Hiring is hard in our industry. The job is physical. Hours are odd. Customers can be difficult. Most hood cleaning companies have 50-80% annual turnover. Ours was under 20% for the last 5 years before I sold. The difference wasn't pay (we paid market). It was structure.
Where to find good techs
- Construction worker forums and union halls — guys who are tired of seasonality. Hood cleaning is year-round.
- Restaurant industry — line cooks who want out of the heat but understand kitchens
- Veterans — disciplined, comfortable with PPE and protocols. Try local VA employment offices.
- Referrals from current techs — best source. Pay $500-1,000 referral bonus after 90 days of retention.
What to look for in interviews
Skills you can teach. Attitudes you can't. Look for:
- Reliability indicators — has them held a job for 2+ years recently? Why did they leave?
- Physical readiness — can they lift 50 lbs comfortably? Climb a ladder?
- Customer-facing comfort — they're going into people's businesses. Will they be polite?
- Documentation discipline — show them an iPhone job photo and ask "what's wrong with this?" If they don't notice it's not date-stamped, they'll skip steps.
- Drive — are they showing up to interview because they need a job, or because they want this one?
The 30-day onboarding plan
Don't throw new hires into solo jobs. Here's the exact plan:
Week 1 — classroom + ride-along
- Day 1-2: NFPA 96 basics (online IKECA prep), safety, chemical handling
- Day 3-5: ride along with a senior tech — observe only, no work
Week 2 — supervised work
- Helper role on every job — handing tools, prepping containment, photographing
- Senior tech checks every photo, every certificate before leaving site
Week 3 — primary technician with senior backup
- New tech leads the cleaning, senior tech is on-site for safety/quality
- Daily debrief: what went well, what to fix tomorrow
Week 4 — solo with check-ins
- New tech runs jobs alone
- You (or a manager) reviews every job's photos same-day for the first 30 solo jobs
- Weekly 1-on-1 to review concerns and progress
What kills retention (avoid these)
- Unpredictable schedules — give them next week's schedule by Wednesday minimum
- No truck assigned to them — own a truck means own a job means stays longer
- Dirty equipment — broken pressure washer = bad day = quit
- No path forward — show them: tech → senior tech → crew leader → trainer → ops manager
- Lack of recognition — name them in customer feedback; pay quarterly bonuses for clean record
Pay structure that works
Hood cleaning techs in 2026 expect:
- $22-32/hour base for trained techs
- $18-22/hour starting
- OT for jobs > 8hrs (most cleanings are night/early morning)
- Quarterly safety bonus ($300-500) if no incidents
- Health insurance contribution (huge differentiator at this pay tier)
- Truck and tools provided
The single biggest retention lever
Treat them like professionals, not labor. Provide branded uniforms. Provide a phone or tablet. Provide a clean, organized truck. Let them sign their own work orders as the responsible technician. Their name on the certificate of performance.
Techs who feel like professionals stay. Techs who feel like grunts leave for $1/hr more.
Onboard new techs faster.
MCR System gives techs a tablet-friendly app for jobs, photos, and certificates — so new hires can self-onboard the workflow instead of asking you. Free trial.
Get MCR System →— Darlan Posso, CEO, MCR System
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