What Business Owners Can Do To Prepare New Technicians For Home Visits In Five Steps
If you are in a position to grow your own workforce and hire for character and train for skill, you need to think beyond technical training. You’ll want to make sure you’re balancing task-based skills with the practical application of customer service best practices. In residential service, the soft skills are equally important to technical […]
Growing Your Customer Base Through Effective Technician Training
What can make my business more successful? This is the million-dollar question that’s constantly on the minds of company owners every hour of each day. Within our field, as it is with almost all service-based businesses, what your people know ultimately drives how successful your company will become. Why? Because employee knowledge is the root […]
How NexTech Coaches Help Trainers Identify, Train and Retain Great Technicians
Nexstar Network members utilizing NexTech Academy gain so much more than an online trade school program—they truly harness the power of the whole organization. NexTech Academy coaches work with other key departments in Nexstar Network to help Nexstar Network businesses overcome their hiring challenges. Here are some of the many ways we are unified in […]
How to Keep Your Technicians Accountable
An ideal team is one that works efficiently, productively and accurately the first time around. They’re experts as what they do, and they’re collaborative. They remain on the cutting-edge of the industry. Most importantly, they hold themselves and each other accountable to top-tier performance. As leader of your company, it’s up to you to foster […]
5 Reasons Why Fall Is The Perfect Time To Start Training Employees For AC System Maintenance
While outside temperatures drop and the demand for air conditioning repairs taper off with it, your employees are turning their sights toward heating system repairs and putting all AC system maintenance knowledge on the back burner. But before we know it, summer will be back, and those first calls for air conditioning system maintenance, troubleshooting, […]
Using A Letter of Intent To Assess Apprentice Interest In NexTech Academy
Mike Barnhart, CFO of Eco Plumbers has been using NexTech Academy to grow his company’s workforce. He currently has fourteen students enrolled in the program. He uses a letter of intent exercise to gauge who in his company has interest in NexTech Academy, opening the opportunity to all roles within the company. “One piece of […]
Why Should I Consider Online Vocational Training Programs for My Company?
With labor shortages in many states, savvy business owners know that they need a solid plan to recruit and train new employees in order to grow their business. A well-trained workforce is a critical component of any growing company—especially for plumbing, electrical, and heating and cooling businesses that need to compete against other trades for […]
What do I do if my technicians have knowledge gaps?
Flame Furnace’s Unique Situation Not many PHCE businesses have a technical/vocational school nearby, but Flame Furnace, in Warren, Mich., is one of the lucky few. Their management team can provide employment to recent graduates, but they’ve found that their new hires aren’t quite ready for the truck. Needing A Complete Residential Online Technical Training Program […]
4 Reasons to Offer Online Technical Training to Your Employees
Finding work as a plumber, electrician, or HVAC technician may be appealing to those seeking to develop their career path. But, knowing how to get properly trained in the trades and paying for their vocational training may be perceived as a barrier. Smart business owners know that finding a way to reduce these two barriers […]
Will A Strict Probationary Period During Onboarding Yield More Commitment From Apprentices?
Jason Haskin is the service manager at Boothe’s Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing in Hollywood, MD and is the primary training leader for their NexTech Academy program. He recently sat down with Jeff Atwell, Nextech Academy’s Plumbing Technical Coach. They chatted about how they’ve implemented the curriculum and how it’s going so far. Jeff: I […]
