Dave Regnery knows what it’s like to juggle work and school. Earlier in his career, the chair and CEO of Trane Technologies decided to earn an MBA. That took a while.
“It was extremely difficult for me to be able to come up with the funds so that I could get reimbursed later,” recalls Regnery, who leads one of the world’s top HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) companies. So he paid for one class at a time rather than two.
Trane’s 30,000 North American employees have no such worry. Last year under Regnery, who became CEO in 2021, the company switched from reimbursing people for school to giving them the money up front. The Tuition Assistance Program is part of Trane’s focus on upskilling and reskilling, an effort that has helped build trust with employees.
In addition to college degrees, the revamped program covers technical certifications like HVAC and building automation technology. “The reason why that’s so important is because many people, especially at the line level, may not have the funds available to pay for the initial cost of going to school and then wait for the reimbursement,” Regnery tells me from Davidson, N.C.
The CEO, who’s spent his entire career at what is now Trane since starting there as a trainee, made the shift based on employee feedback. When Regnery visits one of the company’s plants, he likes to chat with line workers. One told him they wished they could go back to school and become an electrician.
With his team, Regnery determined that the benefits of advancing tuition far outweighed the financial risks. “Our employees are learning skills that they never thought they were going to have the opportunity to learn,” he says. “And they’re making better lives for their families, and we’re better off as Trane Technologies.”
In 2023, almost 730 Trane employees took advantage of tuition support—a roughly 40% jump from the previous year. “My bet is it will go up another 40% in 2024,” Regnery says.
With service technicians in high demand throughout the HVAC industry, Trane also runs a national Technician Apprenticeship Program accredited by the Department of Labor. The four-year program, which consists of about 80% newcomers to Trane, has a retention rate of more than 95%, Regnery notes. Launched early last year, it’s grown to 200 apprentices and is heading to 400.
“This is starting to churn,” Regnery says. “Sure, it’s expensive to run the program, but the benefit that we’ll receive down the road, the returns will be fantastic.”
To further emphasize skills and attract the people it wants, Trane has eliminated degree requirements for roughly 50 job categories. Among them: sales and account manager, plant supervisor, and test stand engineer.
Trane began revisiting academic qualifications in the tight pandemic labor market, Regnery explains. As a member of One Ten, he also heard former IBM chief executive Ginni Rometty talk about skills-first hiring.
“I think when people wrote job descriptions, they would just say, ‘four-year degree,’” Regnery observes. “We were putting these requirements on there that were just way overqualified for what we were looking for.”
Regnery has seen the Tuition Assistance Program build trust between Trane and its employees. “I’m going to give you those funds up front, and then I’m going to trust that you’re going to go to class, you’re going to get a great skill set, and you’re going to graduate,” he says. “When you start doing that, the trust goes both ways.”
He encourages other leaders to take a chance on their people. “Education has got the highest returns of any investment you’ll make in your company,” Regnery says. “If you can educate your workforce, you’re going to have a skilled workforce. They’re going to have a smile on their face, they’re going to have a great job, and that’s going to show up with your customers.”
A breath of fresh air.
Nick Rockel
nick.rockel@consultant.fortune.com
IN OTHER NEWS
Feel the burn
Take U.S. workers’ word for it: Burnout really is a thing. On Glassdoor, the number of employees citing that condition is at an all-time high since the career platform began taking note in 2016. In fact, posts mentioning “burnout” have surged almost 45% over the past six years. Besides pushing workers to quit, burnout can leave them less confident in employers. Only about a third of Glassdoor users referencing it this year said they had a positive business outlook for their company, versus more than half of those skipping the term. A town hall won’t fix that.
Coin drop
Sound too good to be true? It could easily be a memecoin. Meme-related cryptocurrency projects, which bear names like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, have grown more than 440% over the past two years. That makes them crypto’s fourth-most-valuable sector, Niamh Rowe notes. But as a new report shows, the average memecoin lasts only a year, versus three for the average crypto project. In other words, 97% of them no longer exist. Buy now, pay later.
Hitting the brakes
Washington doesn’t trust China anywhere near the wheel of the nation’s cars. On security grounds, the Department of Commerce is ready to propose a rule banning Chinese software in advanced autonomous vehicles and connected vehicles. One big worry is that China would hoover up the personal and other info gathered by such apps. “Do we want all that data going to Beijing?” asked Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. No, pull over.
House of cards
What do Costco and Netflix have in common? The retailer is cracking down on membership sharing too—with plans to make shoppers scan their cards at the door. This less-than-trusting rule is billed as an effort to help keep prices low at Costco, which uses membership fees to offset expenses. Beats paying more for a rotisserie chicken, I guess.
TRUST EXERCISE
“On July 27, 2021 Simone Biles, the world’s greatest gymnast, withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics to prioritize her mental health. The move sent shockwaves through the gymnastics community and elite athletics everywhere. How could, and why would, the greatest drop out? Despite controversy and naysayers online, many applauded her bravery and willingness to put her own well-being first. Following the Tokyo Games, Biles took time away from the sport—focusing on herself and other aspects of her life, including therapy, business endeavors, and getting married.
Fast forward almost exactly three years, and Biles is once again an Olympic champion, leading the U.S. women’s gymnastics team to a gold medal in Paris on Tuesday before securing the gold in the All-Around competition on Thursday, with even more opportunities for medals on the horizon.
Biles deserves all the praise she has received—not only for her incredible athleticism and grace under pressure but also for her perseverance and unwavering faith in herself. What I’d like to also applaud her for, however, is how she has—perhaps unintentionally—destigmatized mental health leaves of absence for millions of people around the world, especially American women.”
As Jennifer Birdsall sees it, Simone Biles is more than a great athlete. The Clinical Director of ComPsych, a top provider of employee mental health services and absence administration, also casts the Olympian as a beacon for women who need to step away from work.
From 2017 to 2023, mental-health-related leaves climbed almost 300%, ComPsych data shows. Women have driven the increase, accounting for about 70% of such absences in the first quarter of this year. But stigma remains: Many workers diagnosed with a mental health issue still don’t trust that they can tell their employer the real reason for calling in sick.
Thankfully, attitudes are shifting, says Birdsall, who thinks Biles has set an inspiring example. With so many women balancing careers and family, Birdsall wants society to offer them more support—a move that could help make their need for mental health leave a rarity. Until then, taking a much-needed break shouldn’t require any verbal gymnastics.
