Next comes the enormous task of sorting through those resumes to eliminate the ones that are clearly not a good fit. Now, you have a stack of resumes for candidates who have potential. So how do you go about screening the remaining candidates?

It starts on the phone! As a recruiter, the goal of your telephone screening is to learn more about your candidates. You can confirm that they have the educational qualifications and relevant experience, but you also need to determine if they would fit into your company's culture. To make this job easier, use a system to consistently evaluate results. This way you can equally and objectively compare candidates and evaluate their "soft skills", like communication and thinking process. Download Amtec's Professional Assessment Questionnaire below to help with screening candidates.

Free Professional Assessment Questionnaire

An individually customized questionnaire that helps assess a candidate's competence with written communication skills, thinking processes, and other relevant skills.

How to Interview Candidates

At Amtec, we believe in the power of behavoral interview questions to go beyond the experience and skills listed on the candidate's resume. Although you will want to confirm in the interview that the candidate does indeed have the experience listed on their resume, your assessment needs to go much deeper than that. An interview using behavioral questions can help you determine how well the candidate will fit with your company culture.

Download Amtec's best practices on conducting super effective interviews to find the best candidates and fill your open jobs.

Behavioral Interview Guide

Get the info you need to hire the best maintenance managers

Free Interview Guide