Tom Peregrino is the President of Service Nation.  Service Nation serves thousands of HVAC and Plumbing contractors in North America and Australia.

In this episode of The Pipeline To Profitability Podcast with Allan Ferguson, Tom Peregrino talks about the labor shortage in the home service industry.

Check out this episode of The Pipeline To Profitability Podcast!  Learn how training your team today can bring huge benefit tomorrow!

Contact Allan Ferguson at  Service Success Academy.

Podcast Episode Transcript:

Hello and welcome to today's episode of pipeline to profitability I'm your host Alan Ferguson now if you haven't done so yet subscribe to the podcast so you never miss out on an episode if you're running a trade service business and you'd like some extra help to progress to the next level head to service successacademy.com for proven tools and training to guide you on your journey let's get into today's episode OK Alan Ferguson here I want to welcome you to this very exciting podcast pipeline to profitability and today I have on peregrino and we are going to discuss do we have a labor shortage in the trades I'll just do a quick bio for you Tom and you'll probably want to add a few things I I have to say I've been after doing my first podcast with Joe Cunningham first podcast back as it's Joe's you know the service success Academy is Joe's company that I'm helping him to grow I said to everyone that I'm associated with I need time on the second podcast back so just quickly uh Tom peregrino is president of service nation the largest home service best practice organization in the US for over 20 years’ service nation has been serving thousands of HVAC and plumbing contractors across the nation also in Canada and this place called Australia OK service nation is a one stop shop for everything it contract and needs to be successful coaching training systems processes community marketing and rebates through buying group Tom has over 25 years’ experience in the home service industry he first started out in sales in the mid-90s then eventually owning and operating his own company dappen cooling and heating in granbury TX in 2021 Tom sold his company and joined service nation to create alliance premiere a large scale coaching and training platform most recently Tom was promoted to president of service nation following the retirement of the founders Matt Michelle and David hymer congratulations Tom amazing I would not wish anyone else to be in the position you're in welcome to the podcast over the year do we really have a labor shortage in the trades and anything I've missed feel free to add my friend Alan you did you did a great job they're very kind words I appreciate that I was excited to have the opportunity to join you on your podcast and I really enjoyed getting to know you over the last year you know as you come to visit service nation and Matt kudos mega respect for everything you've accomplished in the home service business yeah it's amazing the amount of wisdom that you have that you continue to share and you've been doing a little bit of mentoring for me which I appreciate that so yeah I look forward to just continuing to strengthen our relationship and continue to learn more and more and more about what's in that head of yours Alan cause you're sharp you're sharp I really appreciate everything you've done for our organization and now our growing friendship I appreciate it you don't want to go into this head too far mate because it's quite it's quite scary so thanks Tom appreciate that so look my question to you is do we really have a labor shortage in the trades and I've done some articles and some post lately I don't believe we do I believe we have a lack of training in the trades and I feel that with what Joe Cunningham is doing in Houston with growing plumbers and HVAC technicians we're doing the same in the drain space I don't know if it's a labor shortage but a lack of training so over to you on that one Tom well if you know you know I've done my own research as well over the years depending upon where you pull your information from there is an unmet demand for plumbers and HVAC technicians clearly we've seen throughout the country and Canada and Australia that your typical contractor is dying from work workers there's no doubt about it and depend upon the articles you pull and the research websites you go to you can see what the numbers are like you can see you know HVAC short 80 tech 80,000 technicians this year and we're looking at the growth of the need for BA anywhere from 10 to 20% year over year the amount of technicians we need so when you first start scratching on the surface of it you would say yeah we have a labor shortage Alan it's no surprise I agree with you I would argue that we have some fundamental issues within the trades that we need to solve that will end up fixing our labor shortages and you hit on a on a huge one which is which is training you know not communicating to the world our industries are communicating to the world like we should the degree in which we can provide training for technicians and certainly those that even have decent training they can also take it to the next level which I know you and Joe are hard at work providing that service for so we could do much better training and certainly we could communicate that much better to the market via digital however you know you want to do it in terms of communicating to all the different countries hey there is good there is good high paying jobs and the home service world we need to educate we need to do a much better job educating the people that could potentially come to work for us because it's here the pay is great the work life balance continues to get better and better for those that enter the HVAC and plumbing space the overall compensations just can't continue to get better packages judge cunningham's doing all the work not me I'm just there to help him in any way I can just with training I mean I had amazing success with bringing in non-trades people into our we have plumbing electrical air conditioning business some of the best people in that business were not from the trades and we trained them to be you know to either sell or to or to do drain cleaning and I've always said this and you talked to any successful business owner it's more about getting the right person the skill can be added and I believe with companies like service nation and success track network and our training organizations we can give the skill you can't give the attitude right and I look just one thing I want before we go too much deeper service nation is about helping companies to successfully grow and sell now I heard you had a successful sale of your business and then we'll come back into the training yeah I was a member of service nation for eight years so that was maybe back in 2020 2013 2014 that joined service nation and through their all their processes and systems that I had access to in the community and then the power of the rebate program by being part of their buying group you know position me so that I could execute my long term plan of selling the company you know in my particular case it was it was probably easier than most because I had a partner that had been with me for a long time and so as we started mapping out my exit strategy you know it it went a little bit faster and smoother than I've heard from some other contractors you know I was able to he was able to just buy me out so to speak and then I was able to continue on with my passion my passion which is similar to yours Alan is just doing whatever I possibly can to help other contractors build their businesses up do whatever I can to help contractors get through what it takes to build their business because this is this is tough you know we're talking about labor shortages there's lot of other issues that contractor has to face every single day besides labor issues there's a ton of them and so my heart goes out to working contractors that are in the field right now that are trying to figure out how to navigate that and what can we possibly do what can I possibly do to help them make it easier and so that's why I was excited about joining service nation alliance and having an opportunity there's just to continue in the great legacy that David and Matt had created over the last 20 years so on David and Matt now anyone that knows me for any period of time knows that I have been part of this amazing organization service roundtable service nation and the new group alliance which I want to get you to talk a little bit more about that David hymer I first met it was around 2006 II was and that was at a pumpers and drain cleaners Expo in Nashville TN it's now renamed wet WWE will tell you what were they thinking off with that name that was my not my introduction to the US I've been coming to the US for a long time but that's where I first met David in person and I was so impressed with the guy and as I said Tom I had been a member for a couple of years already and I think my membership probably goes round to 2000 back to 2005 so we're talking 18 years we also created we had at one point we talked about this we had I think 70 to 80 members down under down in Australia can't believe you left Australia off the bio my friend but anyway or on that we'll talk we'll talk more about that after the podcast we had service nation Australia Australians are not quite as proactive when it comes to the training it's completely different and I think I won't say a revolutionize the industry in Australia but I certainly give it a real good kick up the **** with introducing service roundtable service nation got to know that Michelle also met him the same year as David heimer and that was at a comfort tech in Louisville KY got to know Matt and travelled with Matt but become good friends with both David and Matt because like you I believe in those guys so much and I've seen this great organization grow through helping contractors to succeed helping in training so back to you on that time and as I said well done well done on the successful executive of your company maybe we talk a little bit about what does service nation and your premier group offer contractors thank you Alan yeah I'll touch on that real quick so depending upon where a contractor is on their journey you know and that could be tied to where they're at revenue size where are they at in terms of number of team players where are they at in terms of their infrastructure you know how far along are they are then you know a couple of years into being an HVAC or plumbing contractor or are they 15 years so depending upon where they're at on their journey then we have different membership levels that can help them and in no particular order the first membership level is service roundtable and that provides a level of content community and rebates through our buying group and so you can participate in that that's kind of where you can get your feet wet so to speak and kind of see some of the resources we have available if you want to accelerate the improvements and changes in your organization then the next level it's called the root retail contractor coalition that is more robust content more participation and events more intense coaching and training and then the setup start the third membership level that we have is what's called service nation alliance and so that's where it's even more community exposure more mentoring more networking more benefits that come more processes and systems that you have access to and then what are undergirds all those three different membership levels is our alliance premier coaching and training and so we start with those three membership tiers and depending upon your specific needs were able to have a contractor that's been where you've been that has a high degree of success pair up with you and mentor you all along the way in addition to that alliance premier gives you access to touring other contractors facilities you get access to the knowledge from all these coaches that we have we've got close to 35 coaches on standby ready to help our members so we feel we have membership tiers set up so that from beginning to end of your I work we can help you every step of the way we're dollars of what your size is or what your challenge is so that's the way we're set up at service nation in a nutshell and on here you've got this funny talk in Australian guy on the on the premier coaches as well enough about him there is so much training available in the industry besides like service nation to me and I've been I've been involved with other organizations and there's some amazing organizations there I believe that service nation in my view and it is only my view and I'm sure it is your yours too stands out and above all the other training organizations not because it's been around for 20 years probably the content available is much the same for everyone but in your view as a member and now the president which is a big responsibility Tom how does service roundtable service nation and the premier group stand out clearly above all the other best practice organizations well there's a few there's a few things that we feel are strong differentiators versus some of the other resources that are out there in terms of best practices one for example is we have a 20 year track record of cranking out thousands and thousands of success stories from our members taking them from point A to point so the power of our community from contractors that have successfully grown their businesses within our organization and the way that we have them give back to the new members or existing members that are also on that journey we've got a 20 year track record of building out that platform those systems those processes in order to help our membership which has positioned us really strong moving into 2023 and beyond because with our contractor base of over 5000 members it's not similar so we're different because it's not a cult of personality they're you know there's some best practice groups out there that are driven by the personality of one individual do it this way and only one way and we would argue that you just can't have one size shoe that fits everybody you know depending upon where you're jerk you're jerk you're on your journey you need to have the ability to customize the solutions you got to have really unique processes and systems you know a company that's at three million it needs to have different systems and processes than a company that is at 15 million so you need to have the ability to deflect and customize the solutions as they work on their journey and so with our pool wisdom and knowledge from all of our contractors that have contributed to the content and the solutions that we can provide for our members that's a huge value proposition the other benefit that comes with service nation is we have a tremendous buying group that is second to none you know and that was built out over the last 20 years the number of vendors that we have that can provide training assistance and the rebates the power of our mind this sound column as we work with one of our work as we work with our members it's not uncommon that very quickly their dues are being paid and well above and beyond their normal dues and fees are being paid by the power of our buying group you know you can you leverage that that you were better and so the buying power that you may have at one million one if you're 1,000,000 revenue and then you join service nation will now you have access as if you're a huge contracting company and so that is a huge benefit that we can provide to our members love that Tillman that was one of the things sorry to jump in but that was one of the things that really impressed me being as close as I am to service nation and you know Matt and David what really impressed me is that a company that's a good sized company that's buying lots of air conditioning units and all the other great products that service nation is partnered with actually uh the rebates cover the membership and then some right it's like I've seen some of those checks that are written it's amazing the other thing too is the events that you run and look I've been on the journey with David and Matt and the you know the transition from being the biggest company at comfortech then transitioning into service world and growing one of the biggest and best trade show organizations I've ever been to I have to say there is some really good Trade shows out there but service nations service world just sort of it's a it's taken it to a whole new level and I remember when IMC the international roundtable down under in Sydney and I think it was around 2012 we just couldn't get any of my American friends to come I have we had a great turn out it was all I think we had probably 7080 attendees to the to the event in Sydney even though it was a small event it was a great event because I had some of the greats in the industry you know Kenny Chapman and mark Madison and David and Matt it was just such an amazing event that really to me is a strength of your organization so gotta got one more question for you Tom and we'll round up and this has been fantastic by the way I really I'm enjoying this so where is our industry here heading and before you answer that you know I'm currently looking at what's going on with artificial intelligence and chat GPT and what's going on and I've been saying this for years I've been preaching this down under is air conditioning plumbing electrical drain hot water it it's recession proof and as well as that it can't be I don't see some small segments will be replaced by AI and all the new technologies but pretty much if this industry is not one of the fastest growing over the next few years because of the fact is it can't we can't you I don't know maybe you might have a different view on this but I'm just looking at the industry as being it's some of the highest paid people come from the trades and we've seen between us how many multi-millionaires have been created from not just from HBAC from plumbing and drain cleaning businesses so where is our industry heading to well before I touch on where the industry is heading if you don't mind let me circle back to you know the original question we were talking about which is about the labor shortage because I think it's important for your listeners to also understand how interconnected training is to the everything else that's happening in their organization and that can be impacted by training and So what I mean by that is when we're working with members and we're talking about taking their training to the next level sometimes they don't they don't have the budget to support that and so a lot of times what we've worked with contractors on is let's get your pricing corrected so that you have the resources to fund the proper training that you need so sometimes they're surprised to realize oh to solve to solve much training issues I've got to fix my pricing issues the other thing Alan sometimes would come across is let's say they solved their training issues they solved their pricing issues but they still can't retain people that they brought on board well then what we need to tackle is the culture issues they may have in their organization so it's not uncommon as we're digging into a contractors culture that you realize for example that their management style hasn't adapted to the new workforce oh we were visiting with one member for example that his management style was old school it was old school and you've got to adapt and you've got to adapt to how you lead manage and care for the new workforce that's coming in because the Gen. Z and the millennials and even the Gen. xers the way in which you take care of them is not the same way that you would take care of a typical baby boomer so all that can impact what you're ultimately trying to do which is if attract and retain these workers right yeah so I wanted to just make sure I threw that nugget out there because that that is very important solving the equation for most contractors in terms of their labor supply but going into the outlook for 2023 and beyond I agree with you Alan I think it's super strong COVID definitely reinforced that as you alluded to in terms of us being essential services technology is only going to make our plumbers and our technicians lives easier as we utilize and expand technology not only with our organization it's terrific software for example I love you know seeing all the amazing stuff that Billy Stevens is doing with artificial intelligence Sarah software that's just going to continue to expand across our industry and make their lives easier externally what we'll see with the industry is people are only becoming more impatient they're not becoming less impatient so the internal improvements in technology that we need to adopt that high performing contractors are already adopting very well solve that need to be in the patients Ness of our of our customers they're super impatient and they're just kind of continue to be they just want it instantly more and more and more here in the US I can tell you for certain that government is going to continue to metal and interfere with our work I can't speak necessarily to Australia or our Canadian it's worse than the US Tom trust me I hate to hear that album and so we just need to be creative prayer for it we need to plan for it we need to make sure that we're priced accordingly for it uh so we stay on the leading edge of whatever impact the government continues to have because they're going to continue to be involved and lastly I think you're going to see consistent expansion of the remote monitoring technology I think that's going to be ever growing as people want to know what's happening in their homes instantly they want to know what that is they want to instantly be able to connect communicate that to their service provider so that they can run their busy lives with the least amount of interference so I think you're going to see remote watering just continue to expand absolutely fantastic and I'm really glad you mentioned Billy Stevens and Sierra because I have never seen a product that stands out as much as Sarah does and Billy's probably going to be my next guest if he's not he's going to be the next one after I've got some amazing guests lined up for this podcast but I so I've said to you and your staff you needed to be the second podcast after Joe Cunningham and this by the way for anyone that's new to this podcast this is a continuation of the podcast that I created around 10 years ago we stopped for various reasons that will come at at a later episode but I'm so glad I've got this going again really happy to have you on and I just want to I'm going to put you on the spot maybe I am maybe I'm not but I just want to conclude and thanks for sharing where the industry is going I concur I agree with everything you've said so I hear reading any anything exciting at the moment so a book that you can highly recommend to our listeners you know one of the ones I just finished reading was rocket fuel you know that's through Gino wickman's you know E OS all of his books that he you know he wrote that book rocket fuel and I'm a I'm a huge fan you know him helping me understand the strengths and weaknesses of me being a leader the strengths and weaknesses my partner looking back you know to see the dynamics between a visionary and integrator that that was that was really good I would encourage people to pick up that book the rocket fuel I think it would definitely help you build your business more successful faster because it's all about having the right people with the right skill sets in the right place and how to find them and what to look for so rocket feels the good one love it Tom I've read rocket fuel probably five Times Now it goes hand in hand with the book traction Gino wickman's first book yesterday I I caught up with one of my closest friends down under Daniel Davies who was actually in partnership with Gino the whole E OS operating system is amazing and I just I just want to let everyone know this listen to this I never prompted that from you it's just so crazy how I've spent yesterday with an E OS one of the best E OS implementers on the planet and you've mentioned you know the book rocket fuel fantastic well thank you Tom it's always a pleasure my friend yeah I'll let you get back to it and I'm looking forward to catching on back stateside later in the week and really look forward to coming and visiting you again in Dallas and maybe you may and Billy we might catch up for another lunch or with something volume in towns that sounds great Alan thank you for your time thank you for letting me be on your podcast and hopefully your viewers your listeners had a few Nuggets that they were able to take away absolutely thank you buddy all the best to you and look forward to chatting to you soon.