Basic Training

In-plants that emphasize employee training report increased quality, productivity and customer satisfaction. Find out how they do it.

KEEPING YOUR in-plant employees' skills up to date in these days of rapidly changing technology can often be a struggle. It is an on-going process that requires information from many sources.

"These days it seems like you're always training," admits Gilbert Sosa, director of printing services for the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, who oversees a staff of 28 employees. "Just as you finish learning an operating system or software program, another version or upgrade hits the market. The printing industry appears to be constantly evolving, especially in color production."

To keep his employees current with changing technology in the printing industry, Sosa says he uses as many sources as possible—including books, trade shows, seminars and vendor training—and encourages his employees to invest their own time in learning more about the trade.

"Since we will be investing in digital imposition and color separation, we will be sending staff to RIT and GATF workshops and vendor-provided training for [the] specific equipment we purchase," Sosa says.

Jim Shull, director of corporate services for LifeWay Christian Resources of Nashville, Tenn., has also found trade shows and seminars to be major resources when training employees. He and his staff have attended sessions put on by the Rochester Institute of Technology, Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, International Publishing Management Association and Seybold. He says it is important for managers to take advantage of these educational resources.

"You can't always send 15 people to a conference, but you can go and bring ideas back," Shull advises. This plan evidently has worked for Shull, as he boasts his shop has been recognized with an award by the American Society for Training Development.

On-the-job Training

Often the best way to learn how to do something is to jump right in and learn from your co-workers. Shull notes that on-the-job training is not only required of his press operators, but of the management staff as well.

In Carson City, Nev., at the Nevada State Printing Office, in-plant employees will often train other employees on a variety of topics. When a web press was recently added to the shop, two in-plant employees learned how to operate it from the vendor, then used that knowledge to train other press operators. New employees are also trained by the staff, even if they already have experience. This internal training is mixed with outside programs, such as vendor seminars and safety programs put on by the fire department.

"We train on safety strenuously, on the equipment they run, updating training as the equipment is enhanced or replaced," says Don Bailey, State Printer. Training is also done to strengthen customer service skills. This training has payed off. Bailey reports that a recent customer satisfaction survey revealed well over 90 percent of the in-plants customers were happy with its services.

The in-plant at Commercial Union Insurance, in Boston, recently made some changes in the way it hires and trains employees. In the past, the company would only promote from within, meaning someone from the warehouse might become a press operator and need to learn the trade. That training was left up to another in-plant employee, who became a mentor of sorts for the newer operators.

"It was all on-the-job training," recalls Russell Dougherty, manager of document processing. "Someone would just take them under their wing and train them."

Unfortunately, such training may also pass along the trainer's bad habits. Dougherty's shop now also searches outside the company for experienced operators, and provides cross-training for its current staff of seven press operators and one bindery employee.

Cross-training Adds Flexibility

Making sure all of your employees are capable of stepping in and helping out with any stage of your operation is paramount to having a versatile and well-rounded staff. To accomplish this, some managers have established cross-training programs.

Mike Renn, assistant vice president of corporate services at Mellon Bank, in Philadelphia, feels that by cross-training his employees, he has given the shop additional flexibility without losing out on quality or service. It has also given him more confidence in his staff, while instilling confidence in them.

"Unless you thrive on stress and like to live dangerously, cross-training in an on-demand publishing environment is essential to your continued success," Renn contends. "Cross-training improves not only your publishing operation, but also enhances the operator's value and attitude."

The recent addition of a Didde four-color web press gave the press operators at Commercial Union Insurance yet another skill to master. Didde provided training on the new press to two employees, who later trained the other operators, simular to the situation in Nevada. Dougherty adds that the press operators often have to help out when there is a back-up in the bindery department. Cross-training, he says, has increased their proficiency in this area.

Training employees on different tasks also has been found to:

• Eliminate the monotony of having the same routine on a daily basis.

• Give employees a feel for what their co-workers' jobs entail.

• Ensure a seamless crossover in times of absence, vacation or resignation.

"You never know when someone is going to have a death in the family or is going to be sick," says Nevada State Printer Bailey. He says cross-training is the solution for situations like these, not bringing in the vendor to run the equipment, or outsourcing the work.

"All of our operators can run at least three presses," says the 1997 IPG Manager of the Year.

Training Customers

Providing training to your customers can also be an important piece to the puzzle for keeping your operation running smoothly and efficiently. At the University of Texas Health Science Center, the in-plant provides instruction on how to use various software and prepare files for prepress production or digital duplication. The university also provides in-house and contracted programs on office software and other basic work-related training. Director Gilbert Sosa believes educating customers can only help the in-plant.

"We believe it helps to provide better in-plant printing services to the customer, since production delays are reduced, unnecessary costs are avoided and it helps to improve quality and better customer relations," he explains.

Don Bailey, Nevada State Printer, runs seminars for his customers. The last one was attended by over 300 customers during two sessions. Attendees were taught how to submit jobs digitally, how to fill out necessary paperwork, and were given a basic overview of how the shop is run. A slide presentation of problem files was shown to demonstrate what not to send to the shop.

Another seminar is planned for the end of this year. Bailey says government shops need to offer training to customers fairly often, because of high turnover and promotion rates. Plus, educated customers mean fewer mistakes for the in-plant to fix.

"Training customers makes it easier on us to get the copy neat, clean and correct," notes Bailey. "With the quality there, it cuts customer costs, which I think is critical."

Chris Bauer can be reached at: cbauer@napco.com.

Quick Look

• Keeping employees trained on the newest techniques is vital to giving your customers quality service.

• To train employees managers use books, trade shows, seminars and vendor training.

• Don't forget customer service training.

• Cross-training employees makes your shop more versatile and instills confidence in your employees.

• Customer training helps avoid production delays and unneeded costs.