Summer is here for much of the country, and the northern reaches will be there soon. Our industry’s peak demand period brings a host of opportunities as well as challenges. How well we actively manage these often determines our performance in all of those Key Performance Indicators for the year. HARDI members are able to see how they are doing by routinely comparing their performance to the industry as a whole with HARDI’s Benchmarking Pillar.

HARDI Benchmarking offers a suite of tools for members to use and keep track of their numbers. The monthly TRENDS report provides regular updates throughout the year on the current economic state of the HVACR industry. HARDI published its annual Distributor Performance Dashboards (DPD) report last month. This tool helps distributor members protect profitability and maximize resources available for customer service.

Another great tool HARDI offers is the monthly Unitary Market Report, which allows members to compare product mix performance to competitors as a whole in their region. In 2017, HARDI aims to expand this program with software partners D+R Analytics to report important market share and mix metrics at the state level as well.

HARDI Vice President Brian Peirce from Peirce-Phelps Inc. reports, “Currently, my favorite tool would be the TRENDS report because it gives us a quick flash of how the prior month had gone overall. And it’s better and quicker than the other data we receive from manufacturers. So it gives us a really good feel for how the region is doing and how we can compare our results to that on a regular basis.”

Be sure to arm yourself with the most accurate industry data possible by utilizing HARDI Benchmarking tools to drive your team’s performance. These tools will prepare you for accurate, data-driven discussions with suppliers and staff.

This month, HARDI members will work to advance HVACR distribution issues at the HARDI Congressional Fly-In.  This hallmark event is one of the most personally rewarding experiences for HARDI members. If you missed this year, make a note in next year’s calendar to sign up in March 2018.

Personally, rewarding experiences abound in my favorite HARDI event, our industry-leading HARDI Emerging Leaders Program. The energy in the room is contagious as our next generation of team leaders gather to work on complex problems, individual growth, peer career family building and small group mentoring sessions. Our first class of Emerging Leaders has graduated, and they are well on their way to leaving their own positive marks on our industry. We will meet again this summer to roll up our sleeves and dive into two days of real-world problem-solving, best practices coaching and individual mentoring. Development of the skills, thought process and management tools of future leaders is a never-ending process for your company and for us at HARDI as well.

HARDI is here to help you, your company, and your coworkers grow and excel in our industry. Utilizing all the available HARDI resources throughout your team’s growth and development sets your company up for organizational sustainability, growth and success. Let any of our HARDI team members know how we can help.

Best wishes,

Tom Roberts