Training of new technicians takes some time. However, you need to have self-reliant people as soon as possible. We'll advise you how to solve this dilemma without a negative impact on your clients.
New technologies speed up employee training
New trends influence even training approaches. Newcomer education doesn't need to mean tedious lectures in front of a blackboard. Nowadays, you can train new technicians using educational video records directly from the field as well. That way, they'll get a practical insight from the very beginning.
Such a function is a part of some maintenance support systems. In Lumnio, for instance, you can create an online training tailor-made for a specific job position. The employee will go through it later using a work tablet or smartphone at home. Furthermore, you can add test to your lessons to ensure that your technicians read your materials thoroughly.
If it is easier to explain some issues in person, you can simply combine the educational videos with a traditional classroom training. Clarify the theory and basic procedures using educational materials in your system. And the details can be taught by your instructor, who will also answer all the employees' questions.
Boost training efficiency with interactive content
Even enthusiastic employees get bored by a long monologue. Therefore, it is advisable to enhance your training with interactive content and gamification to keep the technicians focused.
The interactivity can be achieved in many ways. For instance, use videos recorded in the field to show technicians step-by-step work instructions, or test newcomers' knowledge with an online quiz.
And if your training software allows it, don't hesitate to go even further. For example, Lumnio also supports 3D functions and augmented reality (AR) so a technician can see the instructions directly in the field of vision of his smart glasses. This makes it easier to link new information directly to practice.
Tip! Test the creation of interactive workflows in practice. Try out the Lumnio app for free.
For answers, ask the knowledge base
Things may seem easy on a training ground. But in the field, many newcomers realize they don't know what to do. In such situations, a technical knowledge base comes in handy. Your technician can access it from wherever he is and finds there all the necessary information, or even a service manual.
You can store not only work instructions in your database but also manuals, technical drawings, and other documents.
A mentor on a phone
You can support your training efforts with mentoring as well. The principle is simple. A skilled employee helps a newcomer if he doesn't know what to do. In addition, the mentor ensures his new colleague doesn't make many mistakes. Not only does this protect your interests, but it also makes the new technician more confident on the job.
But what if there's not enough experienced people in your team? A seasoned technician is worth his weight in gold. That means they're usually very busy, and they have neither time nor mood to look after new colleagues. Save their time and let them act only as a remote support.
Remember, the skilled employee doesn't have to be physically there with the newcomer. It will be sufficient if he is just available for help remotely as an advisor. In the meantime, he can tend to his own job tasks.
Even better than a traditional phone call can be a video call through your internal system, in which an experienced employee can direct his colleague more easily. And the knowledge base can serve as an additional support in the field, showing your new employees solutions to the most common problems. This helps them find answers more often, so there are fewer unnecessary calls and less stress.
Thanks to the new training approach, you make your newcomers more interested in the job. But what is more - they become independent faster. Putting new skills directly into practice proves to be way more helpful than reading tech drawings at a desk.
Interested in this topic? Take a look at how process digitization helped Altron, a. s. company in practice.
