Expert Strategies for Onboarding New Techs

by | Feb 27, 2023

Did you know that onboarding your technicians properly plays a huge factor in their success with your company?

 

The first day on the job, including buying new tools, navigating the supply house, and learning new software, can greatly affect your new technician’s experience and success in the long term.

 

If you’ve ever been a technician, you probably remember that first day! The highs and the lows. Whether it was:

    • Buying brand new tools for your van
    • Getting lost trying to find the supply house 
    • Choosing the wrong option on your new software
    • An onboarding process that seemed to the technician to need to be more organized or better thought out

 

If you want your newly hired technician to feel like they chose the right company and have everything they need to succeed on that first day, continue reading!

 

When working on getting a new technician up to speed on the ins and outs of your company, you must convey empathy.

 

Think back to the first day you started. No one hits the ground running on day one. A balance between quick immersion and proper training is key. In most cases, I see a technician needing up to two years to reach the same level of productivity as your existing technicians.

 

To assist your technician in reaching total productivity as quickly as possible, ensure that you have a 30/60/90-Day plan in place for them to clarify:

    • Their role
    • Your expectations
    • Actions that need to be acted on

Review this plan with your technician once a week. Keep in mind a goal lacking a plan is only a wish.

Below are MILESTONES to be included in your 30/60/90 Day plan to ensure success with The New Flat Rate Presentation System:

90 day roadmap for onboarding new technicians

As part of your onboarding process, include elements about your company culture. I suggest how your team functions and interacts with each other and your customers. There is much truth in the famous quote by Gandhi:

 

“Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, and your actions become your habits.”

A surefire way for your training to go faster is for the new technician to spend time in a van with your top performers. Let the new technician:

    • Do the driving;
    • Run the software;
    • Greet your customers; and

Make the diagnosis while your top performer reassures them they are there for any questions. Let this continue until your top performer is sure the new technician will succeed on his own. This is an excellent way for a bond to form. Strangers eventually turn into a nest of friends!

With the right approach, you can help your new technicians thrive and become valuable assets to your company. 

 

“Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough, so they don’t want to.” – Richard Branson