As you read this, the crazy busy summer season is starting to wrap up. Fall is peering out from those first few leaves beginning to change color. Is your business ready for the change in season?

A lot of effort goes into getting ready. That includes making the investment in time and money to keep your team’s education going.

Yes, training, in all its forms, is an investment in the future. It’s an investment for the creation of good times and to protect your company during bad ones. It’s about learning how to do your job better, to keep your team’s skills sharp. It’s also about finding better ways to make your products and services more appealing to customers.

Measuring  Results

Furthermore, Experts will tell you that training should be measured based on the business metrics you wish to advance. What do I mean? Let’s look at the example of taking that first step in Performance-Based Contracting?: how to properly install static pressure test ports. Think about some results you could measure over, say, six months following training. For example, you could look for increases or decreases in:

  • Revenue generated by trained participants and measured static pressures
  • Error rate or system errors done by trained participants
  • Customer satisfaction as it relates to trained participants
  • The retention rate of trained participants.

Being able to measure the results you achieve from training is key to shifting your perception that it is an expense to an investment in the growth and success of the business.

Technicians often are not too keen on classroom training. So it is important to find ways to help them develop a desire to learn. That includes mixing things up by combining classroom and hands-on training. Your training can also include having them work with and learn about the amazing and cool test instruments and tools necessary to conduct High-Performances services.

Build Technician Pride

By the way, there is nothing wrong with helping build technician pride. Show them how no one else in the market can do Air Upgrades. You can share customer kudos when trained technicians can help them really see their comfort problems and resolve them.

Being able to measure the results you achieve from training is key to shifting your perception that it is an expense to an investment in the growth and success of the business.

By the same token, training and certification offer you additional advantages including market differentiation and higher ticket sales. Indeed, trained techs have ‘more betta’ problem-solving skills. You have less personnel turnover. A solid training program can even act as a magnet to attract new talent to your team.

For example, take a look at Casey Contreras’ article on a day in the life of a service tech (page 12 or at ncilink.com/DayInLife). He shows how training can make all the difference in a technicians day.

Similarly, Contractor Tom Soukup talks about how training and technical expertise allowed him to move from being an HVAC company into a specialist in Hydronics and how that changed his profitability. That’s on page 14 or at ncilink.com/hydronics.

Also, read Rob Falke’s article on how to get your techs on board by helping them understand the ‘Why’ behind Performance-Based Contracting. This can lead to them becoming more enthusiastic about their technical and soft skills training. Check that out on page 17 or at ncilink.com/Why?.

When you change how you treat training ‘ from an expense to an investment ‘ you change the conversation and your bottom line. That is a win for your company, a win for your technicians, and most importantly, a win for your customers.

So are you ready for the Fall heating and training season?