When you are hiring an HVAC Technician what is the most important thing to look for in a candidate? Is it experience or maybe training? Nope it’s attitude!
Experience can be obtained, training can be taught but the right attitude is something that is ingrained in someone.
I am not saying that experience/training is not important, it is. You need techs that know what they are doing and depending on where you are hiring you may need them to have completed specific training or licensing, what I am saying is that when choosing between two similarly qualified candidates attitude should trump experience.
Why Attitude Is King
The reason you need solid attitudes on your team is for 3 main reasons
- Your Technicians are the face of your company
- Attitudes are contagious
- Your Shop Manager’s Sanity is Importnat
Technicians are the Face of your Company
It is obvious that your sales rep needs to have excellent customer service skills, they have to be likeable and seem trustworthy to make the sale. I would argue that this is just as import for your technicians and your installers. When a furnace breaks down your technician is who the customer sees, they are now the face of your company. Your company’s reputation is in the hands of your technician. They need to be likable and someone that can be trusted. If your tech goes into a customer’s home with a crusty attitude, that impression will linger with your customer. When it is time to replace their a/c unit they will be calling someone else.
It is all the little things that matter that are hard to train. Being personable but not chatting too much to be annoying, keeping their workplace clean, not leaving a mess behind, explaining to the customer what they are doing and why they are doing it etc. These are all things that ensure repeat business and are only getting done by techs that have the right attitude.
Attitudes are Contagious
This is something that you hear all the time and it is easy for it to go in one ear and out the other but it is so true. Bringing in one crusty tech, especially if they are working alongside a team of others can bring down the morale of everyone else on that team.
On the other hand, bringing in someone who works hard and doesn’t complain rubs off on everyone else. Particularly if you praise them, they become the example to the rest of your team.
Your Manager and Dispatchers Sanity are Important
Running a Service Department is a hard enough job as it is but the day only gets longer when you have to deal with both angry customers and technicians. You dread having to call the tech to do anything because you know they are just going to complain so you try and manage around them which only makes things harder.
This is true for dispatchers as well, having to deal with a bad attitude but highly skilled tech just makes life a little harder for everyone else.
Conclusion
Skills and experience are important but not important enough to sell out on the soft skills required to do the job. You are better off hiring good people with less experience that you can train as opposed to jerks that are fully trained but tarnish your reputation.
If you need help finding good people give Rockstar a call at 1-833-762-5787 or e-mail us at info@rockstarrecruiting.ca. We take attitude very seriously when screening candidates and can help you improve your team.
