Major League Baseball teams are wrapping up their regular seasons and preparing for the postseason, while the National Football League is about a month into its regular season.
Every team on the field or ball diamond put in the hard work, training and dedication to get them the start of the season to where they are now. For MLB teams, it’s been a long season, but now is the time when it all counts and many of those athletes will perform their best.
NFL players spent weeks in training camp, followed by three preseason games to see who could make the cut to the final roster. Now those players are fighting to keep their spots on the rosters.
It’s kind of like finding employees for your team and getting them ready to do their best for your plumbing company, isn’t it? Well, without the weightlifting, up-down drills and multimillion dollar salaries.
You want your team to be the best out there in the area that you serve, but in order to get to that, it takes time practicing, it takes time working with the veterans, and it takes time learning the handbook.
PUTTING IN THE TIME
Getting to a top level in any sport — or a profession like plumbing — takes time. You can’t expect to know the answer to every problem a customer may have right away. Even the seasoned veterans in the industry still encounter firsts at job sites.
In order to better yourself — and your team — you need to devote yourself to learning the trade and developing new skills.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Someone else on your team may know how to solve an issue or could give you fresh ideas of how to tackle it. Another way to put in the time to make yourself better is by attending trade shows and conferences where training is offered.
Every state has some sort of local plumbing group that offers training sessions throughout the year. Take advantage of these and learn as much as you can.
BECOME A TEACHER
If you are a master plumber or the owner of a company, you should be the one doing the teaching to the rest of your staff. This will not only help them advance in skill level, but also ensure that your team is being trained the way you want them to for your company.
If you don’t feel like you are qualified enough to help guide fellow plumbers, then you should be the one looking at other training opportunities for them. Contact the manufacturers that you work with and see if they offer hands-on training for your team. Many will because you use their equipment.
BECOMING A CHAMPION
As you and your team continue to learn and devote the time to get better you’ll find that word-of-mouth from satisfied customers will help your company grow to championship caliber. It’s that type of reputation that will benefit your plumbing business for years to come.
That’s what Josh Halstead’s family has done the last three generations — trained its plumbing staff at Valu-Rooter in North Central Ohio to get better for its customers. You can read what they’ve done over the decades in this issue.
ARE YOU READY?
Are you ready to put in the time and become a champion? What have you done to help yourself or your team get to that caliber? Let me know by emailing me at editor@plumbermag.com or call me at 715-350-8436.
Enjoy this issue!
