HARDI Develops Counterperson Certification

HARDI Develops Counterperson Certification
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July 23, 2007
John R. Hall
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Home » HARDI Develops Counterperson Certification
HARDI Develops Counterperson
Certifcation
A key component to market center
distribution is the counterperson’s
knowledge of the local market and
his or her customer’s needs.
The need for a professional career path, based on continuing
education and knowledge of the local marketplace, is going to
become even more important for the HVACR wholesale
distribution trade as it continues to compete with many different
professions for young, skilled professionals entering the job market.
That’s the motivation behind a relatively new initiative started by the
Heating, Airconditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International
(HARDI) titled the Certified Counter Specialist (CCS) program.
This certification program is one of the many initiatives that are part
of the HARDI Market Center Distribution (MCD) plan.
“The Market Center Distribution concept is entirely focused on the
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value and strength of each of the distributors' individual local
branch locations,” said Don Frendberg, HARDI executive vice
president and COO. “Distribution success is defined by the ability
of those local branches to know, service, and anticipate the needs of
their specific markets and in particular customer demands.
“Distributors’ counter personnel are the embodiment of Market
Center Distribution, prompting HARDI to develop the Certified
Counter Specialist program. CCS offers for the first time in our
industry a standard, four-phase, knowledge-based template for
counter professionals structured enough to be applicable to
distributors anywhere but flexible enough to ensure that enrollees’
expertise is focused on the needs of their local market. In essence,
this is what Market Center Distribution is all about.”
THE CERTIFIED COUNTER
SPECIALIST
HARDI’s Education Committee defined the objectives of CCS as
follows:
• To establish industry-recognized standards of performance,
education, and training for the counter position in HVACR
distribution.
• To encourage training and education, as well as practical
experience, among counter personnel.
• To demonstrate to customers and suppliers the importance of
Market Center Distribution by cultivating more knowledgeable
sales support personnel.
• To increase awareness among potential entry-level young people of
the minimum requirements for wholesale counter sales positions.
“Our No. 1 goal with CCS is to recognize the importance of the
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counterperson,” said Bud Healy, HARDI director of education.
“The second goal is to establish training standards for new people
and for educators.”
CCS provides four levels of recognition for specific educational and
training achievements:
• Assistant Counter Specialist (for the person starting out);
• Associate Counter Specialist;
• Senior Associate Counter Specialist;
• HARDI-Certified Counter Specialist (the highest achievement).
The four levels are tied into four levels of compensation, too. “This
is an opportunity to tie compensation to the various four levels,”
said Talbot Gee, HARDI vice president. “We hope that certification
will help with the recruitment of people because they will be able to
know and understand the position, thanks to written standards.
“The value of the program now is that you can bring in a new person
and enroll them in the four-level program, which gives them an
understanding of their career path. And it legitimizes their role
within their company.”
The HARDI Education Committee has established minimum
(mandatory) educational and training experiences for each level of
recognition. These sessions are based on federal regulations
involving safety and hazardous materials training, plus industry
credentialing for technical knowledge and skills. The latter includes
North American Technician Excellence (NATE), Refrigeration
Service Engineers Society (RSES), National Oilheat Research
Alliance (NORA), and other national technical certification
programs.
“If a person works with refrigerants they may be required to get EPA

certification, which HARDI recognizes but does not administer
testing for,” added Healy.
“In many cases, a NATE-certified technician will be able to talk
with a NATE-certified counterperson,” said Frendberg. “The top
two levels of certification require an equivalent of NATE
certification from the counter people.”
Pat Thomas (second from left), one of cfm’s refrigeration specialists,
explains the advantage of using the Emerson HP Series flooded
head pressure valve to a counter customer.
DISTRIBUTORS ARE DOING IT
cfm Distributors Inc., Kansas City, Mo., currently has 24 employees
actively enrolled in CCS, including parts’ counter manager Susie
Smith. Smith started her first class in 2004 and became the nation’s
first certified counter specialist in 2006.
“Our employees that have enrolled have done so to service our
customers’ better, feel more confident in their job while developing
a higher level of self-esteem, and become move valuable to our
company and the industry,” said Kevin Morris, cfm parts director.
“The HVACR industry is always in a state of change, from new
government regulations, new products, new refrigerants, and new
technology. A counterperson must be able to assist the
customer/contractor in any of his needs. In order to do this, the
counterperson must have a basic working knowledge of the heating,
cooling, and refrigeration systems.
“The basics of business operations, customer relations, and skills are
in my opinion as critical as the mechanical side of the business. We
also spiff employees $50 for each course they pass, and the offer is

open to every employee from the receptionist on up.”
Morris noted the CCS program helps with employee retention, too.
He said that cfm has a very low turnover rate due to the fact the
company grows it employees by training them and giving them the
support and tools they need to become excellent in their careers.
Part of that training includes involvement in their local
communities, an idea supported by HARDI. “The total MCD
concept even goes outside of the HVAC realm and into support
within the local community,” said Frendberg.
Having a knowledge of the local market means that distributors can
stock the parts and supplies that are specific to their customers’
needs.
This MCD approach fits cfm’s model, too. “Grow and train your
employees and keep them where they belong, in the community and
in the company they have grown up with,” said Morris.
Bob Munch Jr., vice president of Munch’s Supply Co., New Lenox,
Ill., said his company places a strong emphasis on employee and
dealer education. “We want to have the best trained counter people
in the industry,” he said. “Their education is a key component to
performance evaluations.
"We put a tremendous emphasis on the HARDI training program.
“One of the issues we had with training was getting employees to
take the initiative to train themselves. This is difficult to
accomplish, so we put together a program that gave the employee
incentive for achieving certain levels of HARDI certification. We
currently have 33 people signed up. Of those, 22 are actively
progressing and have achieved various levels of certification. Three

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people have completed the program.”
Following the CCS model, Munch’s ties employee education to a
counterperson’s compensation program. “We use the HARDI
program as the core of this compensation program,” said Munch.
“This is an excellent recruitment tool because a person who seeks
advancement can see that they can become educated and also
receive additional compensation for their effort. For an employee
who may be working in the warehouse but wishes to transfer to the
counter, they can begin the program at anytime. When a position
opens up, they are at the top of the list for placement.”
For more information, visit www.hardinet.org.
Publication Date: 07/23/2007
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