< Previousin our business if we say, “I want to reduce my business’s overall callback rate from 4.5% in 2024 to 3% in 2025” than if we left it at, “I want to reduce my business’s callback rate.” Key Results: Key results are the steps we take towards our objectives. Like objectives, key results are verifi- able, specific, and time bound. These are the progress step- ping-stones that we can take towards achieving objectives. Let’s look at the callback rate again. Some key results for that objec- tive could include launching a train- ing program by the end of Q1, having 100% of our technicians finish a train- ing program by the end of Q2, with the goal of reducing service callbacks to 5%, and installation callbacks to 3%. These are just examples, and the num- bers will vary based on the ratio of ser- vice calls to installs and your team’s strengths and weaknesses. The first two key results are actions with deadlines. The last two key results are performance milestones. Busi- ness owners and managers can mea- sure these performance milestones by tracking key performance indica- tors (KPIs), which allow people to monitor their organizations’ opera- tions over time and set performance benchmarks. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIS) Speaking of KPIs, these numbers are metrics that offer vital insight into your team’s performance. They can be applied to the entire business, a specif- ic service area or segment of the busi- ness, a marketing campaign or strate- gy, or even an individual employee. In the construction world, project managers often rely on KPIs to monitor project progress to determine whether they will finish on time, need to adjust labor or materi- al organization, stay within the bud- get, etc. Keep in mind that all KPIs are met- rics, but not all metrics are KPIs. Met- rics refer to any type of number that can offer information, while KPIs are spe- cific metrics that can be tracked over of any kind, we want them to be SMART: S - Specific M - Measurable A - Achievable R - Relevant T - Time-Bound. How often have you heard some say, “I want to lose some weight!”? Sure, health is relevant, and weight is mea- surable; we can get on a scale and see the difference between Day 1 and Day X. But do we automatically achieve that goal if we lose a little bit of water weight at the end of the day? If we manage to get on the scale on January 1st, 2025, and see that we’ve lost one pound since January 1st, 2024, does that count as success? We may have a vague idea of what we want, but there is no way to track it, hold ourselves accountable, and know to change our strategy if something isn’t working. Compare that to someone who says, “I want to lose 10 pounds in three months.” It’s a specific amount of weight, achievable with a generally healthy caloric deficit (along with the “please consult your doctor first” dis- claimer) and has a deadline. Once that deadline passes, that per- son can tell if they succeeded or if they need to change their approach, such as by setting aside time to go to the gym to put more focus on the exercise ele- ment of the diet. Business objectives will be differ- ent from personal ones, but the same principles apply. I think “fewer call- backs” is something everyone can get behind. However, we’ll see a greater change 20 AUGUST 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYMANAGEMENT make goals and continuously track progress. The OKR framework is great for that since it sets forth a broader objective and a few means of measuring that progress. Those key results are the measurements; they need to be veri- fiable and time-bound to offer a clear picture of where the organization is at and create a sense of urgency. KPIs may also be those gauges of progress; they’re continuous met- rics that tell where an organization is healthy and where it needs improve- ment, and can serve as benchmarks. Like a health chart, you can look back on earlier KPI benchmarks to see how the organization has grown, regressed, or shown little change. Tracking company performance is a lot like commissioning a system or devising an upgrade plan; you can set and track goals while identifying weaknesses or problems to address. Business objectives help you to set deadlines, update to higher goals, and/or sustain positive results. Stra- tegic planning is an ongoing process: measure, plan, repeat. examination are service or installation procedures. Do you have a clear stan- dard operating procedure (SOP) in place? Is it documented and accessi- ble? Do technicians know how to per- form all the tasks in those SOPs? Do a lot of the callbacks deal with a certain part? Do you need to train technicians to install that part or consider using a different brand (if possible)? The KPIs let you know to identify points where technicians need addi- tional resources, like commissioning checklists or training. You can go even narrower and exam- ine each technician’s individual call- back rate. Use timesheets and service logs to track these for your entire orga- nization and for each technician. If some technicians consistently have callback rates above that 4 to 5% range, that says you need to look at their em- ployee development. Assess their knowledge and skill lev- el to see where they might need addi- tional training — or, if possible, assign them a mentor. On the flip side, if you notice techni- cians or installers with callback rates below 3%, you’d be wise to see what they’re doing right. Have these peo- ple developed personal processes that work for them? Could you document and promote their personal strategies to spur positive changes throughout the organization? Tracking KPIs provides info about your company and evidence to show that recent efforts are working, not working, or having no major impact. HAVING A STRUCTURE Ultimately, strategic planning for an HVAC business is all about having a structure that allows you to time to provide big-picture insights. For example, the number of times a single marketing email is opened is a metric. It tells us important data about that email campaign. But it doesn’t point to a big-picture aspect of the business’s overall performance. Your callback rate and how many service or installation calls are done per day or week are more meaningful KPIs to an HVAC organization. They’re still pieces of information, but they can be tracked over time and give you clues about how your organi- zation is operating, where it’s improv- ing, and what still needs improvement. Some common KPIs for HVAC busi- nesses include: zFirst-time fix rate (or its inverse: callback rate) zCalls per day (and sometimes per technician per day) z Jobs booked per CSR zSales revenue z Revenue per lead. These aren’t all the KPIs, but they can tell you quite a bit about the health of your organization and your team’s performance. USING KPIS EFFECTIVELY KPIs aren’t goals, but they can in- form on goals. You can use KPI mile- stones as key results for OKRs, and they can help you decide whether you need to change your strategy to better meet goals. For example, if the goal is to reduce your callback rate to 3%, and you find it dips from 4.5% to 4% in Q1 but stalls around 4% or increases throughout the rest of the year, that’s your cue to examine the factors that lead to call- backs a bit more closely. Some factors to consider for closer Emily Gutowski is the technical writer and content editor for HVAC School (founded by Bryan Orr), in Clermont, FL. She has occupied this role since 2020, the same year she gradu- ated from the University of Florida with her Bachelor of Arts in English, and a minor in mass communication. Emily can be reached at ncilink.com/ContactMe . AUGUST 2024 21HVACTODAY.COM22 AUGUST 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYforward to hearing from them. The team at NCI encourages new and existing members to look for member benefit updates through email. This in- cludes announcements, our email news- letter, and more on our website ( hvacto- day.com ). and on our social media sites. If anyone has questions about their membership, please call the NCI Cus- tomer Care line at 800-633-7058. Welcome Two New Summit Speakers The team at National Comfort Institute (NCI) is pleased to announce the follow- ing additions to our list of presenters and session leaders at the 2024 High-Per- formance HVAC Summit, which is near- ly upon us. This year’s Summit is being held in Asheville, NC from September 10-13. Our new additions are as follows: Chuck Worley of Worley Home Services in York- town, VA. He will be leading the ses- sion titled, “Customer Communication: Drop the Technospeak ,” and will share his experiences explaining the high value of a system performance approach to homeowners. Codi Novini is the former owner of SoCal Airflow Pros, a residential/ light commercial High-Performance HVAC™ company located in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA. Cody will be leading a newly-add- ed session on Integrating High-Perfor- mance into Your HVAC Business . In this session he will describe the chal- lenges and opportunities he faced as he implemented high performance into his company. This includes marketplace roadblocks as well as team resistance to the changes he was making. If you haven’t done so, be sure to reg- ister for Summit today and secure your room at the Crowne Plaza Asheville Hotel . Be sure to ask for the NCI special room rate. We look forward to seeing you there! Airflow Test/Diagnostic Class Update This fall, NCI’s Airflow Testing and Di- agnostics classes will incorporate some updated technology into the program. Class attendees will use the Trueflow® Grid live and and see how it fits in the Air Upgrade process. Attendees will also re- ceive training on how to use NCI work- flows in the The Energy Conservatory and measureQuick® mobile apps. To learn more, call NCI’s Customer Care Team at 800-633-7058 and ask about the class schedule, and how to register. NCI Welcomes New Members The National Comfort Institute (NCI) team is pleased to welcome the latest contracting firms to join the member- ship of this contracting organization. They joined the largest exclusive net- work of High-Performance HVAC profes- sionals nationwide. New members should visit national- comfortinstitute.com to learn about their membership benefits, training op- portunities, and more. By the way, while on the site, be sure to register for access to all of NCI’s knowl- edge base. Please help us welcome the following newest members: z Air Analyst HVAC , Cypress, TX z Berry Best Services, Dallas, TX z Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heat- ing & Plumbing, Phoenix, AZ z Dryer Vent Guys, Fredericksburg VA z Ed Bishop, LLC ., Troy, NY z Frontline Air Conditioning & Heat- ing LLC , Roanoke, TX z Maikai TAB Services Ltd , Calgary, Al- berta, Canada z Mechollage, Inc. , Virginia Beach, VA z Pyne Valley Air, Queen Creek, AZ z V.Y. Services Co. , Elizabethtown, PA. We are excited these companies decided to join our family and look NCI UPDATE WELCOME AUGUST 2024 23HVACTODAY.COMHVAC SMART MART 24 AUGUST 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYAD INDEX Publisher Dominick Guarino Editor-in-Chief Mike Weil Art Director Judy Marquardt Online Development Director Brian Roseman Circulation Manager Andrea Begany-Garsed To Subscribe to High-Performance HVAC Today: ONLINE: Visit HVACToday.com/subscribe for a FREE digital subscription. PRINT: 1 year/$72; single copy $7. Canada: 1 year/$92; single copy $9. Payable in advance with U.S. funds. Prepaid subscriptions may be sent to: High-Performance HVAC Today, PO Box 2053, Morristown,TN 37816. Phone toll free: 800-633-7058; or visit HVACTo- day.com/subscribe to order online. Go to ncilink.com/ContactMe with your comments and questions. Advertiser Index Arzel Zoning Technology, Inc. | www.ArzelZoning.com ...................................................... 5 Baker Distributing Company | www.BakerDist.com ........................................................... 24 Daikin Comfort Technologies North America, Inc. | www.northamerica-daikin.com 25 Duct Saddles | www.DuctSaddles.com ..................................................................................... 14 Evergreen Telemetry | www.EvergreenTelemetry.com ........................................................ 2 Lazco Corporation | www.Lazcocorp.com ............................................................................. 13 R.E. Michel Company | www.REMichel.com .......................................................................... 18 Sauermann | www.sauermanngroup.com ............................................................................ 22 TEC (The Energy Conservatory) | www.energyconservatory.com ............................... 14 To Your Success | www.ToYourSuccess.com .......................................................................... 24 Tru Tech Tools | www.TruTechTools.com ..............................................................................9, 24 AUGUST 2024 25HVACTODAY.COMtheir community as the go-to expert, especially when it comes to keeping their homes safe from carbon monoxide. In an article he wrote in December of 2017, Tom shared his journey to “Becoming a Local Carbon Monoxide Evangelist.” He was adamant that ev- ery one of his technicians and plumbers needed to be “NCI trained and certified before going into the field – no matter where he had to send them.” Training was at the very core of what propelled his third generation company into a top contract- ing business. Everyone at TM Johnson Bros un- dergoes about 200 hours of internal and external training each year. In Tom’s words back in 2014, “Train- ing keeps the techs engaged in the company. We believe making the in- vestment in training shows them the company cares about our customers, so they do too.” Tom was very active with his local as- sociations, and he wrote numerous arti- cles over the years. Some included in past issues of this magazine are: Family Business Suc- cess Through Communication, Becoming a Local Carbon Monoxide Evangelist, and CO Safety is Job One. Tom’s company was an NCI 2014 Contractor of The Year. He won several other NCI awards including our 2016 Chairman’s Award, 2017 Training Excellence Award, and 2018 David Debi- en Technical Excellence Award. He was also fea- tured as a Top Industry Influencerin 2020. Tom, we know you are watching us from heav- en, likely hanging out with Rob Falke and sharing stories of glory days. I have a feeling you’ve been assigned a special job to watch over those in dan- ger of CO poisoning. Godspeed my friend. You will be sorely missed, but not forgotten. O n June 23rd, 2024 we lost a very special person, forward-thinking HVAC contrac- tor, industry influencer, great father and husband, and a pillar of his Christian communi- ty. The legacy Tom Johnson leaves behind in ev- ery aspect of his life will undoubtedly endure for generations to come. I knew Tom as a friend, lifetime learner, ethi- cal contractor, carbon monoxide evangelist, and intensely serious yet affable NCI instructor. I also knew him as the all-around fun-loving guy I met along with his ever-cheerful wife, Corrie many years ago at HVAC Comfortech. But it wasn’t until Tom’s celebration service shortly after his passing that I learned about the other incredible facets of Tom’s life. For starters, those who knew Tom in his early years recounted stories of a daredevil athlete who never stood down from a challenge. In his youth and adult life he played basketball and football, was an avid snow skier, water skier, boater, jet skier, fisher- man, hunter, cyclist and motorcyclist. He also pretty much jumped head-first into any adventure that presented itself! Tom truly lived his faith. During his memori- al service, some of his closest friends described how involved he was in his community and his church. Besides being a leader of his church’s men’s group for many years, he was known for cooking and serving breakfast for their youth group in his garage every Thursday morning. He embodied his faith in too many ways to describe in this short tribute. As a contractor, along with his brother Mark, Tom built an incredible reputation for TM John- son Bros in the town of Cambridge, MN over the past three decades. The company is known in TRIBUTE By Dominick Guarino Tom Johnson: A Life Well Lived Dominick Guarino is publisher of High-Performance HVAC Today magazine and President & CEO of National Comfort Institute, Inc. He can be reached at ncilink. com/ContactMe . 26 AUGUST 2024HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYNext >