T.F. O’Brien Cooling and Heating, a Long Island-based heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) company, is setting the standard for employee training with their hands-on and thorough onboarding process.

Once hired, every new employee at T.F. O’Brien must complete an intensive training program to learn how they do business and what sets their processes apart.

“We are always trying to improve as a company, and you cannot grow without learning,” company co-owner and president Kerry O’Brien said.
Each T.F. O’Brien employee participates in a minimum of a week’s worth of training before they step out on the job. In fact, T.F. O’Brien has a special training room dedicated to hands-on learning where new hires encounter common technical issues on the systems they service, and learn to solve them. Employees also shadow other long-time coworkers to learn as much as possible, firsthand.

But unlike some companies’ standard orientation, T.F. O’Brien’s learning process does not end after the first few weeks; employee training is ongoing so that the company can continue to grow and improve as a whole.

“Our training is unique in that there’s no start and stop points,” O’Brien said. “We have technicians who’ve been with us for years and still regularly participate in training because we believe you should never stop learning, and that constantly seeking improvement is essential to success.”

A quality assurance technician is in charge of leading the training efforts at T.F. O’Brien. He holds special training sessions before business hours to help technicians who are struggling with particular repairs, or to administer tests. He also visits every new install that T.F. O’Brien does in order to make sure it is up to their standards. If he encounters any issues, he repairs them and works with the crew that did the job to retrain them, if necessary.

T.F. O’Brien recently added five employees to its expanding team of HVAC experts, including four employees on the install team, and one on the service team. All of them underwent the rigorous training process to prepare them for a typical day out on the job.

“We have been in business on Long Island for 85 years, and one thing has stayed the same: we seek to hire employees who are hungry for growth and improvement,” O’Brien said. “Our team is naturally inquisitive and strives to better themselves.”

About T.F. O’Brien Cooling & Heating

T.F. O’Brien is a Long Island-based HVAC company founded by Thomas Francis O’Brien in 1934. Their team of over 40 employees has been family-run since its inception and strives to offer the best service and technical expertise on the island.