The call came in, and I was not surprised. The complaint was one I had heard several times before. “The system is not working right”. The communicator was incorrectly installed. As an Installation Manager, I had one technician who continuously failed to properly install the system communicator. We all called him “D”, and he was a wonderful person and hard-working. Despite this, I was fed up and frustrated by getting this same call from a different job site again.
As a punishment, I made “D” spend the next day, a full 8 hours, installing and disassembling the panel and communicator demo board repeatedly in our office, under my direct supervision.
I had taken a poor approach to the whole situation. I set “Training” up as a punishment. Training should not be used in this way. A better approach is to use training as a tool to drive business success. Training should have been used pre-emptively to avoid the situation in the first place. As a manager, I should have been more diligent in providing effective training from the outset, which would have prevented the numerous callbacks we received regarding “D”‘s work.
We had 6 callbacks on this same issue. Each time, I had to dispatch a technician out to fix the problem. Each call was a minimum of 3 hours, which we should have billed out at $150 per hour ($2,700). Instead, they were warranty repair calls and not billed. Additionally, I was unable to have those technicians on other job sites where we really needed them working. These types of callbacks are expensive.
Proper training upfront can drastically reduce revenue loss from this type of callback. Smart managers realize this and put in place the training needed for their employees to be successful the first time out, so warranty repair callbacks are not needed. Using training to prevent the problem in the first place is much better than using training as a punishment after the damage has been done.
Proper training should include a strong foundation in the technology and code requirements, as well as in the product being used. Both are needed to maximize effectiveness on the job site. We work in the technical field of electronic systems, which is governed by codes. The products we use are updated regularly. Keeping up with new technology and code changes requires an aggressive training program. Such a training program will help minimize callbacks, retain quality employees, help new employees develop more quickly, and ensure jobs get done on time, every time.
Training is an important driver for business success. It is not always about getting more installations. Consideration should be given to getting the most out of every installation opportunity. Training your employees is the key to making this a reality.
