In an industry where a significant portion of the workforce is nearing retirement, HVACR employers are understandably concerned about knowledge transfer: capturing the expertise of their field technicians so it can be passed onto the next generation of workers.
Without a deliberate knowledge transfer strategy, HVAC & Refrigeration service companies can end up losing the most valuable asset they offer to customers: their deep expertise and ability to solve problems effectively and efficiently.
It’s not always as simple as it might seem to get workers to share knowledge. Service companies can face obstacles to gathering and sharing their accumulated knowledge. Experienced technicians might not be motivated to spend their time teaching others what they know.
In this article, we’ll share some advice for ways to motivate your experts to share, and some effective ways to capture their knowledge and use it to grow the skills of your entire team.
Knowledge transfer: 3 ways to motivate your experts to share
1. Build a culture of learning at your company
Let all your employees—everyone from new hires to longtime workers—know how much you value ongoing learning. Regularly communicate your support for their efforts to expand their knowledge and teach others.
That also means providing opportunities for employees to learn and to teach others. You can share helpful resources like industry publications, allow technicians to attend manufacturers’ training classes and even to attend conferences when possible. To encourage more knowledge transfer, have technicians who go to a training class share what they learned with other team members.
Make sure less experienced employees always have the opportunity to ask questions. It might be challenging for them to ask about everything they don’t understand during a challenging work assignment. Consider carving out time, such as a regular group lunch, for technicians to ask questions and share problem-solving tips. Also, encourage mentor/mentee teams to use travel time to discuss the job they just completed.
Employees should also be able to bring their questions to their supervisors, who can use this feedback to create training plans.
2. Recognize employees who make the effort to educate others
To further encourage your learning culture and knowledge transfer, always take the time to recognize and thank those who go out of their way to educate and help others on the team.
A small token of your appreciation, like a gift card, can go a long way to motivate people to take the time to help others build their skills. It’s also a great idea to thank people publicly, during a company-wide meeting or in an employee newsletter.
TIP: Ask your junior techs to let you know which of your experts have been the best teachers.
3. Create teaching roles
Start by asking experts to demonstrate or share something they’re good at. It could take the form of a single-day mentoring session with a new hire, a small group class during the slow season, or a quick video you can send to the entire team by email.
Over time, you’ll figure out which of your experts have a gift for encouraging and sharing information with others. At the same time, some of your older technicians might welcome the chance to transition away from doing highly physical work on a daily basis and take on a teaching role.
You could consider a full-time role creating and delivering training to the entire technical team. If that’s not feasible, divide the training responsibilities between a group of experienced technicians and take them out of the field as needed to work on their training assignment.
Knowledge transfer methods: 3 effective & efficient tactics
1. Mentorship
Depending on the size of your team, you can create a mentorship program where new technicians spend a period of time with each of your experts. Not only does this give your knowledgeable staff a chance to practice and hone their teaching skills, but your new hires also get the benefit of experiencing different types of work, different skill sets, and different approaches to problem solving.
Even small companies can benefit from this type of training and knowledge transfer arrangement.
2. Training workshops
Most HVAC companies have some downtime during slower parts of the year. Use that time wisely to develop a formal training program. Gather input from everyone to determine where younger techs need to grow their skills, and what “tips and tricks” your experts have to share.
Then put together training classes where your experienced technicians can share their best practices and expertise.
3. Video
If you have the budget, you can create a great resource library for knowledge transfer using video cameras. Have your experts record their work as they do it, explaining and showing at the same time. With a little planning, you can develop training materials that are always available to your entire staff.
This can work well using wearable cameras like GoPro, or using eye glasses with a built-in camera and microphone, like these from Kestrel.
If you don’t have the budget to buy cameras but you do have a spare set of hands, you can simply have a junior tech record the videos on a smartphone.
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HVACR Career Connect NY was created to promote the exceptional quality-of-life benefits of a career in HVAC and Refrigeration service, and also to provide a clear path for getting started in the profession. In doing so, we serve as a resource for employers in the New York City metro area to find and hire smart and capable new technicians. We also serve as an educational resource to support business growth and to help service technicians succeed in their chosen profession.
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