Hiring skilled service technicians is one of the biggest challenges in the HVAC industry. The talent pool is small, competition is fierce, and hiring the wrong person can cost you time and money. You don’t just need to fill a position – you need to attract a tech who will thrive in the role and stay long-term. If finding qualified candidates feels like an uphill battle, you’re not alone. With the right approach, you can attract more applicants and better hires. Here are three proven strategies to help you improve your hiring process.
1. Hire All Year Round
If you’re only hiring out of necessity, you’re already behind. Keeping your job ads live year-round ensures that when the right tech is ready to make a move, they can find you.
This is especially important during the slow seasons when many techs see their hours cut. That’s when they start looking for better opportunities, and if your job ad is up and optimized, you’ll be first in line to snag them before peak season hits.
Recruiting Tip: The best service techs don’t stay on the market long. If you wait until summer to hire, your competitors will have already locked in the best talent.
Hiring year-round isn’t just about attracting new techs—it’s also about retaining your best ones. Instead of cutting hours in slow months, invest back into your employees.
- Offer training opportunities like customer service training, interplay learning, or prepare your team for upcoming sales opportunities by coaching them on your current product line and the benefits your customers receive.
- Conduct stay interviews to address any concerns or employee problems before peak season.
When you take care of your employees, they take care of your business and word gets around that your company is a great place to work, boosting your employer reputation.
2. Use Employee Assessments to Hire the RIGHT Service Techs
Hiring the wrong tech costs you time and money. You lose workplace productivity, decrease customer satisfaction, and eventually have to start the whole hiring process over again.
Without employee assessments, you’re taking a gamble in the hiring process. Assessments remove the risk by helping you determine if a candidate has the skills, personality, and problem-solving abilities to thrive in your company. Our built-in benchmarks tells you exactly what to look for when hiring an HVAC technician.
Qualities to Measure with an Employee Assessment:
Are they good with customers? HVAC service techs need strong people skills.
Do they adapt well to new systems? Techs should be quick learners.
Are they good problem-solvers? Troubleshooting is key in the field. Service techs need to be able to think on their feet.
How do they handle frustrated customers? Your Tech is going to run into unhappy customers from time to time. How do they handle the situation and turn it around to solve the problem?
Are they comfortable with accessory sales? If upselling is part of their role, they need to have a Sales mindset.
Using assessments takes the guesswork out of hiring and ensures you’re bringing in techs who will succeed in the role. Our assessments also generate custom interview questions based on each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses, helping you make more informed decisions.
3. Keep Your Pay and Benefits Competitive
Even the best hiring strategies won’t work if your compensation package isn’t competitive. This is a competitive market. If your pay or benefits aren’t keeping up with industry standards, you’ll struggle to attract and retain talent. We recommend conducting a salary survey at least twice a year to keep up with your competitors and cost-of-living adjustments.
Recruiting Tip: Write down a small list of your competitors and search for their job ads online. Compare your pay and benefits. If you were an HVAC technician, who would YOU rather work for?
How Do Your Benefits Stack Up to Your Competitors?
- Spiff & Bonus Programs – Performance-based incentives can attract more techs.
- On-Call Expectations – Are you requiring more or less on-call time than your competitors? Bonus: if you don’t require on-call time, HIGHLIGHT that as a benefit in your job ads.
- Paid Time Off – A strong vacation policy, sick policy, and paid holidays can attract more experienced technicians.
- Medical & 401(k) Benefits – Many of your employees have families to look after and health insurance is a priority. Quality benefits like health insurance, dental insurance, and retirement benefits show long-term investment in your team.
- Training & Career Growth – Give techs a clear path forward in your company and offer training or certifications that grow their skill sets.
Attract and Retain Service Technicians That Grow with Your Business
Finding and keeping the right service technicians requires a proactive strategy.
- Keep your hiring process open year-round.
- Use employee assessments to make sure you’re hiring the right candidates.
- Stay competitive with your pay and benefits to stand out in this tight labor market.
The best techs want stability, growth opportunities, and a company that values them. If you’re ready to take the stress out of hiring and build a stronger, more reliable team, we can help. Contact us today to learn how our proven hiring process can help you find and retain the right employees.
Recruit4Business takes the stress out of hiring by helping HVAC contractors find and hire the right employees while protecting their business from costly hiring mistakes and HR issues.
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