Training Your Technicians Online

Getting buy-in from guys who would rather be in the field

By Lewis Bell

We often find that culture shifts or tech- nology changes make us feel uncom-fortable for a while, until that change becomes the norm and attitudes adjust. For years, we have trained technicians using the tried-and-true methodology of an experienced “uber technician” imparting wisdom to rookie technicians using classroom presentations and hands-on exercises with equipment. Unfortunately, we have built a culture that insists that this previously successful methodology remains the only way to train a technician. Now that online training has evolved into a robust and available resource, many manufacturers are converting large portions of their training to online or blended training, and the attitude of service managers and technicians needs to shift in order to take advantage of the benefits of this new-ish technology.

Service managers spend a great deal of money on training. One estimate is that it costs $20,000 to fully certify one new technician in every product offered by just one retail fueling manufacturer. Most of this cost is not tuition, but the associated travel costs and lost productivity for instructor-led events. Online training can reduce (but probably not eliminate) those travel expenses and time out of the field. Manufacturers want training to be less expensive so service companies will enroll more technicians and increase the skills of the technician pool.

Online training offers the added benefit of repeatability as well. How many times have you taken an instructor-led course only to forget a key piece of information later on when it was really needed? By having content that can be re-accessed as many times as necessary, the online course becomes a valuable library of knowledge for more difficult service calls. Manufacturers can also roll out updates and changes into the previously deployed online module so that the time between the change and the time the technicians are aware of it has been considerably reduced.

5 Online Training Benefits    Repeatability    Compliance Tracking    Real-Time Record Keeping    No Travel Expenses    Reduced Downtime

By its very nature, online training is easily tracked for compliance as well. For compliance products, providing proof of completion is essential to avoid fines and work delays. Many manufacturers in compliance-heavy geographic regions offer regulators online access to records for compliance certification. Since the data is updated in real time, the regulator can look up the data on technicians rather than having to chase them down to see easily forged certification cards. Older methodologies could not provide this real-time record keeping; often technicians had to wait months to have their certificate delivered by mail. Online learning management systems offer the technician the ability to print out a certificate for his records the minute the training has been completed. The service manager is also able to log into the system to see the status of all of the technicians working for his company.

How can you take advantage of online learning when your technicians would rather be in the field? How can you change your office learning culture to comply with the inevitability of online training? Following are three barriers to avoid. Eliminate these, and you will be well on your way to being able to take advantage of online manufacturer training.

Barrier #1: Inadequate PC Hardware in a Noisy Environment
Often, our training registrar receives calls from technicians who cannot seem to get into our online training page. After a few minutes, she discovers that the technician is using an antiquated computer or is trying to access the system via a dial-up connection. It is no wonder that technicians hate online training when they are expected to learn on a PC with a 14-inch VGA monitor located in a corner of the warehouse.

Service companies should invest in a learning station for their employees. With minimal investment of money and office real estate, you can set aside a quiet area for online learning. A PC capable of delivering even the most complex multimedia courses can cost as little as $500-$600, complete with speakers and a decent monitor. If that same company adds just a few dollars per technician, they can provide them with their very own set of headphones, further separating the “learning world” from the “work- ing world.”

Connectivity is often the biggest problem encountered by students. Make sure that your IT department is aware of the requirements published by the learning vendor (firewalls, pop-up blockers, etc.) and that they have thoroughly tested the connection before the students log in. Remember that online learning is possibly a change for the technician—too often they get frustrated with online courses because the buttons don’t work for them and they give up.

One additional note on hardware: Do not use a wireless connection for broadband-based online learning. Even DSL often has “drop-outs” which can reset an exam halfway through. Nothing beats a wired connection to a cable modem or T1 connection for reliability. If you use DSL, make sure it’s not the “economy package” being shared by all users in the office. Invest a bit more in your connectivity and you will see the benefits.

If you have a dedicated learning station, it is easy to set up a document library on that PC to be shared by all the technicians at your company. When someone accesses a course, he or she can download the newest manuals to a storage device, replacing the older versions. Your technicians can then transport those files as needed to their service laptops. Too many good technicians have been “stuck” on a service call due to having an outdated manual in their service vehicle.

Barrier #2: Inadequate Time Set Aside to Learn
There is a prevalent myth that online learning equals “no time” learning—that because a course is online it takes no time investment on the part of the student. Maybe some people have the erroneous idea that we can plug in a student (like in the movie The Matrix) and just download the information directly into his brain within a few seconds. Outside Hollywood, this technology just doesn’t exist. Learning takes time.

Service managers often see online learning as after-hours work to be done on the technician’s own time. Would this happen with an instructor-led course? Probably not. Time would be set aside for the technician to be out of the field with his cell phone off, sitting in a classroom. The same allocation should be given to online learning. Most manufacturers supply a time estimate with an online course and the technician should have at least this amount of time away from the responsibilities of the job. It is sometimes asserted that online learning is not as effective as instructor-led classes. Online learning can be even more effective if properly scheduled. Don’t fall into the trap of, “Well, John is in the office taking a course, but I can probably interrupt him to send him on this one service call.” By doing this, you destroy the learning environment that you need to build to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and retention of that knowledge. You probably wouldn’t pull that technician out of an instructor’s classroom, so don’t pull him out of an online classroom.

In one of our more complex courses, we ask the students a question regarding their learning experience. “How much time were you given to complete the online portion of this course prior to class?” The average answer: a couple of hours. Our recommendation: 20 hours. The problem we experience is that the online course is not a stand-alone course, but a component of a larger, blended course. The students must have the key knowledge conveyed in the online portion before attending the hands-on course with an instructor. I’m sure we are not unique in facing this challenge as more manufacturers see the benefit of blended courses. Simply put, please schedule time for your student to complete prerequisite online training or you will feel the pain of an inadequately trained service technician—fully certified, but completely useless.

Barrier #3: Inadequate Learning Culture
For many service companies, manufacturer training is often nothing more than a diploma mill. “We must have X or Y certification in order to install or service this equipment, so I need to get my guys trained.” In this statement, the end goal is simply permission to do the work, not proficiency to do the work. Successful service companies see training as a valuable asset outside of certification.

It’s interesting to me to see the difference behind the scenes. For instance, we have one online course where optional modules are offered within the course. They are not necessary for certification, but they are offered for students who want more information. Very few students take advantage as a whole, but students from certain companies always access this optional information. I would venture a guess that these companies build a hunger for service knowledge into their technicians. Online courses give us the ability to deliver these optional modules for those service companies who have built this culture of learning into their technicians.

Are They Learning? In Part 2, Lewis Bell explains how to determine if your online training is effective. Read “How To Create Effective Online Training”

Online training is not going away. In a recent poll of training managers, Bersin and Associates found that smaller companies are offering more and more online training (14 percent of all learning in 2006 increasing to 20 percent in 2007), demonstrating, according to Training magazine, “that more small companies are acquiring the skills and technology to make online training a reality.” (2007 Industry Report, November/December 2007)

The culture is changing and those service companies who desire to keep their technicians apprised of the newest technology and the most accurate training will embrace online learning. Coupled with hands-on classroom experience, it is the least expensive and most effective way to train technicians. Simple modifications to the way we think about Web-based training and the way we expect technicians to learn will yield ongoing benefits for service companies and manufacturers.

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The PEI Journal • Second Quarter 2008 • Volume 2, No. 2 • Contents are Copyright © Data Key Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved. • Nothing may be reproduced in whole or part without written permission of the publisher.