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MAHPBA Interview with Rick Soccio from AES Hearthplace

MAHPBA: What are the main reasons you bring so many of your employees to each MAHPBA annual meeting?
RICK: The reason we do it is because first of all it is close. Second of all it is really good training and diverse so we can bring all of our staff and get sales training for sales people, technical training for technical,  management training and even owner strategic training. It is very diverse so everybody can be there. Third, I like them to interact with other dealers and installers and just, quite honestly, get out of their bubble of AES Hearthplace.  I think hearing what others are doing and being able to talk to others has just been real beneficial.
MAHPBA: What percentage of your company is NFI certified and why?
RICK: Probably close to 80% or better. Part of it stems from the fact that I'm a very technical engineer minded person but at the same time I believe it is the beginning not the end-all. Many people can go and take the certification but it is our test to see how interested our employees are actually. It is almost like a beginning for them. The majority of the people have at least one certification and almost 50% of those- have 2 or 3 certifications
MAHPBA: Do you have enough time to network with other members and learn more about our Mid-Atlantic Region?
RICK: Yes, I'm all about networking- some part of it or mixed groups as well. There are certain dealers I contact on a regular basis but MAHPBA is nice to get together with everybody in one place again and share ideas and thoughts and catch up with one another. I like to know that I'm not alone with some of my own experiences and usually I find out that I'm not- that I certainly question it when I'm here at the shop by myself.
MAHPBA: Is there any changes or additions you would like to see to the annual meeting schedule or format?
RICK: For us, Sundays and Mondays are our closed days but we are a Christian driven company. So on Sundays, even though we really like the training classes, it makes it a little more difficult to attend because many our employees are tied in with their church or on worship committees. We end up splitting the group and they can only attend 1/2 of the classes. For those who can get out of their Sunday duties, we have great remarks from them on the meeting and how much they like the training. I don't know if there is any thing to change but the reason we have some people only attend one day is because we are so focused on our christian life as well.