Ask Trainers To Give Recommendations For Improvements

This is part four of my series on hiring an outside trainer.

Hiring a qualified trainer can have a profound impact on the future growth of your business. I have assisted educational facilities in transitioning from contractor services to in-house staff with great results. They not only achieved a savings in overall costs but found that complaints dropped and the entire service level improved. The key was management’s commitment to certifying their own staff and focusing on quality outcomes. Other outcomes were better communication and an improvement in the operating budget.

Another aspect of hiring a trainer/consultant is to have him/her evaluate your operations and make suggestions for improvement. Ask them in there would be an additional charge for their reviewing current systems and making recommendations. A benefit of such a review is that the trainer/consultant can target the subject matter to your real world situation. Most consultants will recommend color coding, microfiber mops/cloths, double buckets, encapsulation technology, one chemical line and one equipment line when possible. The reason is that it is much easier to train everyone on staff in the correct processes if they are using the same products. I know of instances where a worker mistakenly used the “blue cleaner” to clean a mirror when it was actually designed to clean toilet bowls.

Although a trainer is not going to endorse a particular product line (unless they actually work for that company), they will recommend what is considered to be custodial best practices for equipment and tools. For instance, they can help to evaluate the correct blend of finish, pads, machine speed and even chemicals for daily maintenance to achieve the best outcomes for a floor care project.

We will continue these thoughts in a future article. Your comments and questions are important. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean...

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678-314-2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net