Knowing how much to pay your pool technicians is one of the best ways to ensure you hire and keep the best talent in your area.
Ever wondered if you’re compensating your pool technicians too much or too little?
In this quick guide, we’ll show you everything you need to know about how much to pay your pool technicians, including:
How much to pay your pool technicians affects your bottom line, the quality of work, and the attention to detail you provide to your pool service clients.
Always keep in mind, your pool technicians are a direct reflection on your pool cleaning business.
By the end of this article, you’ll be able to determine how to compensate your pool employees.
Before you can determine how much to pay your pool technicians, you need to make sure your pool services are priced correctly.
A big part of knowing how much to charge is knowing your “work-hour rate.”
Simply put, it is how long a job takes times the number of pool technicians it takes to complete the job.
For example, if your pool technician spends 15 minutes doing a routine pool cleaning, and you’re charging about $25 per pool cleaning, then your work-hour rate is about $167.
Remember that the work-hour rate is only covering labor. You should also leave room for other overhead costs, such as:
Ultimately, prices need to be able to cover overhead and leave room for profits too. Talk to your financial advisor to finalize these numbers.
You can accurately track your technicians’ time spent on jobs using pool service software.
Instant invoicing
Better scheduling
Manage your clients and employees all in one system
Depending on which position you’re trying to fill, pool technician salaries can vary greatly:
Here are a few salary ranges for the most popular positions:
While you can’t base a tech’s salary on these wide-ranging averages, it is a good starting place. Do some research to see what these positions are earning in your local area.
Generally, most pool service businesses choose either one or a combination of ways of paying their techs.
Let’s take a look at a few ways you can pay your technicians:
By far, hourly pay is one of the most common ways pool service businesses choose to pay their techs.
Simply put, you’ll pay your technicians a set hourly wage until they reach 40 hours in a week (or 8 hours a day). Then, you’ll pay them time and a half after that.
Generally, hourly pay is great for beginner positions with minimal to no experience. Hourly pay is often considered the tried-and-true way of paying your technicians.
Occasionally, you might pay a pool technician an annual salary, but this is typically more for employees who are more senior and/or are in a leadership position.
While it may not be a good idea to set all of your techs as salaried, it’s a great way to attract amazing candidates with exceptional qualifications, certifications, and experience.
Since the pay-by-day and pay-by-week pay structures are so similar, we’ll talk about them together as a whole.
Due to their complexity and the potential legal implications if they’re not properly executed, these two pay structures are the least common in the pool service industry.
These two pay structures either pay employees per day or per week they’ve worked.
Some companies choose a third option for payment—paying by the day or by the week.
If you choose this option, you must ensure that all of your techs are making the equivalent of at LEAST minimum wage for the hours they work.
Additionally, you also must adhere to Overtime Laws (similar laws apply in Canada too) for any hours worked past 40. Remember, it’s important to be careful in case you get audited.
Due to all of the potential legal implications and close attention to hours worked, we don’t recommend using either of these pay structures.
How much to pay your pool technicians is extremely subjective to your business needs.
Here are some important factors you should consider:
Even though offering competitive pay is vital in keeping your amazing pool technicians, it’s not the only factor that matters.
Which means, in addition to higher pay, you also need to treat your employees fairly, listen to them, give them clear career paths with goals, and provide incentives like:
Additionally, it’s crucial to promote healthy work-life balance (e.g. vacation time, normal work hours, etc.). In turn, you can keep your team happy while improving employee retention.If you’re just starting your pool cleaning business, you may not be able to offer all of these incentives at once, but make it a priority as you grow.
Now, you know how much to pay pool technicians in order to build a successful pool service business.
AS ALWAYS, talk with your financial advisor or accountant before making any major financial decisions for your business.
As you move forward, remember to always seek and listen to employee feedback. Anonymous surveys are a great way to accomplish this!
Remember, properly compensating your pool technicians is about more than just a paycheck. It’s about your company culture too.
When you follow the steps in this article, you’ll have everything you need to know how much to pay your pool technicians to keep them happy in your business for many years to come!
Related: Pool Service Hiring Guide: How to Hire the Best Employees
Originally published June 3, 2021 1:14 PM updated on July 21, 2023 2:53 PM
Tags: Business Operation, Featured Post
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