New Employee Training

[Dawson92]

Has anyone every made a training manual for new project managers or salespeople?

I've noticed the learning curve is huge for our new employees. Outside of teaching basic project management skills I've been having trouble finding learning material that lays out the basics of sign making, material selection , pros and cons if this material vs that etc.

 

[MrDav3C]

I personally think the people that make the best project managers or sales people are those who have worked in the industry for a number of years.

There such a vast number of elements that any project manager or sales person will need to have a good knowledge of to be successful.

Probably the best way to learn is to actually work in the industry or at least shadow your other employees for a few months or at least at specific times when the various different elements of the industry come into play in your business.

Sales people are effectively the first point of contact a customer has with your business, if they don't sound like they know what they are talking about and aren't able to give the right answers and solutions for a specific job, you risk losing the customer entirely or making costly mistakes which is why good experience is crucial.

Sure you can teach the basics regarding different types of vinyl, different substrates, the different manufacturing processes involved etc. etc. but I don't think there is any specific literature for this and I doubt the basics would be anywhere near enough for someone to manage a project.

Perhaps you would be better off delegating these roles to experienced employees and effectively promoting from within the business then employing someone young to learn the industry and gradually take on more responsibility?

 

[ProSignTN]

Wow. Great question. In a large shop training can be 'manualized' because it is often quite specific. Being a small shop the best I could do was outline all the skills involved and then teach them as they came up. Years ago I had a good employee who watched and listened (listened being important) as I laid out a pattern for Gemini letters, mounted the pattern and spot the holes with a hammer drill. I talked about kerning and marking up the pattern incase the paper ripped, and proper taping to insure a gust didn't take our pattern down the road. I taught pattern alignment and checking the mortar joints and so forth. I showed him how to apply sealant, mount and adjust the letters along the same plane. Six weeks later we did another set of letters. This time he struggled with the kerning, but was close. He aligned and taped the pattern properly, drilled the holes, and mounted the letters. I oversaw and corrected, but he was learning. Five or six more weeks pass and we do another set. I slightly adjusted the kerning and he did the rest. By the fourth set he was on his own.

 

[binki]

For sales I would take a look at Brian Burns. https://www.b2brevenue.com/about

He is pretty good.

 

[Gino]

Since you hired someone who isn't qualified, why not teach him everything you know and hope for the best ??

 

[netsol]

Gino,
the saying is you teach him everything HE KNOWS, but not everything YOU KNOW

 

[Dawson92]

I personally think the people that make the best project managers or sales people are those who have worked in the industry for a number of years.

There such a vast number of elements that any project manager or sales person will need to have a good knowledge of to be successful.

Probably the best way to learn is to actually work in the industry or at least shadow your other employees for a few months or at least at specific times when the various different elements of the industry come into play in your business.

Sales people are effectively the first point of contact a customer has with your business, if they don't sound like they know what they are talking about and aren't able to give the right answers and solutions for a specific job, you risk losing the customer entirely or making costly mistakes which is why good experience is crucial.

Sure you can teach the basics regarding different types of vinyl, different substrates, the different manufacturing processes involved etc. etc. but I don't think there is any specific literature for this and I doubt the basics would be anywhere near enough for someone to manage a project.

Perhaps you would be better off delegating these roles to experienced employees and effectively promoting from within the business then employing someone young to learn the industry and gradually take on more responsibility?

Great insights! Thanks!

 

[Dawson92]

Wow. Great question. In a large shop training can be 'manualized' because it is often quite specific. Being a small shop the best I could do was outline all the skills involved and then teach them as they came up. Years ago I had a good employee who watched and listened (listened being important) as I laid out a pattern for Gemini letters, mounted the pattern and spot the holes with a hammer drill. I talked about kerning and marking up the pattern incase the paper ripped, and proper taping to insure a gust didn't take our pattern down the road. I taught pattern alignment and checking the mortar joints and so forth. I showed him how to apply sealant, mount and adjust the letters along the same plane. Six weeks later we did another set of letters. This time he struggled with the kerning, but was close. He aligned and taped the pattern properly, drilled the holes, and mounted the letters. I oversaw and corrected, but he was learning. Five or six more weeks pass and we do another set. I slightly adjusted the kerning and he did the rest. By the fourth set he was on his own.

Sounds like a great set up, thanks!

 

[GaSouthpaw]

I personally think the people that make the best project managers or sales people are those who have worked in the industry for a number of years.

There such a vast number of elements that any project manager or sales person will need to have a good knowledge of to be successful.

Probably the best way to learn is to actually work in the industry or at least shadow your other employees for a few months or at least at specific times when the various different elements of the industry come into play in your business.

Sales people are effectively the first point of contact a customer has with your business, if they don't sound like they know what they are talking about and aren't able to give the right answers and solutions for a specific job, you risk losing the customer entirely or making costly mistakes which is why good experience is crucial.

Sure you can teach the basics regarding different types of vinyl, different substrates, the different manufacturing processes involved etc. etc. but I don't think there is any specific literature for this and I doubt the basics would be anywhere near enough for someone to manage a project.

Perhaps you would be better off delegating these roles to experienced employees and effectively promoting from within the business then employing someone young to learn the industry and gradually take on more responsibility?

^^^ This right here. My favorite example of this is a job I had back in the 80s at an industrial supplier. Every single one of the folks working as salespeople and CSRs had to have worked in the shop (actually assembling the products) before the boss even considered pulling them into the office. The thought process (which I consider very sound) was that they'd actually know what was required to create the product. Sure, a year isn't going to teach them everything, but it gives them a heck of a head start.

 

[DarkerKat]

I personally think the people that make the best project managers or sales people are those who have worked in the industry for a number of years.

There such a vast number of elements that any project manager or sales person will need to have a good knowledge of to be successful.

Probably the best way to learn is to actually work in the industry or at least shadow your other employees for a few months or at least at specific times when the various different elements of the industry come into play in your business.

Sales people are effectively the first point of contact a customer has with your business, if they don't sound like they know what they are talking about and aren't able to give the right answers and solutions for a specific job, you risk losing the customer entirely or making costly mistakes which is why good experience is crucial.

Sure you can teach the basics regarding different types of vinyl, different substrates, the different manufacturing processes involved etc. etc. but I don't think there is any specific literature for this and I doubt the basics would be anywhere near enough for someone to manage a project.

Perhaps you would be better off delegating these roles to experienced employees and effectively promoting from within the business then employing someone young to learn the industry and gradually take on more responsibility?

^agree with this 100% but also know that's just not how it is going to play out sometimes. If you have to hire "just a warm body" off the street, do your best in the crash course mode (I'd keep it basic, pros/cons of materials, with lots of example jobs), then make it very clear to them that they do not know everything and they need to get comfortable asking for help & telling a client "I will find out about that" or "let me talk to my team and find the best option for you".
The worst thing you can end up with is someone who has no idea what they are doing - confidently. Even if they manage to not over-promise something to a client, it will destroy your team morale.

Guides/manuals for training: We've made lots of guides and manuals over the years, they're useful tools but need to be customized per company & if you rely on them too much, people have a tendency to not use their own critical thinking skills (If I just have to fill out this form, do I really need to know what goes into a job?) That said, I would focus on materials you have access to/use regularly - they don't need to know how every sign is made right away (if you have other competent staff), but they do need to know the language to communicate a client's ideas back the rest of your team.

 

[MarkSnelling]

Has anyone every made a training manual for new project managers or salespeople?

I've noticed the learning curve is huge for our new employees. Outside of teaching basic project management skills I've been having trouble finding learning material that lays out the basics of sign making, material selection , pros and cons if this material vs that etc.

Who do you buy your materials from? If you are using a good quality supplier like Schillers in St. Louis, ask them to come out and help train on the materials. As a supplier, I see all the good and crazy that people spit out of their shops every day...we get a great perspective on what is right and wrong. Distributors like Schillers know what is in the box, what the positives and limitations are, and can help be an extension to your team by helping to make sure the materials you are considering are the right ones for the job. If you don't like Schillers, hit me up...I ship out of Chicago and Cleveland and am always looking for more opportunities.

 

[Bxtr]

Our first position for any hire is production. That way they get a feel for the materials/applications and get to know the what and why. We keep them in production off and on for a couple weeks.
Someone new to the sign world will need at least a years worth of training, my boss and I have been doing this 20+ years and we are still bouncing questions/ideas off one another.