Among the very best things an employer can hope to see in a new employee is genuine excitement to get started. Few employees are more excited and eager to get out in the field and prove their worth than a new plumbing technician. They’re eager to start their new career path, earn respect, and build up their experience.
As the owner of a plumbing business, and their employer, there are a number of things you should do and suggest that will help new plumbing technicians achieve the best start possible. These simple to implement suggestions will improve the performance of new plumbing technicians and make them more loyal to your company. Do not ever underestimate the power of loyalty as your success can often be tied to it. Take care of new plumbing technicians and they will take care of your customers.
Learn and learn to forgive.
Mistakes will happen. Lots of mistakes. They are part of the learning process that every new plumbing technician goes through. Remind your new plumbing technicians that they don’t need to be perfect. In fact, no technician is ever perfect. Even the best longtime technicians make mistakes. What’s important is that they understand what happened and learn from the mistake.
Of course, the best way to avoid making mistakes is to learn before how to avoid one. Let your new plumbing technician know that a fantastic way to learn (and get ahead) is with vocational training programs, online technical training, and soft skill courses from NexTech Academy.
It’s always a smart idea for owners like yourself to suggest, inspire and if possible, reward employees for taking the time and effort to improve their craft with plumber training. Let your employees know that you made it a point to join the Nexstar Network so they could have access to some of the best plumbing training and educational materials available.
The secret power of soft skills.
Service calls do not happen in a vacuum, nor are they fill-in-the-blank tests. Service calls are real-world situations where personalities, emotions, and other factors come into play. Often, how these aspects are handled plays a significant role in customer satisfaction, and how well the job goes. The key is something we call soft skills. Basically, these are skills that handle the human element of every customer interaction — from body language to having an empathetic understanding. Your new plumbing technician will quickly learn that merely knowing what is wrong and how to address it isn’t enough to ensure a satisfied customer. In fact, you can learn more about the impact of soft skills in this blog post on the NexTech Academy website.
Success begins with safety.
Constantly remind your new plumbing technician that you value and prioritize safety — their own and their customers. Encourage your new plumbing technicians to check once, check twice and then check a third time if needed. Soon, they will find safety is worth every extra measure, precaution, and checklist.
An employee’s dedication to safety always begins with the owner. If you give it lip service, they will too. But when you set the example, walk the talk and truly value safety, your employees, especially new ones, will follow suit. And remember, safety extends from your office to the customer’s location and back. In the office, in the truck, in the parts store, in a customer’s home, safety always needs to come first. Taking precautions does take more time and effort, but that small investment saves you loads of money, opportunities, and headaches. From upset customers, higher insurance rates or just sorting out what happened, you should never discourage a young plumbing technician from taking a moment longer to make sure things go safely.
The path is worth it.
Starting out as a new plumbing technician can be hard. There’s no denying it. So let your new plumbing technicians know what they are going through is not unusual, uncommon or unfair. Whether it’s working over-time, taking weekend calls or handling the dirty work, it’s all part of the journey. If they stay the course, they will find it leads to great outcomes with strong pay, benefits, flexibility and the ability to work just about anywhere they want to go. But all of these upsides come with a cost. Each and every new plumbing technician has to pay their dues as they work their way up the seniority list. How fast they ascend depends on many things. However, if they have a positive attitude with continual training through vocational training programs and online technical training, they will achieve all the profession has to offer.
The path to the upside is worth it.
A new plumbing technician will always benefit from your wisdom and guidance. Share as much of it as you can with them. Earn their trust, build their loyalty, and help them join the ranks of your plumbing business’s best assets.
If you’re interested in helping new plumbing technicians becoming better at their job by increasing their talents and improving soft skills, suggest training form NexTech Academy. Get them started at our student experience page or call us at (651) 426-2000.
