Teaching Employees

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jdbillin

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What methods have you found is the best way to teach your new employees?

I recently hired a new girl and I went though and explained everything to her a few times but I still always go back over and find a few spots she missed and I show her I just keep trying to help her out until she gets the hang of it. I was just wondering how some of you guys teach new people?

I was thinking just finding a bunch of youtube videos and having her watch them just to get a better idea. Any thoughts or anyone know of any good youtube pages to look at?
 
I don't have any employees but I've taught a lot of people and I always tell them to work at half speed until they can do it right the first time. Also telling them that they will not be moving along until that task is done properly is good motivation.

I've found that certain personalities don't mesh well with detailing.. laid back or impatient people are not cut out for this work.

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Don't have any employees either but here are some pointers.

1. Teach one or two things at a time. Don't go over an entire process and expect the person to assimilate the information in one go. It took you months or years to learn what you know, give them the time to learn.

2. When you teach them something, explain why it's done that way. Why it needs to be done. Why doing it an other way would be wrong. People who understand what they are doing learn faster and will remember a lot more easilly.

3. Try to give positive reinforcement when the job has been done correctly and avoid negative comments if you can.

4. Repetition, repetition, repetition. Once the employe does the work correctly, keep them doing it for a while so it becomes routine before moving on to other things.

So to put all the of this in practice, here is how I would do it. I would start them on something specific like doing Wheel, tires and Wheel wells. I would show them how to do it, explain why it's done that way, why other methods and products are not ideal and them let them do it while I Watch. When they are doing it right I would say so and give them some positive comments. Then I would let them do a few vehicle checking the work during and after. Once they have mastered it I would add washing to the vehicle on top of doing the wheels going over the same steps for washing paint.

If you do it that way they will be teaching you stuff in no time ;)
 
Calendyr said:
Don't have any employees either but here are some pointers.

1. Teach one or two things at a time. Don't go over an entire process and expect the person to assimilate the information in one go. It took you months or years to learn what you know, give them the time to learn.

2. When you teach them something, explain why it's done that way. Why it needs to be done. Why doing it an other way would be wrong. People who understand what they are doing learn faster and will remember a lot more easilly.

3. Try to give positive reinforcement when the job has been done correctly and avoid negative comments if you can.

4. Repetition, repetition, repetition. Once the employe does the work correctly, keep them doing it for a while so it becomes routine before moving on to other things.

So to put all the of this in practice, here is how I would do it. I would start them on something specific like doing Wheel, tires and Wheel wells. I would show them how to do it, explain why it's done that way, why other methods and products are not ideal and them let them do it while I Watch. When they are doing it right I would say so and give them some positive comments. Then I would let them do a few vehicle checking the work during and after. Once they have mastered it I would add washing to the vehicle on top of doing the wheels going over the same steps for washing paint.

If you do it that way they will be teaching you stuff in no time ;)
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VERY SENSIBLE! To add to it, offer an incentive to do it to your satisfaction such as a pay increase.
 
I have to disagree with the pay increase until they have proved they are worth it.
How old is "this girl" I only ask because having dealt with new 20 somethings for many of my 20 years in the navy, and having to teach them how to do mundane tasks, and do it right the first time, and.. slow and steady wins the race. is very frustrating when you think it should be common sense stuff.
My suggestion is to teach "Barney Style" which is a lot of what Calendyr told ya. You also have to gauge if they are willing to earn the money or do they think they can 1/2 (rhyme with glass) it and get "money for nothing."
If after all this they have been willing and passionate, you can give them a "Bonus" for the good effort. Not all the time because they will expect it and not appreciate it as much. You can be the judge of when to bump the actual hourly rate after that.

The job my daughter had last year kept her below min wage for 3 months while "in training" It sucked for her but the business A: saved money and B: found out if the person really wanted the job.
 
I agree that someone who needs to be trained should start at a lower salary. It's a good incentive for them to improve if they know that down the line they will make more. I don't know about bellow minimum wage, is that even legal? But say at minimum wage with an increase when they show they can do all the work correctly and maybe a second increase when they reach desired speed to do it. My formula for employes has always been that the wage should reflect approximatelly 25% of the money they generate for the business. The rest of it is for expanses and profit. So if they generate 60$ an hour, they should be making 15$/hour when they can do the work correctly and with decent speed.
 
beamerstrumpet said:
I have to disagree with the pay increase until they have proved they are worth it.
How old is "this girl" I only ask because having dealt with new 20 somethings for many of my 20 years in the navy, and having to teach them how to do mundane tasks, and do it right the first time, and.. slow and steady wins the race. is very frustrating when you think it should be common sense stuff.
My suggestion is to teach "Barney Style" which is a lot of what Calendyr told ya. You also have to gauge if they are willing to earn the money or do they think they can 1/2 (rhyme with glass) it and get "money for nothing."
If after all this they have been willing and passionate, you can give them a "Bonus" for the good effort. Not all the time because they will expect it and not appreciate it as much. You can be the judge of when to bump the actual hourly rate after that.

The job my daughter had last year kept her below min wage for 3 months while "in training" It sucked for her but the business A: saved money and B: found out if the person really wanted the job.
Click to expand...

She's 18 fresh out of high school....

I agree slow and steady wins the race, Overall she has been doing a decent job I have her do interiors I always go back over and check her work most of it is pretty good.

I found a few youtube videos that I'm gonna have her watch just to get a better idea of what all needs to go into each vehicle. I wish I could find a good youtube channel with many different videos but so far I haven't had any luck.

After she gets good at interiors were going to work on getting her to be able to carry a 5 gallon bucket of water lol
 
After being in the automotive business for 37 years I've come to the conclusion "you either have it or you don't" Do you know how many people I have tried to teach to be a technician or detailer? Hundreds. You either sink or swim in my book. To be a great detailer you must first have a good eye for imperfection. Without that you will never succeed in this business because if it looks great to a customer it should only look good to you. That is how you get to the top of the game IMHO. You should always strive for perfection even when in your own mind it can't be obtained. Under promise and over deliver on every job is my philosophy.
 
jdbillin said:
She's 18 fresh out of high school....

I agree slow and steady wins the race, Overall she has been doing a decent job I have her do interiors I always go back over and check her work most of it is pretty good.

I found a few youtube videos that I'm gonna have her watch just to get a better idea of what all needs to go into each vehicle. I wish I could find a good youtube channel with many different videos but so far I haven't had any luck.

After she gets good at interiors were going to work on getting her to be able to carry a 5 gallon bucket of water lol
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Check out the AMMO NYC and Autogeek youtube channels. They have some great resources, especially for an amateur like myself.
 
Nobody starts out perfect so it's about learning how to be as close to perfect as possible.
Practice does NOT make it perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.
I am a teacher and coach high school basketball and we constantly practice fundamentals. Over and over again. Our offensive plays are practiced over and over again. That is how you learn to be the best you can be. When they get bored we change the drills up to accomplish the same goals.
Write down your first goal for her, like interiors. Now, what are the steps you are going to teach her to get her were you want her to be. Break it down and lay out a plan for what you want and if she is a quality person she will get there.
 
you have to use the K.I.S.S method. Keep It Simple Simon. 1 step at a time until they master it, then move forward with other tasks.
 
All have offered some great points however calendyr kinda nailed it for me with regard to how a master detailer might want to approach a trainee...at least how i would. My wife is a school teacher and i have learned from her many different things about her profession over the years. One of the most important things is to try to identify "how" she learns best. There used to be 3 ways, now there are 7! Basically they are verbal (through words), visual (through pictures, diagrams etc.) and kinesthetic (basically "hands on" something). I would use all 3 with any trainee.

I clearly understand it is outside our practical world to attempt to get into the science and psychology of teaching to train detailing trainees. Where are not in classrooms with an abundance of resources and are in a shop with materials and methods but she will learn best with any methods that appeal to "her" way of effective learning. I would use all 3 methods and that's really all we have anyway.

I especially like 2 of calendyr's suggestions specifically. 1.) to attempt to impart the "why's" of the best methods and 2.) POSITIVE feedback when she does it right. The other side of that is AVOID any undue negatives when she either doesn't get it or does something wrong. She is learning and will not get everything at first but a positive, explanatory approach is more developmental in my opinion.

Again, we don't have the time or resources to provide expert instruction in a classroom and then the practical application in the shop over a period of weeks or months however, caring for the development of the individual, to me, is paramount in extracting their full potential.

To me, your two most important things to remember is to try to appeal to how she learns and then evaluate whether she will be worth keeping because of YOUR insight into her potential and committment.

Good luck with her and it sounds like she has a wonderful teacher!
 
Additionally... A word about incentives.

I have found them beneficial in my career in another field...however...

If you are going to implement them, make them available to ALL on staff and based on a specific list of performance criteria! The ability to quantify performance is important whether you have an incentive program or not. YOU need to know who does what and how well. You already have a "feel" for it now but a documented approach gives you something objective to prove who does what. Plus the fact the employee knows how to obtain it. If there's a reward for it the diligent employees get better.

Who knows...this girl may reach star status for you and you can prove it to her and yourself if you document it. On the other hand, she could fall miserably short and doesn't work out for you. Again, you can prove it with a specific set of minimum standards.

The important thing for you is to give her every opportunity just as you have for all the others.
 
Calendyr said:
I don't know about bellow minimum wage, is that even legal?
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Detailing can be a cash business so lots of opportunity to not play by the rules especially if local ordinances do not require permits, not reporting income, etc. since one flies under the radar.
 
jdbillin said:
She's 18 fresh out of high school....

I agree slow and steady wins the race, Overall she has been doing a decent job I have her do interiors I always go back over and check her work most of it is pretty good.

I found a few youtube videos that I'm gonna have her watch just to get a better idea of what all needs to go into each vehicle. I wish I could find a good youtube channel with many different videos but so far I haven't had any luck.

After she gets good at interiors were going to work on getting her to be able to carry a 5 gallon bucket of water lol
Click to expand...

I dont even do that! 3 gallons max. lolol
but AMMO has great vids along with chemical guys and AG, but for interrior, AMMONYC helped me the most on technique.
 
Bunky said:
Detailing can be a cash business so lots of opportunity to not play by the rules especially if local ordinances do not require permits, not reporting income, etc. since one flies under the radar.
Click to expand...

Gotcha!
 
If you show her Ammo videos she will most likelly fall in love with Larry ;)
 
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