In the appliance repair industry, hiring the best qualified technicians can be a hit-or-miss proposition, especially in the face of increasingly sophisticated 21st century appliance technology. The industry’s revered tradition of bringing up techs with on-the-job training, passing on expertise from older, experienced techs to younger apprentices, has given way to a demand for a better-trained workforce from the get-go. In fact, even seasoned technicians increasingly find themselves scrambling to keep up with technological advances that were nonexistent just a few years ago.

As an appliance repair operator with a staff of technicians, you may be finding it daunting to keep your techs on top of the latest developments in appliance repair and service. Obviously, if your technicians lag behind in expertise, your competitive advantage in your marketplace can suffer or vanish altogether.

One convenient, affordable, and surprisingly easy way to bring your entire staff up to speed is to provide up-to-date technical training to fill in knowledge gaps or acquire new knowledge from the ground up. How? Online education.

Whatever the experience and training level your individual techs may possess, you can provide targeted training online to meet each tech’s particular learning requirement. Online coursework can be completed at each tech’s convenience and personal learning pace and repeated as necessary until mastery is achieved.

At a minimum, you’ll want to be sure each tech has mastered the essentials needed for any repair job: tools used in the appliance trade, basic electricity, reading schematic diagrams and using them to develop troubleshooting strategies, gas fuels used in appliances, electronics in appliances, appliance parts, and electric motor systems in appliances. Even old hands may benefit from refreshing their basic knowledge from time to time.

If your technical staff needs training in specific technologies or brands, online courses can be customized to deliver the precise mix of training you need for your business, without extraneous or irrelevant information. For example, you may want particular emphasis on electronics or certain high-end appliances. Online training providers keep up to date on the latest developments and quickly gear up to provide the latest information to develop courses that will keep your company ahead of the competition. Online training can even be customized to incorporate your company’s particular procedures and systems.

Customer service is key. While your technicians’ technical expertise is a major part of the customer service experience, a strong professional attitude and interpersonal skills help your techs to become trusted, welcome brand ambassadors for your company. Online training is an ideal vehicle for developing those essential skills.

When hiring new technicians, look for specialized training as well as practical experience. Evidence of formal training and certification demonstrates both expertise and initiative, qualities that bode well for a person becoming an excellent employee.

Offering formal training and continuing education to new hires is also a terrific selling point for attracting potential superstar technicians — and for keeping your current technical staff happy, productive, and loyal. Providing continuing education with the opportunity for certification lets prospective and seasoned employees know you care about them and their future in the industry, and letting your customers know your technicians are certified gives them an extra level of confidence in your company’s services.

Whichever your goal — building your business and its reputation or building a staff of expert repair technicians — employee training is a commonsense, economical way to achieve both.