The State Of The Food Equipment Service Industry (Part 1)

There’s a lot going on in the Food Equipment Service industry. Extreme labor shortage, supply chain issues, new technology, mergers & acquisitions, new health policies, etc., to name just a few.

It’s more important than ever for executives to keep their fingers on the pulse of the industry to make informed strategic decisions and steer their companies in the right direction.

I recently had the privilege to collaborate with Total Food Service and interview some of the top Food Equipment Service executives to get a read over the opportunities and challenges they’re looking to tackle in 2022.

This is the first of three articles that will be published in the coming weeks to share with you—The State Of The Food Equipment Service Industry and all the insights we’ve been able to gather.

We’d like to thank all the contributors for their willingness to open up and share their wisdom with us:

Alright, let’s dive in.

During our conversations, the most common theme that kept coming up was recruiting technicians (no surprise there!):

Seems like more of the same “Technicians are hard to find and hard to keep”… but this time was different.

I noticed a shift happening in how a lot of executives are approaching recruiting and retaining technicians in a post-covid world.

Let’s dig in.

With the competition for experienced technicians heating up, a new incentive tactic seems to be emerging and it’s creating a bidding war that’s negatively impacting the industry as a whole.

Josh Zolin with Windy City Equipment explains: 

Anna Vermillion with Repair24 takes a firm stance against it: 

American Kitchen’s Josh Taylor warns of the negative implications this tactic can have on your existing technicians: 

Given all these valid arguments, the logical next question is:

“What can be done instead?”

Here are a few ideas the executives shared with us:

Before tackling recruitment, a lot of the executives argue that you need to examine your company’s culture first to make sure that when a technician comes on board, they stick around for the long haul.

Company culture is more than having chill areas and free breakfast. 

It’s the policies, procedures, and habits you create as a leader that impact technicians’ retention and productivity.

Anna Vermillion shares her approach to creating a great company culture:

Jim Eason with SAM Service shares how you can still retain your technicians even if you don’t pay them the highest hourly rate:

These are some great examples of how executives think about shaping their company’s culture to increase technician retention and productivity.

Once you’ve got that in place, the next logical question is:

With so many different marketing channels available, it can get challenging trying to figure out how to make it all work.

Josh Zolin suggests to start with your website:

None of the executives we’ve interviewed had any concerns with the phone not ringing enough with service calls. But they all needed more techs. 

Focusing your website messaging to appeal to technicians, and showing them how great your company is seems like an approach definitely worth testing.

That’s a great strategy to target those who are already aware of the industry and are actively seeking employment.

But as we all know, one of the biggest challenges the industry faces is that there aren’t enough new techs entering the workforce.

What can be done about it?

Daniel Kaltenbaugh, Jr. from Welbilt shares his take on this challenge: 

Here’s how Patrick Duffy with Duffy’s AIS is proactively placing his company in front of potential talent: 

Anna Vermillion suggests a collaborative approach to attract new blood into the industry:

Bob Levine with Americold is partnering with Technical Schools and picking up young and committed technicians:

Attracting new people into the trades is only one part of the equation. 

Once they’re in, they need to know what they’re doing to actually fix increasingly complex units and create revenue for the company, which is why whoever can train faster will have a competitive advantage over their competition.

Josh Taylor notes the shift to virtual training for a lot of manufacturers:

Patrick Duffy shares an innovation that his company will be introducing to ramp up new technicians faster and help master technicians be more productive:

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These interviews provided a rich discussion on a burning topic for the industry, and hopefully this article gave you insights to find new technicians, ramp them up faster, and keep them sticking around for the long haul.

For some parting thoughts, Josh Zolin provides a perfect summary of all that we covered:

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If you enjoyed this article, keep an eye out for the next issue where we’ll be tackling other opportunities and challenges facing the industry in 2022 and beyond!

Sincerely, Yassin Shaar, Chief Growth Officer at Origo

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For more information, visit the Origo website,  or learn how Origo can help your operation by calling (832) 558-6661.