How to Build a Reliable Hiring Process for Small Trade Businesses
Intro
Finding dependable workers is one of the biggest challenges in the trades. Whether you’re hiring laborers, installers, or office staff, the old way—posting a job and hoping for the best—doesn’t cut it anymore.
A solid, repeatable hiring process helps you attract better candidates, make faster decisions, and reduce turnover. Here’s how to build one that works—even if you don’t have an HR department.
1. Define the Role Clearly (Don’t Wing It)
Many bad hires start with a bad job description. If your expectations are vague, you’ll attract the wrong people—or confuse the right ones.
What to include in every job post:
Clear job title and responsibilities
Daily schedule and expectations (start times, travel, physical requirements)
Pay range, benefits, and growth opportunities
Required skills and certifications
A short paragraph about your company culture
Tool Tip: Use Indeed’s free job templates or build your own based on real company needs—not guesswork.
2. Standardize Your Screening Process
Don’t rely on your gut or “feel.” Use a consistent screening checklist to evaluate every candidate fairly.
Steps to include:
Resume review: Must-haves vs. nice-to-haves
5–7 standard interview questions (skills, attitude, past experience)
Scenario-based question: “What would you do if…?”
Culture fit and team compatibility
References (always call them!)
Pro Tip: Use a Google Form or Airtable to track applicants and notes.
3. Automate Applicant Follow-Up and Interview Booking
Good candidates don’t wait around. If you’re slow to respond, they’ll move on.
Fix it:
Use tools like Calendly to let candidates book interview slots instantly. Combine this with Pipedrive or Zapier to automatically send follow-up emails or updates when a candidate progresses.
4. Train Your Interview Team
If multiple people are involved in interviews, make sure everyone is on the same page. Avoid unstructured interviews or bias-prone questions.
Tips:
Use the same script and evaluation form for every candidate
Don’t just look for experience—look for attitude and coachability
Assign one person to lead and another to observe
Need help? Columbus Business Consulting offers custom hiring SOPs for trade teams.
5. Create a Simple Onboarding Plan
Your hiring process doesn’t stop when someone says “yes.” If onboarding is messy, new hires will second-guess their decision.
At minimum, cover in the first week:
Who do they report to
Safety protocols and jobsite expectations
Equipment and tool procedures
First job assignment walkthrough
Team introductions and communication channels (Slack, job board, etc.)
Tool Tip: Document this in Trainual so you can reuse and update it as your team grows.
Conclusion
Hiring doesn’t have to feel like a gamble. With a clear, repeatable process in place, your small trade business can attract better people, hire faster, and keep them longer. And when your team gets stronger, your whole business does too.
Need help creating job descriptions, hiring SOPs, or automating applicant tracking?
Book a free consultation with Columbus Business Consulting—we’ll help you build a hiring system that scales with your business.
