COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 23, 2018 – Increasingly, activity has been rippling across the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration industries in areas related to recruitment.
Among the groups taking some action to attract new bodies to the wholesale distribution segment is Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) — which reports it has started work on a documentary for the purpose of industry recruitment.
HARDI members market, distribute, and support heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration equipment, parts and supplies.
"The HVACR wholesale industry is currently experiencing a massive employment deficit," said HARDI President Troy Meachum. “The gap is weighing on distributors and it is becoming extremely difficult to find good employees. The need for recruiting younger individuals into our members' businesses has never been greater than it is now."
Commissioned by the HARDI Foundation, this documentary will have a focus on showcasing the daily lives of younger employees at HARDI distributors, with the aim of targeting younger generations for recruitment.
"Our mission with this film is to bring awareness of the numerous opportunities available within wholesale distribution, especially to young people," Meachum continues.
HARDI Foundation commissioned the filming and production from Muddy Trails LLC, who produced HARDI's On The Shoulder of Giants video showcased at the 2017 HARDI Annual Conference in Las Vegas.
“Our members are constantly mentioning that hiring and recruitment are some of the biggest challenges they face within their organizations," said Director of Marketing & Sales Chris DeBoer. "We have tried to help members with this issue for a couple years but have not really been able to truly make anything stick. After seeing the Muddy Trails production at our Annual Conference, it hit me. Why don’t we make a documentary that showcases how the wholesale HVAC industry has offers amazing job opportunities at organizations with some of the best workplace cultures. I spoke to Troy that night about the idea and he loved it. From there we got to work.”
"We were like everybody else, 'HVAC wholesale… never heard of it.' We had no idea an industry like this existed, let alone think that a story worth telling would come out of it." said Muddy Trails film director Bryce Suriano. "After we were introduced to the HARDI organization and the several HVAC wholesalers within the organization, we were left with one word on our mind... quality. Quality companies, quality work cultures, and quality employees who love their jobs."
The documentary premier is expected to line up with the 2018 HARDI Annual Conference, Dec. 1-4, in Austin, Tex.