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HVAC Contractors Utilize Signing Bonuses and Other Incentives to Attract Quality Employees

Posted on 09/14/2021

From ACHR News:  Contractors in the skilled trades — HVAC included — don’t need to be told about the labor shortage. Older and experienced technicians are increasingly retiring, and there are not enough young people to replace them. Part of this is due to the elimination of shop classes in high schools, which use to offer students an introduction to trades as a career. Counselors and culture pushing college degree programs to high school students compound this issue. Degrees are seen as the primary and best way to advance one’s career, so many students never learn what a rewarding path the trades are. As HVAC contractors grapple for skilled technicians, some see signing bonuses as a strategy for recruitment.

Attracting and Keeping Talent

Matt Marsiglio, operations manager at Flame Heating, Cooling and Electrical, said that Flame instituted a signing bonus program around three years ago to help attract talent. The management team had been discussing ways to attract more talent, and they decided on the bonus. Bonuses at Flame range from $600-$2,500 depending on the skill level of the person being hired. In order to secure the talent for at least a year, delivery of the bonus is paid out at 90 days and 12 months after the person has begun working for Flame.

“The signing bonus, for us, is designed to attract experienced people,” Marsiglio said. “I think that we’ll continue to see competition in the workplace for experienced labor.”

Flame hires a substantial number of people out of trade school, and Marsiglio added that while entry-level people can still be challenging to attract, they are easier to obtain than experienced techs, since not as many companies are willing to train new talent from the ground up. He added that as time goes on, signing bonuses are becoming more of a standard across the industry — less of something that sets a contractor apart and more of something that needs to be incorporated just to keep up. According to Marsiglio, the company prides itself on both paying and treating its employees well, so current employees do not mind new hires getting a signing bonus.

Flame has seen success with the signing bonuses, but referral bonuses have worked even better at the company.

“A lot of times when you work in the trades, you know other people that work in the trades,” Marsiglio said. “You can refer them over and then we’d give a bonus to both our employee and then the new employee.” This also helps with quality hires, as employees refer workers who will reflect well on themselves.

Bonuses and Other Benefits

Empire Heating & Air Conditioning has been offering signing bonuses for at least the past five years. The company will typically pay the bonus over the course of the first year, the amount being dependent on experience.

“I know that if I get people in my company, they will see the culture and the benefits,” Martin Hoover, owner of Empire Heating & Air Conditioning said. “They get into the groove of our organization, so I don’t expect them to leave, especially if they’ve been somewhere else that perhaps wasn’t all that kind to their employees.”

Benefits at Empire include but are not limited to summertime vacation, a full cafeteria, health care, insurance, and 401(k) matching. Hoover’s company also offers referral bonuses to its employees.

Empire also works to develop its workforce by finding the best young people as possible and pairing them with a more experienced technician for mentorship. Hoover is confident that the signing bonus complements the other benefits of working for his company, and he has seen other companies use other unique strategies. Once, he heard of a company that was offering $250 for qualified technicians to come to an interview.

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