Those of you who have been here a while, know that I'm a stickler for training. My belief is that career training (especially in the trades) should be free, readily available and encouraged by EVERY employer for EVERY employee! What I don't talk about a lot is the best training practices, and what kinds of leaders we should choose to train others. I was speaking with a fellow tech on our TikTok channel last night (go follow if you haven't, @SkillCatApp it's a masterpiece if I may say so myself), about how important it was that we both were offered incredible training in the very first days, that led to the long, beautiful careers we both maintain today and it gave me the idea for todays blog post.
The first thing I'd like to touch on, is WHO we should be choosing as trainers. Your company may have a tech who's been there for decades and does his job incredibly well who you send all of your apprentices with for their first few months. The integrity with which he performs his trade may not in fact be the same integrity that he outputs with human beings. Bold statement I know, but you come here for the truth ladies and gentlemen and the truth is, many of us who do well in trades are not as comfortable with people as we are with machines. To train someone there is a certain level of PATIENCE that we must exhibit in our character. People who need training are just that, people with emotions, and intelligence and power.. These things should be encouraged and mentored to perfection, not egotized and stomped to the ground.
Many techs are placed with the wrong trainer who lacks patience and that leads to low self esteem and lack of confidence in the job they're doing, a very low chance they will make it passed 90 days and the inability to ask questions, and when we don't ask questions, our brains don't retain the information for lack of clarity. Leaders who are chosen to train others, should be experienced, knowledgeable, and yes PATIENT people, with a knack for teaching and encouraging attitudes.
Another thing I see way too much is a newer tech who cuts corners (which will always cause problems, lets be real) because "that's how I was trained". The last thing you want in a trainer is a "if it works, who cares" attitude. The person you have training should take pride in their work, hold themselves accountable for their failures, and have natural integrity that doesn't need to be taught. When we take pride in what we do, callbacks are fewer, reputations are high, and our company, and ourselves make MORE MONEY! The employee that makes other employees should love what he does and be the type of person who sees SOMEONE ELSES mistake and fixes it, let alone their own. This will breed a community of workers who constantly learn and better themselves making your company look like a million bucks and add value to every system they touch.
In summary, your trainer shouldn't necessarily be the person with the most seniority, it should be the one with the most characteristics of a natural born leader. If you care about your workers, your workers will care about your company. Remember that!