Why Train Your People?

I have heard this line so many times that it still surprises me how backward some organizations still are today, “What if we give them training and they leave?” What you really should be asking is, “What if we don’t train them and they stay?”

I am going to move away from my normal talks on continuous improvement and cover training and education in the next few blogs.

I came across this great article written by Craig Cotter P.E. and Jim Haw P.E. in the Dec. issue of Plant Services and I wanted to pass on a small part of it, that covers how many of the organizations feel about training their maintenance techs. I have taken the liberty to include my own opinions and experience with this very issue.

How many organizations have you been a part of where there is no formal training for the maintenance technicians within the organization? I do not mean the generic annual regulatory or health, safety, or environmental training that most companies perform and track. I mean the skills required to work on a pump, for example. And not only to work on the pump, but also to perform precision repairs on the pump? There is a huge difference in total costs and reliability when comparing a precision repair with working on a pump for one hour or less.

I (Mike) have worked for six organizations in my career, and only two of these had a detailed training program for their employees that included refresher training.

In any organization, employees will perform at their lowest level of training at both the individual and group level. With no training or skills development, an employee's performance will degrade over time, negatively affecting the organization's goals and objectives through low-quality repairs and higher maintenance costs.

Some of the companies I have worked for claim they have qualified personnel, but when asked for details, you get the same answers: "Our guys have more than 20 years of experience," or "They came to us as qualified technicians." None of these organizations had any refresher or recertification process. As leaders, we owe it to our employees to make sure our workers are qualified to work on the equipment assigned to them and ensure that their skills stay up to date and relevant.

Ask these questions.

1) Are your craft workers qualified for what they do?

2) Is there a process for skills improvement?

3) What should you train your people to do that they are not currently performing?

4) What training do new employees receive?

Each employer should have a clear record of employees' qualifications and be able to verify that employees are capable of performing the job's required duties. While some of your employees may have had proper training in the past, it is beneficial to consider providing refresher training and skills improvement training. Never, never stop learning.

Nancy Regan, an aerospace engineer, speaker, trainer founder and president of The Force Inc. said that when she graduated her professor slammed a book down and said, “Okay, you’re now engineers, which means you now have a license to learn.”