Stop Waiting for the Perfect Technician. Build One.
Stop Waiting for the Perfect Technician. Build One.
By Joe Crisara, Author of What Should We Do? and Co-Founder of Service MVP
If you're struggling to hire experienced HVAC, plumbing, electrical or other home service technicians, the problem may not be that good people don't exist. The problem may be that you're searching for someone another company already trained. Instead of waiting for the perfect technician to walk through your door, build a company that can identify the right people, teach them the technical and communication skills they need, coach them as they develop and hold them accountable to a clear standard.
Why Is It So Hard to Find Good Home Service Technicians?
I hear this from contractors all the time.
“There aren't any good technicians out there.”
And I understand why it feels that way.
You're looking for someone who already knows the trade.
They need technical experience.
They need to know how to diagnose.
They need to communicate with homeowners.
They need to understand your software.
They need to know how to present options.
They need to show up on time.
They need to take care of the truck.
They need to complete paperwork.
They need to get along with the team.
And we'd really prefer they arrive Monday morning ready to do all of it.
There's only one problem.
That technician probably already has a job.
So every contractor in your market ends up competing for the same small group of experienced people.
Maybe there's another way.
What If You Hired the Person Before You Hired the Technician?
I was reminded of this during a recent conversation with Tanya Wilson of HomeField East Valley on the Home Service Heartbeat Podcast.
Tanya has hired people from HVAC, the oil fields, medical backgrounds and other industries.
Why?
Because she believes she can teach skills.
She's looking for something else first.
Is this person positive?
Are they accountable?
Are they willing to learn?
Can they work independently?
Do they have goals?
Do they want to grow?
That's a very different hiring philosophy.
Instead of asking:
“Does this person already know everything we need them to know?”
Start asking:
“Is this someone worth developing?”
That's a question I think more home service owners need to consider.
You Can't Control the Labor Market. You Can Control Your Development System.
There's nothing wrong with hiring an experienced technician.
If you find a great one who fits your culture, fantastic.
But if experienced technicians are the only people your company can successfully hire, you've created a major constraint on your growth.
Your company becomes dependent on the labor market producing the people you need.
I would rather build a company capable of producing them.
That requires something different.
You need standards.
You need training.
You need practice.
You need coaching.
You need accountability.
And most importantly, you need a repeatable path that takes someone from “new to this” to “I know exactly how we do things here.”
That's much more scalable than hoping the perfect résumé appears on Indeed.
Technical Training Is Only Half the Job
There's another problem I see in home service companies.
We tend to think of technician development almost entirely in terms of technical ability.
Can they fix the furnace?
Can they diagnose the electrical problem?
Can they clear the drain?
Can they install the equipment?
Obviously those skills matter.
But that's not the entire job.
Your technician is also walking into someone's home.
They need to know how to introduce themselves.
They need to know how to ask good questions.
They need to listen.
They need to discover what matters to the customer.
They need to explain what they found in language the homeowner can understand.
They need to build appropriate choices.
They need to present those choices without pressure.
They need to respond when a customer has a concern.
They need to create a clear future before they leave.
A technically excellent technician who can't communicate can still create a terrible customer experience.
That's why technician development can't stop with technical training.
Don't Give People a Script and Call It Training
I've seen this happen plenty of times.
The company creates a process.
Everybody gets together for a meeting.
The manager explains the process.
Maybe everybody gets a handout.
Then Monday morning comes and everyone goes back to doing what they've always done.
Three weeks later the owner says:
“We trained them on this already!”
No.
You introduced it.
There's a difference.
If you want somebody to become good at something, they have to practice it.
We wouldn't explain how to braze copper once and then assume someone had mastered it.
We wouldn't show an apprentice a wiring diagram once and send them into the field.
But sometimes that's exactly how we approach communication skills.
Knowing what to say and being able to say it naturally under pressure are two completely different things.
That's why role-playing, repetition and coaching matter.
Give People a Safe Place to Be Bad Before You Expect Them to Be Good
Nobody likes feeling incompetent.
That's one reason people resist role-playing.
It's uncomfortable.
They stumble.
They forget what they're supposed to say.
They feel awkward.
Good.
That's what practice is for.
I'd rather have a technician stumble in training than stumble for the first time in front of a customer.
Training should give people permission to try something, mess it up, receive coaching and try it again.
Then again.
Then again.
Eventually the words stop sounding memorized.
The process becomes natural.
Now you've created a skill.
Training Doesn't End When the Technician Goes Into the Field
This is where many companies lose all the progress they made in training.
The technician leaves the classroom.
They go into the field.
Real customers ask questions differently than the trainer did.
The schedule gets busy.
A difficult call happens.
The technician gets uncomfortable.
Old habits return.
That's exactly when coaching becomes important.
Training teaches the skill. Coaching helps the technician use the skill when real life gets messy.
Managers should be helping technicians identify where they're strong and where they need development.
One technician may need help with discovery.
Another may struggle to explain value.
Another may rush through presenting choices.
Another may become defensive when the homeowner objects.
They don't necessarily need the same coaching.
They need the next coaching.
And that brings us directly into something we're talking about a lot right now at Service MVP: call-by-call management.
The closer coaching gets to the actual call, the more useful it can become.
Your Best Technician Might Not Look Like a Technician Yet
This is the part I don't want contractors to miss.
Somewhere in your market right now may be someone who would become an outstanding service professional.
Maybe they're working in hospitality.
Maybe they're in retail.
Maybe they're in a warehouse.
Maybe they're working in another trade.
Maybe they're leaving the military.
Maybe they're doing something completely unrelated to home services.
They don't have five years of HVAC experience.
But they show up.
They learn.
They communicate.
They care about people.
They accept coaching.
They want a career.
Would your company recognize that person as potential—or reject them because they don't already know the trade?
That's an important question.
Because if your competitors are all fighting over the same experienced technicians while you're learning how to develop great people, you've created an entirely different recruiting advantage.
But Don't Hire for Attitude and Forget About Standards
There's another side to this.
“Hire for attitude, train for skill” sounds wonderful.
But hiring a nice person isn't enough.
Development still requires standards.
People need to know:
What does good look like?
What is expected?
How is performance measured?
What happens when I struggle?
Who coaches me?
What do I need to master next?
What does advancement look like?
Good people still need clear expectations.
In fact, good employees usually appreciate them.
Accountability shouldn't be a surprise that happens when somebody screws up.
It should be part of the development system from the beginning.
Build a Technician Development Machine
Imagine two home service companies competing in the same market.
Company A says:
We need an experienced technician with five years in the trade who can hit the ground running.
Company B says:
We know exactly what we're looking for in a person. We have a technical development path. We teach our service process. We practice communication. We coach performance. We measure progress. And people know what they need to do to advance.
Which company has the larger potential labor pool?
That's why I don't think the technician shortage is only a recruiting problem.
It's also a development problem.
If your company becomes exceptional at developing people, recruiting changes.
Retention can change.
Culture changes.
Leadership changes.
And eventually your reputation in the labor market can change too.
People start hearing:
“That's a place where I can build a career.”
Now you're not just looking for technicians.
You're creating them.
Stop Waiting for Somebody Else to Train Your Next Great Technician
You may still hire experienced technicians.
You probably should.
But don't make that your only path to growth.
Find people with the characteristics you can't easily teach.
Then teach the things you can.
Give them standards.
Give them training.
Let them practice.
Coach them.
Measure their progress.
Hold them accountable.
Show them a future.
Stop waiting for the perfect technician to walk through your door.
Build a company capable of creating one.
Ready to Build a Stronger Technician Development System?
Service MVP helps home service companies develop technicians through training, coaching and accountability - so your team doesn't simply learn what to do, they learn how to consistently do it in the field.
