Dive centers that encourage employees to take continuing education (con-ed) courses enjoy several benefits. These include:
- Better succession planning
- Increased creativity
- Improved efficiency
Dive centers often fail because their owners don’t see their stores as a business. This not only affects the owners but their employees and customers as well.
Controlling expenses is something well-managed businesses do. Some stores charge employees for continuing education. They may seem like a good way to control costs, but it’s a mistake. In this article, we will tell you why.
Succession planning
Successful dive centers have a plan for helping employees move up the ladder. These plans answer questions such as:
- Who is in line for the next position?
- Who do I want to mentor to take over the next leadership role?
- Who has the best work ethic and a desire to improve our reputation?
A good example of succession planning is Divemaster internship. This is where you offer Divemaster training at a reduced rate. In return, your candidates spend a certain amount of time working at the store and with classes. The benefits of doing so include:
- It provides you with a year-long job interview for each candidate.
- You get to see their work ethic, desire to succeed and leadership abilities.
- You see how quickly they catch on, their approachability and how well they interact with others.
It won’t be long before your people show you who they are.
Having instructors take part in con-ed builds value as well. The more courses your instructors complete, the better they can explain these courses to customers. The more your instructors talk about these courses, the more customers will take them.
Think of providing your instructors with con-ed courses as an investment. Not only can it result in more customers continuing their training, but it also builds loyalty among your staff. They will see it as you are investing in them.
I used to do symposiums for C Suite executives (CEOs, CFOs, COOs) at Fortune 500 companies. I would start these programs with two statements. These were:
- “Show your employees that they make a difference in your business, and they will.”
- “Train your employees well enough to be successful on their own. It will instill a sense of loyalty to you that is immeasurable.”
This often leads to people asking, “What will happen if the employees leave?”
- To start, they will take your business’s outstanding reputation with them. If they are good, it is because you helped make them that way.
- If they elect to teach independently, offer a commission on sales. This can bring new customers in the door. These are ones you may not reach otherwise.
Increased creativity
In the past, I’ve invested in marketing that did not bring the hoped-for return. Yet my staff was able to suggest changes in wording that gave us the results we were after.
This is what you want: Employees who constantly bring you new and better ideas. Having staff take con-ed courses helps facilitate this.
- Each staff member who takes a con-ed course will take away something different.
- Each staff member will articulate what they learned differently.
Use this to your advantage. What attracts some customers does not attract others. Your instructors will each have students who prefer learning from them. This means those customers will buy what their instructor recommends.
So long as what your instructors promote makes your store money, it’s tough to go wrong. You want to encourage this.
In addition to providing our instructors with low- or no-cost con-ed courses, we also pay a commission on sales. Over the past five years, this has led to a 450 percent increase in revenue.
When your instructors make more money, you make more money as well.
Efficiency leads to profitability
Have Divemaster and Instructor candidates work with each of your store’s instructors. This shows them how different approaches can lead to the same goal. While we all adhere to the same standards, each instructor’s methods will differ.
We encourage candidates to decide which methods work best for them. This helps candidates develop their own approach. It helps ensure each new generation of instructors is better than the one before.
Unfortunately, not all stores make the best use of Divemaster and Instructor candidates. Instead, they rush through leadership-level training as fast as possible. This is a mistake.
We have candidates assist with every course we teach. Among their responsibilities will be working with students who need help.
We have candidates work with at least 70 such students. In the process, they learn what causes problems and how to prevent them. Preventing problems helps create better divers. It also saves time, improving the overall efficiency of your training program.
We also promote efficiency is through evaluations. These include:
- Having instructors assess their assistants’ performance.
- Peer reviews in which candidates evaluate each other.
- Having students evaluate both their instructors and assistants.
This helps ensure everyone gets the most out of the process.
Do your instructors have students leave reviews on Google? If not, you are missing an opportunity. Sixty percent of customers consult Google when choosing a business. Ours are not the cheapest courses in town. Yet, we attract more students than anyone else. Our Google reviews are why.
A further benefit occurs when an instructor is having a bad day. I have them sit down and read customer reviews that mention them by name. Seeing how much students appreciate their knowledge and skills can turn a bad day into a better one. It’s one of the best motivational tools there is.
Kary L McNeal III is the owner of Aquatic Ventures, a small, low-overhead dive center in Fort Lauderdale that nevertheless manages to certify more divers every year than just about anyone else in South Florida. His sales reflect this, too. In our estimation, Kary must be doing something right.