People and workforce leadership search.
INC'D recruits Chief People Officers, Human Resources executives, HR Directors and workforce leaders for PE-backed essential services businesses.
The workforce model is part of the value creation plan.
Technician scarcity, branch-manager depth, safety, training, compensation, founder transition and workforce integration all sit inside the people brief. In labor-intensive services, retention and productivity are operating outcomes, not soft measures.
We look for leaders who can build the infrastructure required by the platform without losing credibility with the workforce delivering the service.
Roles we recruit.
What we assess.
- Workforce integration across acquisitions and geographies.
- Field recruitment, retention and management pipelines.
- Compensation, benefits and harmonization experience.
- Learning, safety and technician-development infrastructure.
- Employee relations in relevant labor environments.
- Ability to connect people data to operational performance.
Where HR and people searches go wrong.
HR treated as administration
In labor-heavy businesses, recruitment, retention and training decide capacity and margin.
Integration without workforce planning
Pay, benefits and culture differ across acquired companies. Handled badly, key technicians leave and customers follow.
Licensing and certification left to chance
State licensing, certification and apprenticeships take years to build and need planning from the start.
Early turnover ignored
Much of the turnover in field roles happens in the first few months. Onboarding and clear career paths make the difference.
How the role changes by vertical.
- Pool Service
- Director of Technician Development. Builds certified technicians through training and a clear path from route technician to supervisor, which reduces costly turnover.
- Cleaning
- People and Workforce Director. Builds recruitment, retention and career paths at volume. The hire that brings turnover down and protects margin.
- Elevator
- Director of Technician Development. Builds certified technicians through multi-year apprenticeships and a clear career path, which reduces costly turnover in a small talent pool.
- Garage Doors
- Director of Workforce Development. Builds apprenticeships, safety training and a career path from helper to lead installer to service technician in a very small national talent pool.
- HVAC
- Director of Workforce Development. Builds apprenticeships, certification and refrigerant safety training, and a clear career path from apprentice to field supervisor to reduce costly turnover.
- Junk Removal
- Director of Workforce Planning. Recruits and retains crews in a high-turnover workforce and scales labor up and down through the seasons.
- Lawn Care & Outdoor Services
- VP of People and Workforce. Runs seasonal recruiting, visa programs, fast onboarding and year-round career paths in a workforce where most companies cannot fill open roles.
- Painting
- Director of Seasonal Workforce Planning. Scales crews up for the busy months and down afterwards, and builds recruitment and retention in a high-turnover labor market.
How INC'D runs the search.
We define the workforce problem behind the HR vacancy: field recruitment, retention, integration, safety, training, compensation or leadership depth. Candidates are assessed on the operating outcomes their people strategy produced across comparable workforces. A typical shortlist contains three to five qualified Human Resources leaders within two to four weeks of engagement.
How our executive search works →
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