Are You Being Held Hostage By Your Technicians?

Struggling to find skilled HVAC technicians or plumbers? Facing the home services labor shortage head-on? In this episode of the To The Point Home Services Podcast, Kevin Comerford (Founder of Service Champions) and Jonathan Bancroft (President of Morris-Jenkins) reveal how building internal training academies and technical trade universities helped them overcome the skilled labor gap, scale operations, and build a leadership pipeline within their companies.🔧 Whether you’re in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or any home service business, this episode is a masterclass on workforce development and scaling through in-house training and manager development systems.⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 – Why create a home services university? 00:02:28 – "Sweat in peacetime" mantra & its impact 00:04:34 – Building Champions University: Solving the HVAC tech shortage 00:06:14 – Training curriculum: What worked and what didn’t 00:07:29 – The real reason Morris-Jenkins started their university 00:10:04 – Turning plumbers and HVAC techs into managers 00:12:15 – Solving organizational conflict with real training 00:14:52 – Jiffy Lube vs Bob's Auto Shop: The scalable model 00:18:32 – How to start small with leadership development 00:21:15 – Overcoming the "ceiling of complexity" 00:24:23 – Monthly bonus structures that drive growth 00:26:22 – KPIs, team incentives & positive reinforcement 00:27:18 – Are your leaders reward-driven or responsibility-driven? 00:28:09 – Weekly accountability meetings: Structure & success 00:30:09 – Why your business might lack urgency and accountability 00:31:21 – Real-world financial meeting frameworks for trades 00:35:11 – Grants for company training programs (and the red tape) 00:37:01 – Final thoughts on scaling home services companies📚 Resources Mentioned:First, Break All the Rules – Marcus Buckingham - https://shorturl.at/YgSqlWhen Goliaths Clash – Howard M. Guttman - https://shorturl.at/tvyGmBringing Out the Best in People – Aubrey C. Daniels - https://shorturl.at/XwcpBThe Motive & Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni - https://shorturl.at/kIx6z💬 Got questions or building your own HVAC or plumbing training academy? Drop a comment below. 👇 We’d love to hear about your journey and answer your questions.⭐️ Thank you to our Sponsors!Rilla: https://www.rilla.com/tothepointChiirp: https://chiirp.com/🔔 If you found value in this episode, make sure to: ✅ Like this video ✅ Subscribe for more leadership and business growth insights ✅ Share with fellow HVAC, plumbing, or home service pros ✅ Hit the bell for notifications on future episodes