Lets talk training

[Mikey P]

I've done it many times but it never hurts to hear other techniques.


So, tell me how you go about training a new employee who knows NOTHING about cleaning carpet, upholstery or hard surfaces..

Whats do you cover on the first day?
How soon do you put the wand in his hands?
How do you not overwhelm them with info to so or fast?
Does safety get covered all at once or as you go?
Do you have study manuals or cheat sheets?
At what point would you turn him on to MB?
What about training for customer interaction?
Do you take them to rug, carpet, tile and upholstery shops to browse? When?
IICRC classes?
When do they learn about how the Truckmount really works?

and on and on...


Lets hear it, especially from Rich and Ken.. :!:

 

[sam miller]

I've done it many times but it never hurts to hear other techniques.


So, tell me how you go about training a new employee who knows NOTHING about cleaning carpet, upholstery or hard surfaces..

Whats do you cover on the first day?
Watch me and drag hoses
How soon do you put the wand in his hands?
a week or 2
How do you not overwhelm them with info to so or fast?
Teach teach teach
Does safety get covered all at once or as you go?
No Ice skating or wacking anything
Do you have study manuals or cheat sheets?
Watch watch watch I'm the manual
At what point would you turn him on to MB?
Who?
What about training for customer interaction?
have them hand the customer a few pairs of shoe covers and tell them no Ice skating on hard surface!
Do you take them to rug, carpet, tile and upholstery shops to browse? When?
No!
IICRC classes?
Seriously?
When do they learn about how the Truckmount really works?
Daily

and on and on...
Is that a song?

Lets hear it, especially from Rich and Ken.. :!:

Eventually Your doing a repair and said helper Pre vac's sets up the mount cleans 3 rooms and You think that was nice!

 

[Lee Stockwell]

How much do you want to invest in someone who will likely be gone in 3 months?

 

[Mikey P]

I have a really good feeling about the guy I hired.

I think he'll be around for a few years

 

[Lee Stockwell]

Jonathan has been with my for two years, I have to fight him to get the wand, except for stairs. I hope your guy is similar.

My sons each helped since they could walk, and I was a bit picky with them. (OK, Justin if you're reading, I was waaay picky).

There's a balance there somewhere.

 

[Jim Martin]

I've done it many times but it never hurts to hear other techniques.


So, tell me how you go about training a new employee who knows NOTHING about cleaning carpet, upholstery or hard surfaces..

Whats do you cover on the first day?
Just the basics..don't over load him to much....
How soon do you put the wand in his hands?
one week....the first week is nothing but watching and learning...
How do you not overwhelm them with info to so or fast?
They have to grasp all the basics at first...once they get that down then you can start fine tuning them....
Does safety get covered all at once or as you go?
As you go...
Do you have study manuals or cheat sheets?
No..but I do give them a pad of paper and a pen and expect them to take notes......you can normally tell how well someone is going to work out by how much paper they use....
At what point would you turn him on to MB?
Now...lot of good info here and it would help him understand what he is dealing with....
What about training for customer interaction?
Should learn that in the first week of watching and learning.....
Do you take them to rug, carpet, tile and upholstery shops to browse? When?
Can't see what good it would do....
IICRC classes?
If you know he is going to be around for a long time...Yes...
When do they learn about how the Truckmount really works?
Right out of the starting gate...Understanding how the machine works is important...it helps them understand the process......

and on and on...


Lets hear it, especially from Rich and Ken.. :!:

the biggest thing to remember is that he is not you....once he gets the basic's down he has to find his own comfort zone....there are certain "rules" that you expect them to go by....and that is important that they always follow them....but how they do it is not your concern...your concern is that it is done right....on time..and the outcome is what you expect....

If you try to model them to do everything just like you....it won't work....

 

[Ken Snow]

I've done it many times but it never hurts to hear other techniques.


So, tell me how you go about training a new employee who knows NOTHING about cleaning carpet, upholstery or hard surfaces..Almost all of our people come from someone else recommending them so even though they don't know things fist hand they have heard a lot about the job.

Whats do you cover on the first day? They will be working with someone who likely has a minimum of 8-10 years with us. That person will have them doing the things an Assistant does
How soon do you put the wand in his hands? As soon as he seems comfortable- I like it when a guy wants to try it the first day, says they have enthusiasm. They just need to be coached on proper technique and especially watch our for walls and corners.
How do you not overwhelm them with info to so or fast? Look for signs tey are overwhelmed, you can usually tell. The key for us is if they seem hungry to learn and enjoy the physical aspect of it rather than being lazy. Lazy people are gone quickly
Does safety get covered all at once or as you go? over time as needed, safety in the home right away i.e. crossing from wet carpet to hard surface, placement of hoses etc.
Do you have study manuals or cheat sheets? We have some, need more
At what point would you turn him on to MB? Not a frickin chance
What about training for customer interaction? Learning from Specialists they work with and some basics like no smoking, taking a crap, asking permission to go into closetes to prepare to clean etc.
Do you take them to rug, carpet, tile and upholstery shops to browse? When? Only ours
IICRC classes? Tile cleaning classes at some point, but not usually for a long time
When do they learn about how the Truckmount really works? Not sure what that means- they learn it spits and sucks the first day if they already didn't know it

and on and on...


Lets hear it, especially from Rich and Ken.. :!:

 

[Royal Man]

I didn't see sales training. (Unless that was the customer interaction part)

Sales training should be the MOST important part!!( At Least for your bottom line, which is the whole reason for having any employees anyway.Right?)

Have a script for the entire client experience. From greeting, inspection... all the way to the after cleaning interaction and leaving.

I recommend doing role playing at your mornings meetings and when you are in the truck together.
Also, have them work through it with their wife or girlfriend.

With one person being the tech and an other the somewhat objective client.

Work on eye contact,voice tone, pre-inspection (with showing concern for the client) How to do demos.

Teach various ways to handle objection and promote benefits.
(Most of this is easy it comes down to asking the right questions, to receive your desired answer.)

Just start with basic sales 101. Teaching how to be the concerned helpful pro instead of the pushy salesman.

The cleaning part is simple. Most can learn it in a couple of weeks.(chimp)

Being able to pull off the sales properly is the hard part. A lot of it can be picked up as it is a learned skill. However, some guys just can't do it no matter how much you work with them. Some of them can still be very good cleaners. They just have to stay as a helper or go the apartment route.

Fatten that bottom line-

 

[Desk Jockey]

PM me your email address and I have a Publisher file for Crew Leader Training you can go through and change to fit your company.

I have lots of other stuff most of it regurgitated SFS tailored to our company.

You left out The Great Oz, I bet Bryan also has some great training info!

 

[Mikey P]

the Great OZ wont let his guys use glides so I'm not sure if I really give a damn how he goes about his business...























just kidding, just kidding.... :mrgreen:


I would very much like to hear his ways as well..


Chavez- tilengrout@sbcglobal.net


thanks

 

[Hoody]

I've done it many times but it never hurts to hear other techniques.


So, tell me how you go about training a new employee who knows NOTHING about cleaning carpet, upholstery or hard surfaces..

Whats do you cover on the first day? Not too much, at the interview I told them to bring a pad of paper and a pen to take notes, and that I just want them to take notes and if they have questions ask them in between jobs. Also told them to think of some questions at home before they day they start. If they couldn't remember to a simple instruction to bring paper and a pen it'll give you an idea of what you're looking at. First day I wanted to see how easily they could follow simple directions. In the truck I would quiz them on simple procedures... 2-3 steps back from door on arrival, corner guards, furniture tabs, ect

How soon do you put the wand in his hands? As soon as their ready, see if they ask, or ask them in between a job if they'd be comfortable cleaning a room.

How do you not overwhelm them with info to so or fast? Based on the little quizzes and looking to see how much info they have written down. Bluntly ask them if they're overwhelmed, someone that can openly admit they are is a good sign, it shows open honesty, they're more likely to communicate problems right away, which is going to give you less headaches.

Does safety get covered all at once or as you go? The big do's and don'ts which should be common sense to anyone, but doesn't hurt to reiterate, and they rest they'll learn as they go.

Do you have study manuals or cheat sheets? Internal training is important, I've been involved with companies that take days to do training, and we were tested. I liked it, I learned well from it, a lot of it was hands on. Be sure to have a policy and procedure manual.

At what point would you turn him on to MB? For Davis or Oz MB isn't a big deal, one is your kid and the other seems hes going to be family soon enough. But there are some things here you certainly don't want someone who isnt "family" to know that may give them a bad impression of you, that will affect their work. And if that isn't enough reason for you, just take a look at me and what happened to me here with past employers.


What about training for customer interaction? Again big do's and don'ts. You'll see right away based on the first few interactions with your clients how that is going to go. Customer interaction I found rarely can be trained, either they're a people person and can handle it well, or they just suck at it.

Do you take them to rug, carpet, tile and upholstery shops to browse? When? Unless you're taking them to referral hubs to introduce, I doubt you're ever going to spend a great deal of time in those shops training them on anything. Unless you have a good friend that owns one that don't mind you doing it. Most of the training is going to come on-site.

IICRC classes? Don't invest until you know their going to be around. But be prepared for a lot of questions like "The IICRC says to do this, but we do this why? Are we doing it wrong?" A clear understanding of what the training their receiving from the IICRC is.

When do they learn about how the Truckmount really works? Right away, they need to know how to identify problems, and know how to fix them and get going quickly.

and on and on...


Lets hear it, especially from Rich and Ken.. :!:

 

[Ken Snow]

Great post Hoodster!

 

[Desk Jockey]

Whats do you cover on the first day?
Basics, how to behave in clients homes, what to say, what not to say. Watch a brief video of carpet cleaning, brief walk through of machine. Do a little cleaning of at a vacant or commercial cleaning, if none a little cleaning in our shop. Just trying to show the very basic concept.

How soon do you put the wand in his hands?
Right away, first day so they can get a feel for it. This way you can see if he is going to work out. No point in investing training time on someone who won’t make the cut or doesn’t like cleaning.

How do you not overwhelm them with info to so or fast?
Break it down into manageable pieces, ask if he has the concept and if so move on to the next piece.

Does safety get covered all at once or as you go?
What’s needed at the time: parking brake before unit is engaged, how to light the heater, walking from carpet to hard surfaces slip fall hazard.

Do you have study manuals or cheat sheets?
Yes, emailed you. We would go through the manual at down times, breaks, lunch or if too busy come in early or late. You can also have him take it home, pay him to study it and quiz him later.

At what point would you turn him on to MB?
Wouldn’t no need, you can filter what he needs and spoon feed him.

What about training for customer interaction?
See the second file I sent you.

Do you take them to rug, carpet, tile and upholstery shops to browse? When?Not really they can do it on their own time.

IICRC classes?
I’d wait 6-months-1-year. Classes are great but I prefer field experience first. IICRC classes don’t teach you how to clean but more why you do what you doing.

When do they learn about how the Truckmount really works?After the have learned how to clean, then I’d tech them about their equipment and maintenance.

 

[billyeadon]

I can understand why you don't want to send techs to an IICRC/Clean Trust class for a few months. For a guy who doesn't know what a wand is he can get lost quickly. Something that may be helpful is on the JonDon Resource Center I have my 3 IICRC manuals CCT, CCMT, UFT with quizzes after each chapter. You can download these for free and print them out. The tech can study a chapter or 2 a week and get up to speed before he ever goes to a class. There are also a variety of videos that may be helpful also.

One item a few of our customers have mentioned is before hiring have the prospect spend a day on the truck and see what your current tech thinks about him. Did he just stand and watch or did he offer to carry hoses. Was he inquisitive or excited? One day may save you a lot of time.

 

[Steve Toburen]

I've done it many times but it never hurts to hear other techniques.


So, tell me how you go about training a new employee who knows NOTHING about cleaning carpet, upholstery or hard surfaces..

"Never hurts to hear other techniques?" Where is the cutting, opinionated and snarky Mikey we've all grown to love and what have you done with him?

Steve Toburen
http://www.SFS.JonDon.com

PS You have received lots of good ideas above. I would add:

1. "Add accountability" by printing up a skills review for each day of their first two weeks. Make sure you cover those points during the day with them and have them take the test at the end of the day. When our new hire successfully finished all ten reviews I gave them a crisp new 100.00 bill! This daily testing is huge to both organize your training and motivate your new hire.

NOTE: If you (or more likely Paula) will look in your SFS Operations Manual under "Orientation and Training" and the "Fast Track Training Outlines" procedure they are all there for you. (You will have to change them to fit your operation.)

2. When you are doing "on the job" training don't try to hide it from the home owner. Instead, take a negative (a new person in their home) and turn it into a positive by proudly proclaiming right from the git-go that your assistant is a new hire and you'll be using their home to show them the perfect way to clean.

Big Billy Yeadon wrote an entire report on motivating the new generation entering the work force. It is availabe HEREhttp://sfs.jondon.com/6883/blog/bill-yeadon-carpet-cleaning-employees-presentation-at-connections or if you don't wanna register just email me and I'll send it to you.

 

[FLYERMAN]

I got this advice years ago...

"if they were as good as you they'd have your job"

That taught me to lower my expectations. Then I learned to make them helpers first and cleaners second.

So what I do (granted I don't higher helpers but am asked to train someone now and then) often was let them do the dry stroke in a large room. Then after they can go back and forth following my pattern. That lets them learn the stroke without having to think about pulling/releasing the trigger.

I know that isn't exactly what you asked but hey I am just offering my input.

One more really cool trick I use... I take a pic of the truck mount so if I want them to go out and make adjustments I can take out the pic and show them what knob to turn.

 

[Lee Stockwell]

I got this advice years ago...

"if they were as good as you they'd have your job"

That taught me to lower my expectations. Then I learned to make them helpers first and cleaners second.

So what I do (granted I don't higher helpers but am asked to train someone now and then) often was let them do the dry stroke in a large room. Then after they can go back and forth following my pattern. That lets them learn the stroke without having to think about pulling/releasing the trigger.

I know that isn't exactly what you asked but hey I am just offering my input.

One more really cool trick I use... I take a pic of the truck mount so if I want them to go out and make adjustments I can take out the pic and show them what knob to turn.

You have employees?

 

[Askal]

Gee! I thought I was going to beat Steve to the punch. Bottom line is that the sooner he is making you money the less the cost. Steves 10 day training program is great and as he said fine tune it to your operation. I tell everyone up front that if they can't pass the two week training program they will be terminated. It is a no brainer but it is nice to keep everyone on the same language plane and they know there are some expectations. Don't reinvent the wheel. Steve has a good plan.
Al

 

[Mikey P]

thanks for all the great advice everyone.

 

[The Great Oz]

So, tell me how you go about training a new employee who knows NOTHING about cleaning carpet, upholstery or hard surfaces..

Whats do you cover on the first day?

Customer interaction only. The little things like looking good, standing away from the door, asking where the truck will be out of their way, not standing over a sitting customer. Also customer safety in regard to slip/fall, keeping the spotting kit away from kids, how easy it is to kill birds... All customers are asked in advance if we can bring a new employee into their home.

How soon do you put the wand in his hands?

I usually show a new guy proper technique as soon as the techs he rides with say he's a keeper. I'll work with him until I'm happy that he's got it, and he will be using the wand every on-location training day after that.

How do you not overwhelm them with info to so or fast?

No kidding, our training lasts for months. Actually, it never ends.

Does safety get covered all at once or as you go?

Safety starts immediately. Safety of customer and yourself on the job site, proper wand technique (saves injuries) is early, chemical handling safety is part of chemistry training, friendly driving...

Do you have study manuals or cheat sheets?

Yes. Ours are getting dated, so I have to thank Bill for posting materials on-line. I'll check it out.

At what point would you turn him on to MB?

MB value runs more to owners and managers so probably wouldn't be all that interesting to most employees. I wouldn't discourage visting though.

What about training for customer interaction?

#1.

Do you take them to rug, carpet, tile and upholstery shops to browse? When?

I've built up a nice stash of training materials.

IICRC classes?

They usually will have had several weeks of training prior to a course, but we always send techs to courses. The instructors are pros, often get the same information to stick better than we can, and being with other guys that are serious about learning more about cleaning lets them know it's a profession.

When do they learn about how the Truckmount really works?

Usually in the second week. Our mechanic goes through a complete tour of the equipment, fluids to check, filters, noises and leaks to report, and HOW TO CHANGE A TIRE. This usually takes half a day and they get a troubleshooting tips sheet to put in their portfolio.

Use all the info you can get and build a training manual. Testing/having guys sign off on training can keep you out of trouble and makes the tech pay attention.

 

[Steve Toburen]

Safety starts immediately. Safety of customer and yourself on the job site, proper wand technique (saves injuries) is early, chemical handling safety is part of chemistry training, friendly driving...

Yeah, don't forget to emphasize procedures to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. I lost two techs to permanent disability in the late 80's thank to carbon monoxide. (They almost died.)

Steve Toburen
www.SFS.JonDon.com

PS Every year carpet cleaners die thanks to carbon monoxide. In fact, in last week's Atlanta SFS I was telling the above story and a student told us his uncle had two employees DIE using a high speed propane buffer!

 

[billyeadon]

One tool that is free is online through Shaw Industries MAC (Maintenance and Cleaning) program. This is entirely web based and is broken down into several chapters with an online quiz at the end of each chapter. Each tech signs on individually and if they only watch 15 minutes the program picks up where they left off their next time.

The training begins with carpet specification and continues through the cleaning process. Being Shaw they focus on HWE but have a nice chapter on interim maintenance showing encapsulation.

If you are interested you can find the instructions on the SFS website http://sfs.jondon.com/4170/billys-book- ... -knowledge

You can use JonDon as your registration code and then create your own password. Shaw spent a ton of money on this program and it shows. By watching the program this also gives you a leg up on getting referrals from Shaw on cleaning jobs.

 

[Desk Jockey]

This is the DVD set we use to give a new tech an idea of what the process is.

http://www.jondon.com/catalog/product_i ... 10a9e1fc88

 

[ruff]

Bryan,
Do you tie a raise with getting an IICRC certification? In other words, do you pay a technician that passed the test a little more?

Also, if I may ask, do you pay your techs hourly, commission based or a combo of both?

Talking about IICRC courses. On my first one, there was a guy that was sent by his company. He was talking with all the owners operators which were all bragging about how much they make. At the end of the course he was very upset at the owner of his company for not paying him enough (which by the way, he was paying him nicely.) That owner, instead of getting an appreciative employee, was getting a bad apple.
I wonder if that happened to others here, who sent employees to IICRC classes?

 

[Chris A]

Bryan,
Do you tie a raise with getting an IICRC certification? In other words, do you pay a technician that passed the test a little more?

Also, if I may ask, do you pay your techs hourly, commission based or a combo of both?

Talking about IICRC courses. On my first one, there was a guy that was sent by his company. He was talking with all the owners operators which were all bragging about how much they make. At the end of the course he was very upset at the owner of his company for not paying him enough (which by the way, he was paying him nicely.) That owner, instead of getting an appreciative employee, was getting a bad apple.
I wonder if that happened to others here, who sent employees to IICRC classes?

Obviously he must not have realized that 85% of them were full of shit

 

[Desk Jockey]

I prefer in house training when possible, they cost of an instructor for a couple of days spread across several employees can be cheaper per tech than sending them especially if there is lodging and car rental involved.

Then you don't have to worry about outside influences along with the "but they told us in class to do it this way".

 

[Steve Toburen]

Talking about IICRC courses. On my first one, there was a guy that was sent by his company. He was talking with all the owners operators which were all bragging about how much they make. At the end of the course he was very upset at the owner of his company for not paying him enough (which by the way, he was paying him nicely.) That owner, instead of getting an appreciative employee, was getting a bad apple.
I wonder if that happened to others here, who sent employees to IICRC classes?

This is a continual question bosses face, Ofer. I worried about it too when I had my 16 employee company. But I felt that the risk of "entrepreneurial contagion" (I kind of like this phrase!) was less than the upside of my people getting trained by someone other than me. You can't keep your people isolated- they are exposed to this stuff from many sources. (Including Internet discussion forums!)

BTW, I don't teach IICRC or Clean Trust or actually any technician courses.

Steve Toburen
http://www.SFS.JonDon.com

PS So how to "inoculate" your people against an "Entrepreneurial Seizure"? (Michael Gerber phrase and yes, I still respect Gerber's concepts even after my rant on the ICS board against his presentation style.) I'll think on it but the little lady is calling me to lunch. Grilled cheese sandwiches and black bean soup. Mmmmm...

 

[Desk Jockey]

Grilled cheese? What no fish, I thought you lived on the coast?

I never caught cheese. :roll:

 

[The Great Oz]

Do you tie a raise with getting an IICRC certification? In other words, do you pay a technician that passed the test a little more?

Also, if I may ask, do you pay your techs hourly, commission based or a combo of both?

Talking about IICRC courses. On my first one, there was a guy that was sent by his company. He was talking with all the owners operators which were all bragging about how much they make. At the end of the course he was very upset at the owner of his company for not paying him enough (which by the way, he was paying him nicely.) That owner, instead of getting an appreciative employee, was getting a bad apple.
I wonder if that happened to others here, who sent employees to IICRC classes?

No raise tied to passing training. If a tech can't pass an IICRC course he's not cut out for the job. Our guys get paid hourly with an opportunity to beat that with a percentage. They can take whichever is higher, but within a month on the job should be beating the hourly rate. (hourly rate is $20.50)

We always coach guys before sending them to courses. If they hear anything that sounds interesting or different from what they learned from us we want to know. Sometimes it's good information we can pass around, sometimes it was misheard and can be corrected, sometimes it's just bad information that can be dismissed. The only real problem we've run into was from an instructor that vigorously pushed products that he had a stake in. Our guys came back so brainwashed into thinking that we handcuffed them by not using the "best" products we had to cull them out of our on-location crew. Hadn't happened before or since, but we've added a warning about product pushing to our pre-course coaching.