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“With every passing day, there is a clear dichotomy in our message to managers. We talk about numbers, schedules, net profit, and so forth, and then say, ‘By the way, do a great job, too.’” This comment comes from veteran Scotts LawnService trainer Bill Hoopes, who recently retired from corporate life to start his own training company. After more than 20 years of training employees, Hoopes says that training is more important today then ever before, thanks to new government regulations, a growing concern about the environment, and the pressures brought to bear by an increasingly competitive marketplace.

“Companies need to keep training as their No. 1 priority because it is not good enough to just get the job done,” says Hoopes. “It has to be done right, all the way from making sure that frontline employees are performing at their highest technical levels to ensuring that everyone in the company treats customers in a highly professional manner.” The process, he adds, begins at the very top.

Company personality

According to Hoopes, training should begin long before an employee dons his or her uniform for the first time. In fact, it should begin in the recruiting process, carry over during the interview sessions, and be emphasized again on day one. The crux of the initial training message is an accurate description of the company culture or personality. Employees, and especially managers, need to understand a company’s personality, what it means to follow through on commitments to customers, and what has to be done to do a job in a professional and ethical manner.

“This is where training truly begins,” says Hoopes. “You have to get your managers to understand and buy into what your company is all about. If you do not succeed in doing that, then all the other training for them and for frontline individuals is merely done for the sake of saying, ‘Yes, I have a training program.’ In reality, companies need effective training, and when you have effective training on the right issues, the numbers will follow.”

Hoopes’ training approach differs slightly from other trainers. It emphasizes culture, commitment, and ethics, as much as it emphasizes techniques and operating procedures. Hoopes believes that once the management team buys into a company’s personality, it is all that much easier to train frontline people and new employees. Again, he emphasizes, the last thing any company wants to do is train for the sake of training. “There is a direct relationship between growth and profitability, and it begins at the top with understanding what a company stands for.”

Filling voids

Despite the fact that training has been a “hot button” in recent years, Hoopes says that the lawn care side of the green industry is still wanting, especially in training resources for frontline personnel. To complete the training cycle requires having a dialogue between the trainee and trainer, and then actually getting hands-on instruction in the field.

“My experience tells me that to be effective, training needs to be a blend of having the right information, of having a dialogue, and of gaining field experience,” Hoopes relates. “The challenge for companies and for trainers specifically is to set aside enough time to use all three approaches at a time when productivity takes such a high priority.”

The issue is not merely one of getting the job done, Hoopes reemphasizes. Instead, the issue is making sure a job is done right from beginning to end. It means customers need to be treated in an ethical way, that employees need to act in a professional manner, and that a company needs to have the same commitment to the customer and the environment as it does to the bottom line. As he puts it, companies that look for longevity and steady, even growth are the ultimate beneficiaries of a thoughtful training program.

Take a good look at your training program. Does it give managers an understanding of what your company is all about? Does it emphasize ethics, professionalism, and commitment, as much as it explains how to safely operate equipment? Do frontline employees get an adequate blend of information through books and/or the Internet, through having dialogue with trainers, and through hands-on experience in the field? Get the training right and the numbers will follow.



Bill Hoopes is a member of the PLANET Board of Directors and president of Bill Hoopes Grassroots Training located in Delaware, Ohio. He can be reached by phone at (614) 531-4000 or by e-mail at hoopes@columbus.rr.com.


10/05

By Rod Dickens, PLANET Contributing Writer