Defining and Filling the Role

Chapter 3: A Job Description That Reflects Reality

Beyond Generic Responsibilities

With your workflows documented and your SOPs built, you finally know what the maintenance coordinator role actually requires. Not the generic responsibilities every job description lists, but the specific capabilities someone needs to operate your particular system.

Most job descriptions read like they were written by someone who's never done the job. "Manage vendor relationships. Coordinate maintenance activities. Process work orders efficiently." These phrases mean nothing to candidates because they could describe anything from a coordinator who answers phones and enters tickets to one who manages a $2 million contractor network across a hundred locations.

Scenario Based Role Definition

Your job description should make a qualified candidate read it and think "I understand this role." 

That means describing the real challenges they'll face and the real decisions they'll make. 

When three stores report HVAC issues on the same day and you have two contractors available, how do you determine which stores get serviced first? 

When a contractor's invoice comes in 30% higher than the quote, what factors help you decide whether that's justified or inflated? 

When a store manager insists their situation is an emergency but your dispatch criteria suggest otherwise, how do you handle that conversation?

These scenarios belong in your job description because they show candidates what the role actually involves. 

A coordinator who's managed large multi site operations will recognize these situations and know they have the experience to handle them. Someone who's been processing tickets at a single facility will realize this role requires capabilities they haven't developed yet. The candidates who keep reading are the ones who see themselves succeeding in the specific challenges your operation presents.

The 40/60 Rule: Aptitude vs. Temperament

What matters more than experience? Temperament. 

You're looking for maybe forty percent job aptitude and sixty percent personality. Someone who's been in facility maintenance for ten years but doesn't think about how their decisions affect other people will struggle in a coordinator role that requires constant judgment calls. Someone with eighteen months of maintenance experience who naturally considers consequences and thinks systemically can learn everything else they need.

Chapter 4: Have an Interview Process That Reveals Character

Beyond Experience 

Traditional interviews ask candidates to describe their experience and explain how they've handled various situations in the past. These questions tell you what someone has done before, which matters less than whether they can navigate the specific complexity your operation presents.

Scenario Based Assessment

You need interviews that reveal how candidates think through the problems they'll actually face in your coordinator role. 

Present them with real scenarios from your documented workflows and watch how they work through the decisions. Give them a situation where multiple stores need service, resources are limited, and different stakeholders have conflicting priorities. Don't ask them what they would do. Ask them what information they'd need to make the decision and what factors they'd weigh against each other.

Strong candidates don't jump straight to solutions. They ask questions about your contractors, your stores, your escalation protocols, your budget constraints. They want to understand the system before they start making decisions within it. 

Weak candidates give you quick answers that sound confident but reveal they're not thinking about the complexity beneath the surface.

Questions That Reveal Temperament

You also need questions that have nothing to do with facility maintenance. Your job starts at eight in the morning. Work aside, how do you prepare for the day? You're not looking for "I sit down at my computer at 7:50." 

You're looking for someone who talks about getting their kids ready, going for a run, doing something that puts them in the right headspace to handle a job that isn't romantic. Someone who thinks about preparation reveals they understand that showing up ready matters.

Ask, what hobbies do you have outside work? Watch how they answer. Are they making something up or do they start talking enthusiastically about something they genuinely care about? Do they get lost describing it and then apologize for going on too long? That's what you want. Someone who has genuine interests outside work brings energy and perspective to work. 

Someone who treats this question like a trap is already performing instead of being real.

Testing System Comprehension

The interview process also lets you test whether candidates can learn your systems. Walk them through one of your SOPs and then present a scenario that requires applying it. Do they grasp the underlying principles or do they try to follow the steps mechanically without understanding why they exist? Can they recognize when a situation requires adapting the SOP versus following it precisely? 

The coordinator you hire will spend their first months absorbing your systems, so the interview should show you whether they can or not.

Evaluating Communication Under Real Conditions

Pay attention to how they communicate. If they're going to spend most of their day on the phone with store managers and contractors, listen to how they talk. Do they speak clearly? Do they listen before they respond? Do they ask clarifying questions? These aren't skills you can train into someone who doesn't naturally communicate well under pressure.

The Character Indicators

Watch for whether they demonstrate that they think about other people: Do they consider how their actions affect others? Do they notice details about the people they're interacting with? 

Someone who pays attention to how the interview is going, who notices when you're engaged or when you're checking something, who adjusts their responses based on what they're picking up, that person will notice when a store manager is stressed versus angry, when a contractor is making excuses versus explaining legitimate complications, when a situation needs escalation versus patience.

You're hiring someone to operate a system, yes. But you're also hiring someone whose character determines whether they operate that system thoughtfully or mechanically. The interview needs to reveal both.