Letter from the President - November 2019
I am just going to come right out and say it. If you have employees, the best thing that you can do for them is to provide quality training from day one! If you are an employee, ask for training. There is a popular meme that asks, “What if we train them and they leave?”, questioning the risk of training someone only to have them leave the job. The reply then says, “But what if we don’t (train them) and they stay?!" Which is worse? The latter, of course.
Training as part of an onboarding process is critical to introduce new employees to com-pany standards. But what about those employees who have been with the company for five or ten years or more? Do they still need training? Of course! Compare it to raising children (ok, ok, sometimes that is a fair comparison!). Parents do not stop training a child once the child reaches the age of five. The training continues until, and sometimes through, adulthood. Repetition is necessary, and each skill builds upon previous skills.
Training should be ongoing, especially in positions where software is constantly chang-ing. I am so glad I have had training since my AutoCAD® R10 days! (Yes, I still stub-bornly type in commands. Some habits are hard to break!) An hour or two per month refreshing techniques and standards can make a world of difference in productivity. The minimal amount of overhead spent on training will pay dividends in quality production.
Access to training has become so much easier with online webinars and courses. Check out one of our sponsors, CADLearning. There is a special discount on their training for AUGI members! Software resellers are also a good source for on-site or in-person train-ing. Having employees take training outside of the office environment often helps them to focus on the training without the pressures and demands of work. Company in-house training on a monthly or quarterly basis is a great way for employees to train using real projects. Local community or technical colleges may also offer training for professionals.
As you may have guessed, our AUGI authors are focused this month on Training. Re-gardless of method, training is critical to the success of your employees, your company, and yourself ! I am constantly learning new things even with the amount of time I have been in the industry. In the words of the great Albert Einstein, “Once you stop learning, you start dying.” What a morbid thought! Keep learning, everyone!!
