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 heard that you’re using NexTech as an onboarding program? Can you tell me more about it?
Jason: New employees are automatically enrolled. Setting crystal clear expectations is important to us. During their 90-day probation period, there is a zero-tolerance policy. If they miss a module or fall below the expected pace, it is grounds for automatic termination. We set the expectation that they will, at a minimum, cover one module per week. If they can’t do that, we feel that it tells us that they aren’t serious about the job and their career prospects at Boothe’s.
Jeff: That’s awesome. You’re the first Nexstar member that I’ve known to use the program that way. What about after their first ninety days?
Jason: After their probationary period they are allowed one opportunity to miss their mark but anything more than that is grounds for termination. As the students go through, there are bumps in pay as they reach milestones in the program. This is a great incentive for them to keep making progress.
Jeff: How have new hires reacted to it? Have you kept everyone in the program?
Jason: The NexTech Academy program is a great tool for training new guys and gals with no trade experience but just know, you get out of it what you put into it. The younger generation doesn’t have quite the drive as their predecessors, setting clear expectations keeps them focused and moving forward in their career. We hire in groups, three to four at a time and out of those, one or two might make it.
Jeff: How are you mentoring employees that are in NexTech?
Jason: I check in with the students once per week and check their progress online to make sure they are progressing at the expected rate. I work closely with the senior techs that the students ride with to make sure that they get opportunities to complete skill assessments in the field, and to relay exactly what is expected in those assessments.
Jeff: Do you have any big successes that you wouldn’t mind sharing?
Jason: Sure! One of our students is nearing the end of Level 2 in the HVAC program and is already in a truck. He’s killing it! He’s running at an 80% conversion rate and his average ticket is running at the department average.
