Here’s what you need to know:
- Training can be found online or in person and the trick, experts say, is finding the best mix for your staff and their workload.
- Look for opportunities from parts suppliers, manufacturers and industry organizations.
There’s a silver bullet that can help heavy-duty aftermarket operations retain staff, increase efficiency and boost customers’ uptime. Unfortunately, it’s not something many organizations make time for.
“[Training] is absolutely critical, and employee retention is the No. 1 reason why,” says Kristen Kellogg, senior director of government relations and operations at the Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network (CVSN). “In today’s competitive labor market, technicians, sales and management personnel want to work for companies that invest in their growth and career development. Continuous training shows employees they’re valued, increasing job satisfaction and long-term loyalty.”
Taking staff off the shop floor, away from the counter or out from in front of customers for webinars or seminars may seem contradictory but keeping employees up to date on the latest technologies and techniques that help them keep clients rolling is a great investment.
Finding training for parts professionals
The VIPAR Heavy Duty Family of Companies supports 255 companies and 1,037 locations in the United States, Canada and Central and South America. Training is a priority for its stockholders and distributors, it says, as it found in a survey it conducted last year.
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“Because distributors must continuously train new hires due to high turnover in the industry, entry-level programs are critical,” says Al Vaisvila, training and end user program manager for VIPAR Heavy Duty. “These often cover not only product lines but also essential business operations like customer service, warehouse skills, inventory control, forklift safety and even defensive driving for delivery personnel.”
For sales personnel, training in soft skills, such as closing a sale, counter etiquette, phone communication and customer interaction is in high demand, VIPAR’s survey shows, with in-person, instructor-led sessions being the top choice of most respondents, as well as short video modules. The challenge, Vaisvila says, is finding the right combination of tools and resources that work for aftermarket businesses.
“The most desired level of training distributors ask for is at the intermediate level to help strengthen and invest in the teams they already have,” he says.
VIPAR recently launched the Nucleus Knowledge Center, an online training platform for truck parts professionals. It provides training courses, reporting, feedback and certificates of completion. There are courses to support everyone in the heavy-duty parts business, including counter staff, outside sales and technicians.
Finding training for shops
Danielle Orlando, director of marketing and communications for HDA Truck Pride, says approaches to training vary across the organization’s North American parts and service network, which includes more than 500 service facilities.
“Some shops are highly engaged and prioritize continuous learning, while others face challenges due to limited time and resources,” Orlando says. “Often, the busiest shops struggle to release technicians for training. However, we’ve consistently seen those who make a training a priority experience better performance and long-term success.”
That said, shops that make the effort reap the benefits.
“We’ve consistently seen that those who make training a priority experience better performance and long-term success,” she says, adding the organization does its part to support those shops with its own HDA Truck Pride Online University. It includes interactive webinars and live training sessions via supplier partnerships, either at the shop or through local trade schools.
Kellogg says the 3,000 businesses CVSN supports prefers a hands-on, practical approach to training, combining traditional classroom, and OEM or supplier-led instruction with classroom time.
Vaisvila says shops have found success with creative approaches, such as hosting lunch-and-learns, conducting in-house live training, online training contests and fleet night events to combine customer engagement with technician education.
[RELATED: VIPAR Heavy Duty leaders tout group resiliency, ingenuity at recent conference]
“Independent heavy-duty shops tend to take a hands-on, practical approach to training,” Kellogg says. “They combine traditional classroom and OEM/supplier-led instruction with classroom time. Most members use a hybrid model blending online learning modules and on-the-job mentorship.”
Picking the right training for your people
In addition, CVSN offers opportunities such as Heavy-Duty Education Week, which connects industry professionals and trainers directly. It offers sales, counter personnel, new associate and management training.
“Our mission is to make training accessible, relevant and connected across the entire aftermarket channel,” says Kellogg. The longstanding Distributor Training Expo is the bedrock of the event, where suppliers provide direct instruction on their products and systems, giving attendees a chance to learn straight from manufacturers.
Kellogg says deciding the right educational track for an associate should begin with an internal evaluation.
“Start by identifying your team’s biggest skill gaps, whether understanding parts on a truck to sales to leadership and build a training plan around those needs,” she says. “Engage your parts suppliers; they often have access to brand-specific programs and training credits. Join associations like CVSN, which provide a network of peers, shared resources and access to national-level events. And, most importantly, make training a consistent, budgeted priority, not a reaction to problems. The most successful independent shops treat education as a business strategy, not just an expense.”
