How To Manage An HVAC Company: 5 Tips For Developing Organization Design

To effectively manage an HVAC company, you need an organization design that puts the most capable people in charge of key operations -- and leaves inefficiency by the wayside. Whether you're starting an HVAC company or retrofitting an established company, the design of your organization requires careful thought and difficult questions. But it pays off by improving productivity and communication and eliminating inefficiencies. Here are five tips:

• Create four key leadership positions. The general manager is at the top, directing the show. Reporting to the general manager: a sales manager, an operations manager and an administration manager. The sales representatives report to the sales manager. The service technicians and installers -- and often a service dispatcher -- report to the operations manager. And clerical, reception and bookkeeping staff report to the administration manager. Managers might also supervise coordinators who help to keep their departments running smoothly.
• Have only have three co-workers including yourself? The organization design above still applies. When you're working with a small staff, each person can do more than one of the duties. The key is for each of these roles to be taken on, even if -- as is often the case with start-up businesses -- the owner wears all four hats.
• Then add another role: training director. Whether your training director position is full time or taken on by another top manager, someone should be responsible for maintaining a quality training program. (The training director doesn't necessarily do the training himself.)
• Match the person to the job, not the job to the person. If you've been in business for years, maybe you can't quite say how some of your managers came into those positions. It's time to start fresh. Make a list of all the positions you'll need under those top three managers, and write a well-thought-out, specific job description for each. All job descriptions should reflect the positions as they serve the company's needs, rather than reflecting the abilities of the people who may be holding them. Conduct interviews for each position, including current co-workers and outside applicants. Finally, choose the most capable person for each position, regardless of other applicants' previous roles.

You can't manage an HVAC company to its full potential without a solid organization design. My operational systems and processes are being used successfully throughout the United States and Canada. I would be glad to help you -- contact me anytime.

By Ron Smith