Aftermarket Insider Issue 74 - (Page 9)

with their training and the learning objectives are being met. As I am specifically responsible for accounting, we started there and then developed the training progress reports in the other areas of warehousing, delivery, dispatching, sales and management. These “book club” discussions, observing people on the job, and the use of training progress reports have helped management identify potential leaders and employees eligible for promotion. Another important area where Olympus training has evolved is testing and auditing. We have initiated auditing of samples of work in areas such as customer credit processing, receiving accuracy, and sales calls, to see how employees are performing and then provide feedback so our employees can judge their own performance and find ways to improve in their jobs. What new techniques are you planning to employ for 2012? What are some of the intangibles? Olympus plans on having its sales staff re-take the AIA import parts certification tests. What do you think that your training will look like in five years? The staff has higher morale – employees like to learn and we provide an environment where they can do that. Employees feel they have a career with Olympus, not just a job. Also, Olympus puts great emphasis on the process of cross-training, even when there is no immediate need, in order to determine additional talents, and for employees to spend more time learning about each other and what they do. Would the company be where it is today without the investment in training? Why or why not? We feel that Olympus’ training programs have come a long way but still have much room to grow. We want our training to be far above and beyond the competition in order to provide consistently excellent service to our customers. Right now we consider the Olympus training systems to be one-third toward optimum performance (i.e., the level of Great American Restaurants). Our goal is be two-thirds toward optimum performance in training – with the additional one-third space for employees to enjoy themselves in their work in a fun atmosphere. What are a few tangibles from your training program? No. Olympus employees have the confidence that we are selling the highest quality products and offer excellent customer service. They know the features and benefits of our products and can confidently describe and differentiate the products we sell from other suppliers so we don’t have to rely on price to make the sale. how do you evaluate or measure the results of your training? Mostly through our sample testing/ auditing. We sample and test to establish baseline performance, then after we make changes in procedures, we go back and resample to determine improvements. Ultimately, sales and feedback from our customers best reflect the results of our training. For more information, visit www.aftermarket.org or contact Sue Kalish at 301-654-6664; e-mail sue.kalish@aftermarket.org. Definitely lower turnover – employees in positions that are traditionally high turnover are staying longer. AFTERMARKET INSIDER | VOLUME 74 | 9 http://www.forparts.com/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aftermarket Insider Issue 74

Aftermarket Insider Issue 74
President’s Message
A Celebration Campaign
Association News
Inside Technology
Member Profile
Toolbox: Qr Codes
International Focus
AAIA Market Intelligence: Don’t Do Business Without It!
Association News
Segment Spotlight
Government Affairs
Industry News

Aftermarket Insider Issue 74