Engineering & Construction
HVAC Workforce Culture: Recruit with Purpose, Retain with Care
Skilled trades face a critical retention crisis as retirements vastly outpace new workers entering the field
Key takeaways
The HVAC industry replaces only two workers for every five retirees, creating an urgent talent shortage.
Culture-driven leadership—including dedicated culture coaches and chaplains—outperforms perks-based retention strategies.
Individualized mentorship and career development are essential to keeping experienced field knowledge alive and retaining technicians long-term.
The HVAC workforce is shrinking as retirements continue to outpace new entries into the field. More than 50% of HVAC professionals are over 45, and the industry is replacing every five retirees with only two new workers. The result is an urgent need not only to recruit new talent but also to retain it through purpose-driven leadership and a strong internal environment. At the heart of that challenge is the need to rethink and rebuild HVAC workforce culture—an approach that values technicians as people, not just labor. As demand for essential infrastructure maintenance grows, especially in sectors like healthcare and data centers, service leaders face a new challenge: how to build teams that stay for the long haul.
As demand for essential infrastructure maintenance grows, especially in sectors like healthcare and data centers, service leaders face a new challenge: how to build teams that stay for the long haul.
What keeps a technician loyal to a company in today's work culture—and how should leaders rethink the way they manage people in HVAC?
That's the focus of this week's episode of Straight Outta Crumpton, hosted by longtime industry voice Greg Crumpton. He's joined by Brad Glenn, Service Manager at Piedmont Service Group in Raleigh, North Carolina. With 38 technicians under his care, Glenn unpacks the evolving expectations of the HVAC workforce and explains why culture is no longer a buzzword—it's a strategy. The conversation dives into Glenn's leadership style, generational shifts in technician motivation, and the deep value of mentorship in keeping field knowledge alive.
Culture is no longer a buzzword—it's a strategy.
Key Takeaways from the Episode:
- Culture starts with leadership, not perks: Piedmont's people-first culture—complete with a dedicated culture coach and staff chaplains—is built around empathy and empowerment, not just financial incentives.
- Retention is about the person, not the role: Glenn emphasizes individualized support, work-life balance, and long-term career development as key to technician satisfaction and loyalty.
- Legacy is technical and personal: Passing down field knowledge is a duty for seasoned professionals like Glenn, who sees hands-on mentorship as critical to preserving the industry's skill base.
Brad Glenn is a seasoned HVAC professional with over 25 years of experience spanning installation, service, troubleshooting, and departmental leadership. He has successfully grown service teams, notably expanding one department from two to over ten technicians during his tenure at Comfort Systems USA MidAtlantic. Currently serving as Service Manager at Piedmont Service Group, Glenn focuses on building a culture where technicians are empowered and leadership development is prioritized—a reflection of his deep investment in shaping HVAC workforce culture for the next generation.
About the author
<a style="color: white;font-weight: 600;" href="https://marketscale.com/shows/straight-outta-crumpton/">Straight Outta Crumpton</a><br/><br/> Greg's personal & professional goals are to serve the people that he am working with and/or for. He carries this mantra in his professional life and his home life. Having 40+ years as a full-service mechanical and mission critical environments contractor with a heavy emphasis on service, maintenance and repair. Greg specialize in mission critical cooling (Heat Rejection) and electrical infrastructures, as well as the comfort cooling surrounding them. As a continual entrepreneur, several markets strike him as interesting. As varied as you could imagine, they range from Coffee with my bud's at www.CommonPlaceCoffee.com, all the way to serving as an adviser for several start-ups in the emerging technology world via www.aGlobalVenture.com & www.AtomPower.com and others. Giving back to his community is of equal importance to him, www.apparo.org and Animal Welfare are just a couple ways of doing just that.
