This TIP is targeted to the company manager/owner, but everyone can benefit from the advice.

 

Training vs. Education

Training, in my online dictionary, is “the action of teaching a person or animal a particular skill or type of behavior” (we can forget the animal part for now). This is what I call the HOW part of knowledge. Education, in the same dictionary, is “the process of receiving a systematic body of knowledge particularly at a school or university”. This is what I call the WHAT/WHY part.

To learn any vocation, you need both the WHAT/WHY and HOW part. You need to understand the “how does it work, why it works this way” and the “how do I make it work” part. Usually in that order. This is particularly true in our industry since it is very “physical”. You have to be able to know how to design based on the WHAT and WHY and perform installation based on the HOW part. The goal of a custom design/installation company is to have a well educated and trained staff. This leads to more efficient design/installation, fewer mistakes, fewer service calls and, the holy grail, a higher revenue per employee.

This goal has GOT to come from the top. TOP management must understand and worship this simple principle. I can’t believe I STILL hear “managers” moan that they don’t want to train their employees too well or they might “go get a job somewhere else”. This is so stupid I feel If I have to explain the answer, they definitely wouldn’t get it.

The education in our industry is way better than it used to be, but still has a basic problem: with a few possible exceptions, there is no one place a guy (OK, OK, or gal) can go to get a formal education and training in our field. I’ve heard of a few community colleges teaching some of it, but don’t know of anything comprehensive (If you do, please let me know so I can pass it along). CEDIA has made a couple of excellent “boot camps” for both new and experience installers (more about these later), but they only cover a relatively small amount of material. The other problem is it’s time consuming and it’s difficult to spare key people to go off to classes.

 

How NOT To Do It

Let’s get the most common mistakes out of the way first.

1. OJT (On the Job Training). This has got to be the biggest mistake companies make. Send your new guy out in the field with someone hopefully more experienced so they can learn the HOW while observing. This is the most inefficient, time wasting, dumb way to teach someone known to man. First, your field tech’s, Sr. tech’s, project managers, etc. are not trainers. This wastes everyones time. Hopefully they have better things to do. Second, the job site is a lousy classroom. There are too many distractions, and most of the time the new guy ends up just being the “gofer”. Your people need to be getting the job completed. Don’t send untrained people out on the job to slow em down. And Third, the people your new guy is leaning from may not know what they’re doing either! The SAD fact is that most managers are unaware what mistakes their “guys” are making in the field. I happen to know this as a fact from first hand observation.

2. Ad hoc Training. Don’t just send the new guy to whatever class is convenient (or not full, or local, or free/cheap) or just to pick up some CEU’s. This includes formal and manufacture training. You’ve GOT to take an active part in selecting the right education at the right time. This is all part of making a plan (described below). A person needs to learn A, then B, then C, etc. If you send a guy to D before they absorb B, it’s a waste of time/money.

3. Certifying for Certifications Sake. I totally disagree with the policy of numerous trade associations (CEDIA included) that a company needs to have a certain number of employees certified (in something, anything), and gather a minimum number of CEU credits a year, to maintain a membership in the organization. This is supposed to be an incentive to get training so that the industry as a whole can claim a highly trained workforce. The goals are laudable, but the method just doesn’t hold up. Imposing these requirements without industry education on how to implement a company training policy AND the tools to implement it, is counterproductive. It gives certification a bad name. It is easy to review for a certification exam, take the test, and sit in a few classes to acquire the requisite CEU credits. Your staff time and your money will be better spent achieving your specific company requirements in a logical order whether they earn CEU credits or not.

 

What You SHOULD Do

All of the above “Not To Do’s” are simply the result of poor planning and poor homework. So naturally, the first thing you SHOULD do is make a company education plan. It isn’t that hard. A major part of the business plan for my new company here in Turkey (Cinema@Home) is staff education. I assume new employees know very little and what they do know is probably wrong. I know I have to spend time and money on training my guys, but I know it will pay off big time. Fortunately, they will get the best education on the planet (if I do say so myself!).

1. Make an Education/Training Plan Clearly defined knowledge and skill level for each position in the company, then itemize what knowledge that person should have, and the skills they should know. In education-eze, this is a job task analysis. The goal of the plan should be to get everyone at the same job at the same eduction/ skill level. Another way to look at it is “setting the bar” for each job. If you send three tech’s out on a job, they should all know the same minimum things it takes to do their job. They shouldn’t disagree or be asking each other how to do stuff.

For example, if you have the following positions:

Entry Level Technician

Technician

Sr. Technician

Programmer

Designer

Project Manager

Salesman

Sales Manager

 

Then there should be a detailed description of what each of these positions needs to have in terms of education and training. This should be based on the job description and job knowledge requirements. Lets use a Technician position as an example to show what I mean:

 

Job Title: Technician

Job Description: Technician will perform, under supervision, field installation for all low-voltage systems associated with the products sold by XYZ Co. Typical systems include structured cabling, distributed audio, data network components, broadband RF networks and components, home theatre components, home automation and security systems, lighting control, and related consumer electronic components and systems.

 

Required Job Knowledge:

• Understand the responsibilities of Technician at XYZ Co.

• Read and understand all our installation job documentation

• Coordinate his/her work with the sales and design staff

• Adhere to OSHA and NEC regulations that cover installation of low-voltage systems and equipment in residential construction.

• Know how to conduct him/herself in a professional manor and work respectfully with other trades

• Understand what tools and equipment will be required to perform the installation

• Perform all installation tasks adhering to all OSHA and company applicable safety standards and procedures

• Perform all basic job planning and installation tasks associated with the prewire/ rough-in of the systems to be installed in new and existing homes

• Perform all basic job installation tasks associated with the trim-out and system installation phase of the project including basic system testing

• Perform basic system configuration necessary to be able to check that all installed components are operating correctly.

• Maintain and complete necessary job documentation

• Maintain job site cleanliness

 

This description has to be done on a company by company basis since what a particular position is responsible for at one company may not be true at another. In the above example, some companies may have system testing performed only by a Sr. Tech.

The plan MUST also include a minimum number of training days/month per position and a minimum training budget per employee per year. As a minimum, schedule at least a day a week for in-house training. Many companies do this on Monday morning for 4 hours. It can also be done after work or during lunch. There should be a schedule of what is taught when and who needs to attend. A typical schedule might be

• May x, Company safety policy, mandatory for new employees
• May x, TIA-570A, mandatory for new tech’s
• June x, Introduction to project management, mandatory for Jones, Evans, and Cartright
• June x, Job site standards, mandatory, all tech’s
• June x, Crestron training, ADI, 8:00 - 5:00, Jones, Cogbill, Mey, Smith...

 

You HAVE to budget for training, both in time and money. It is an overhead expense like health care and rent. But you should also take advantage of this benefit as a way to attract and keep employees. If your people know you are investing in them, they will invest in the company. Any employee that wants to use your company to get trained and then leave is going to leave anyway, it’s just an unavoidable business risk.

 

2. Implement It.

This is the hard part. You have to invest the time to decide what “tools” are available, what you can do in-house, and what you have to do outside. You have to match education available through trade associations, materials, manufacturer training, education institutions, private educators, etc., to your training goals. Training will almost always be a combination of in-house (company policy, procedures, and technical training) and outside classes. There is a lot of training going on. Unfortunately it is scattered around the country, at inconvenient times, and difficult to keep track of. I listed a few of some of the better options for outside training.

 

• CEDIA has two excellent “boot camps” I can recommend. These are the EST Basic Residential Boot Camp and EST Advanced Residential Boot Camp, both 3 day events. The basic course is for new people on the job with less than 6 months of experience. And the Advanced course is for more experienced Tech’s and is really a home theatre cram course where teams of guys construct a working home theatre. I would make these two courses a part of your training plan.

• Also check CEDIA’s web site for CEDIA University On the Road locations and dates. These are usually a combination of manufacture training and a few CEDIA “core curriculum” courses.

• Of course, make sure you try to get as much training at CEDIA EXPO as you can. It’s unfortunate it’s only once a year. However, CEDIA partnered with EH EXPO this last March to offer a bunch of their courses at that event. No telling whether that will continue.

• There is always distributor held training (usually manufacture training, but some good courses available).

• Manufacture training (usually held at their offices, but also at field offices, distributors, etc.)

• Independent training companies and specialists. I used to provide a lot of Training Dept. Seminar courses around the country but I was certainly not the only one doing it. Check out training schedules in trade magazines and their web sites.

 

Options for in-house training.

One of the best sources of training materials you can use in-house is our own Training Reels DVD based training courses. These are intended to be viewed in a group or individually. The courses also come with detailed workbooks allowing the employee to take notes and review the material in text form, and with a test that can be used to track whether the employee watched the video. If they send in the test to Training Reels, we grade it and if they pass, send back a certificate of completion. The nice thing about these courses is they can be watched by a small group anytime, anywhere.

But there is another overlooked alternative. Hire a good educator to hold classes for you in-house. This is very cost effective since it can be tailored to exactly what you need, and can be done on your schedule. Most good instructors will travel to your office and offer whatever courses they are qualified to teach. I did this for years for both large and small companies. In-house instruction will typically cost $2000.00/day plus travel expenses, but you can get a discount for multiple days and trips. In this economy, you should be able to negotiate much lower rates. Even if you assume a minimum of 4 employees attend the training, it will be less costly than sending them out of town. If your company is large, say over 50 people, hire a full time educator. I certainly would. Worth every penny.

 

3. Track It

You need to track what training/education each employee has received and the expenditures overall and per employee. Education should be tracked on an individual basis. Obviously every persons skill and knowledge will be different when they are hired, so what education they will need at the company will vary. Get feedback on training your employees have taken. When they go to EH EXPO or CEDIA EXPO and take classes, make sure they are debriefed. If a class sucks, or is not applicable to what you need, make sure it’s dropped from future options. On the other hand classes that were great deserve to be taken by more of your employees

 

4. Make it REWARDING

People appreciate recognition for their hard work, and training is no different. ALWAYS recognize employees for successful completion of courses, especially if the course included a test. Recognition can take many forms. “Wallpaper” (certificates), benefits, and cash. As a minimum, make sure each employee that successfully completes a significant course (more than 1/2 day) receives some sort of certificate. Many companies display this “wallpaper” in the office lobby or demo room to show the perspective client how well trained the company is. Some companies provide benefits for successful completion of courses such as days off or free dinners, etc.

If an employee completes a significant course that requires an exam, like CEDIA’s Installer Level 1, Level 2 (or whatever they’re calling it now-a-days), designer, etc., then that usually calls for a raise, even it it’s only $1/hr. (the more the better of course). It’s worth it to the company, don’t be picky about it!

 

5. Put Someone in Charge

At a small company like mine, the person in charge of training is usually the President/ Owner. When the company gets over a dozen people or so, it needs to fall on an “education manager”, usually a title shared with something else. At larger companies, over 25 people or so, it is usually the job the of HR (human resources) person. Obviously, scheduling people for training days has to be coordinated IN ADVANCE with whoever is doing job scheduling.

I could rant on for many more pages on this subject, but this should give you some ideas to get started revamping your company training program. If you have any questions or suggestions on this subject, please email me at grayson@trainingdept.com. Love to hear about it!

 

I hope next month to try to get back on a regular monthly schedule, I've been moving to Turkey and getting my new company going, but that is settling down a little.

 

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