Travis Smith led his company, Sky Heating and Cooling in the Portland, Oregon area, to be named the “Best Heating Contractor to Work For” in 2015. If there’s anyone who knows more about how to make a company the place people want to work for, he’s the one! In this episode, we talk employee benefits from as small as providing tools for his technicians and handing out little rewards to giving health benefits, extensive training programs, and retirement plans.

Here’s what we discussed:

01:17 How Travis got started in the HVAC industry

First experience and roles working for an HVAC company
How he got his company
How they evolved the company, things added, and changes in sales processes
Business model when he first started in 2009 and the shift to new business models

07:34 Overview of the company today

What the company does today
Field management software they use
Company size and annual revenue
Company vision in the next couple years

10:09 What it’s like to be the best employer in the HVAC industry

Employee benefits
How an employee pointed him to paid health insurance
The process for getting health insurance
Other benefits that employees enjoy including letting employees take home a company vehicle
GPS programs for the vehicles (both for the customer and the company)

17:48 Providing tools for technicians

Why he buys tools for his service techs
How this attracts employees
Benefits of buying tools for the company
How they keep track of tools
Lost tool analogy
How tools helps speed up training
Inventory for tools (Dollar bill policy)
Mentality that employees ‘fire’ you as the owner instead of quitting

32:00 Ground rules for when they start giving benefits

When they start offering health benefits
When technicians are able to get tools from the company
Vetting process for employees

34:31 Team culture

How individuals come together to achieve sales goals
How sales team impacts service techs’ work and vice versa

36:25 Other benefits

Benefits that are still in consideration for the future
Retirement plans
Participation rate for retirement plans

39:53 Training at Sky Heating and Cooling

Training budget
Little promotions for employees
Having a training room readily available
The decision process for ramping up training programs
Why he built a training room for his employees

46:47 Future plans for the company

Plans for plumbing and electrical
Adding on services and upping marketing

47:48 One final takeaway from Travis Smith

Download The Scalable Method resources (framework + video) here: https://mdm.contractormomentum.com/get-the-scalable-method?fb2277&fbclid=IwAR3XUd9Fn1z9tX3Q5CAGNvMnvJL8v2dclVgmR_c6nES3EqERDp327xJWo2I

#45: Employee Benefits and Other Home Service Business Topics with Travis Smith