Training programs

What should a good in-store training program look like? What kind of budget should I devote to it?

- Bobby LeBoutillier, Waterloo Gardens, Devon, PA

LARRY THALMANN: At Chalet, in addition to our garden center, we have a large landscape operation. With that comes a sizable fleet of cars, trucks, tractors and other equipment. To protect our investment in these assets, we have a fleet manager. He and his staff see to it that our fleet is well-maintained and cared for.

What does maintaining a well-tuned fleet have to do with garden center employees? Well, for me, it is the realization that the same attention, time, money and effort required to keep our vehicles running well also applies to our biggest asset -- our employees.

It was this simple realization that led me to a better understanding of the need for a more comprehensive approach to our employee development.

Who’s in charge of training?

At Chalet, this starts with the fleet manager equivalent, the human resource manager. Like the fleet manager, the role HR manager (the recruiting/hiring specialist in your company) is to procure the right “equipment” for the job, or as Jim Collins (author of the book, “Good to Great”) calls it, “getting the right people on the bus… and in the right seat on the bus.” I believe in this so strongly, that at Chalet, we built our brand around our people.

Having the right people on the bus doesn’t imply that they are “plug and play” and don’t require any training. On the contrary, they often require more training since many come from outside our industry. The key is that they are worthy of making the huge investment in time and dollars required to train them properly.

First stage of training

For those employees deemed worthy of a seat on the bus, we begin the training on day one with a comprehensive orientation.

I would venture to bet that in many companies, the orientation process is the most neglected part of employee training. I’m sure there have been times in your company when a new hire is shown the time clock and thrown to the wolves. I know that we were guilty of that in the past.

As you might expect, the orientation process includes the first day routine of filling out paperwork, policy review, entry into the time system, introductions, etc. But more important, it is a comprehensive overview of the entire company -- company history, our market position, range of product and services offered, and company philosophy, so that the new employee understands the “big picture.” Armed with this broad introduction to our company, an employee then begins their job specific training.

Regular tune ups

Getting everyone who is “on the bus” to get on the same page, is a bigger chore. For this, we focus on our internal communications. The first tool we utilize is our group training sessions that we call Chalet College.

Our education coordinator, Jennifer Brennan, who heads up our education programs for customers, is also responsible for this program.

Chalet College is held in the off-season and all staff member (including seasonal workers) are required to attend. The programs run for approximately 1 1/2 hours before the store opens. We alternate days of the week to better accommodate employee schedules.

“March Madness” is another one of our group training sessions. Since the nursery sales yard has the largest group of seasonal employees, March Madness has a very heavy focus on specific training topics for the nursery staff. However, all store employees are encouraged to attend.

Processes and procedures are reviewed, as well as new product introductions. It’s an all day event, lunch is served, and yes, as with any of our training programs, all employees are paid.

Departmental meetings

On a smaller scale, most departments hold a weekly department briefing. Our garden shop, for example, holds one every Saturday morning before store hours. Jennifer Brennan, together with department managers, update the staff on timely information such as pests and diseases that we expect to cause a flurry of customers seeking assistance.

As a company, we determine the recommended course of treatment so that we disseminate consistent information to our customers.

Online communication

I believe that effective communication is a key component getting everyone on the same page. Another tool that we utilize is our Intranet.

When an employee logs on to a computer, our intranet home page “Chalet Today” is automatically launched. It is a very efficient way to communicate to the entire company.

It may not fit the classic definition of “training,” but I believe that every point of contact that you have with your employees is creating an impression on them. “Chalet Today” is just one more tool to insure everyone is on the same page.

What does it all add up to? It’s difficult to say. Sure, we have a GL expense account for training which does a fine job of capturing the “hard” costs like seminars and outside consultants. If you’re looking for a black and white answer, in 2007 we spent about $60,000 (approximately 0.22 percent of sales).

Of course, there are many other costs associated with training that are much more difficult to quantify. I can’t begin to account for time spent by our HR manager or our education coordinator, or the “non-productive” time and dollars paid to employees during training, but I’m certain that the cost in terms of customer satisfaction (or dissatisfaction, in the case of insufficient training) is far greater.

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- Larry Thalmann, III, Chalet, Chicago

May 2008