Podcast Summary: "Sage Business Advice From Home Services Legends Pt. 2"

To The Point - Home Services Podcast
Host: RYNO Strategic Solutions
Release Date: October 29, 2024
Episode: Sage Business Advice From Home Services Legends Pt. 2

In the second installment of "Sage Business Advice From Home Services Legends," host Chris engages in a dynamic and insightful conversation with industry veterans Jonathan Bancroft, Kevin Cumberford, and Chad P. The discussion revolves around the pivotal role of training and education in scaling home service businesses, emphasizing practical strategies and transformative ideas that have propelled their companies to remarkable heights.

1. Building a University for Business Growth

Kevin Cumberford opens the discussion by detailing the inception and exponential growth of their company's training university, initiated in 2014. This program has been instrumental in elevating their technicians and sales teams to impressive earning brackets—technicians earning upwards of $300,000 and salespeople exceeding $600,000 annually.

"We started our university in 2014. We've got technicians that are making upwards of 300,000 now. North of that, we've got salespeople that are making north of 600,000."
[00:19]

Kevin attributes this success to a focused and humble beginning, advocating for businesses to start small and simple. He emphasizes training maintenance technicians and drain cleaners as foundational steps that can organically scale the business.

"More than anything else, when you're starting a university, start small, start simple. We did it by just training maintenance technicians, train drain cleaners."
[02:06]

2. Transitioning to a Learning Organization by Hiring Educators

The conversation shifts to the strategic decision to hire professional educators and principals, transforming their training initiatives into a robust learning organization. Chad shares his experience of hiring a former principal, recognizing the profound impact professional educators have on adult learning.

"We hired professional adult learning teachers and administrators. Educators. Game changer."
[06:44]

Jonathan Bancroft echoes this sentiment, highlighting the importance of distinguishing between training and education. He explains how bringing in seasoned educators allowed their university to offer comprehensive programs that go beyond basic training, fostering continuous personal and professional growth.

"We are Greene as a growth organization and a learning organization and a support organization."
[09:00]

3. Differentiating Between Training and Education

A pivotal moment in the episode is Jonathan's elucidation on the difference between training and education. He defines training as the process of imparting repeatable tasks and competency in specific skills, whereas education is about fostering a deeper understanding and encouraging continuous learning.

"Training is... what are the repeatable tasks... Education takes it a different level... we're trying to instill... the inquisitive side of them to want to go further and learn more."
[28:45]

Kevin and Chad concur, reinforcing the necessity of education in developing critical thinking and application skills beyond mere task execution.

"Training is 90% of the speaking is the person up at the front... Learning or education, it's flipped on its head. It's 10% is the instructor speaking, 90% is the students working."
[33:17]

4. Implementing Education into Business Operations

The trio delves into practical methods of integrating education into their business models. Kevin shares insights on adopting educational philosophies from thought leaders like Marcus Buckingham and Dale Carnegie, tailoring them to fit the unique needs of their organization.

"We have two principles too."
[10:18]

Jonathan emphasizes simplifying complex concepts to make education accessible and effective for all employees, regardless of their role or experience level.

"You've really got to simplify it. ... make it not overwhelming for the average person that is reconnecting to become a learner themselves."
[30:41]

5. Practical Steps for Starting a Training Program

Addressing listeners who may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of establishing their own training programs, Chad and Kevin offer actionable advice. They advocate for beginning with small, manageable initiatives that focus on immediate skill development and gradually expanding as the business grows.

"Just start small. If your technician knows that, like, if he says three gratitudes in the day, every day, he's going to be a better technician. Like that's a good place to start."
[24:49]

"Start by naming it. Any training that you begin doing, you can just begin saying, hey you guys, this is courtesy of Rhino University."
[25:55]

6. Fostering a Culture of Continuous Learning and Leadership

The discussion underscores the importance of cultivating a culture that prioritizes continuous learning and leadership development. Jonathan advocates for leaders to seek external resources, incorporate proven strategies, and simplify these teachings to resonate within their organizations.

"What would it be like for us to have both bachelor and master's level education pieces wrapped around that?"
[10:09]

Chad adds that transforming a business into a learning and development organization doesn't necessitate massive infrastructure but requires consistent, incremental improvements.

"I think it's super simple. It's about transforming your contracting business into a learning and development organization."
[22:57]

7. Enhancing Employee Engagement and Retention through Education

Chris, the host, reflects on how implementing educational initiatives has significantly impacted employee engagement and retention. He shares personal anecdotes about the transformative power of education in fostering a supportive and growth-oriented work environment.

"It's crazy to think that our kickoff meeting... I'll be talking to a group of 300 people. ... if they don't retire from here, like wherever they go, they certainly left a lot better place than they were when they came in."
[13:31]

8. Concluding Insights and Takeaways

As the episode winds down, the participants offer final thoughts on the essence of successful training and education programs. They emphasize the balance between ambition and humility, the importance of peer support, and the need for leaders to continuously seek improvement for themselves and their teams.

"Success leaves clues. I saw Jonathan go out and hire a principal, and I'm like, huh, It's a pretty damn good idea."
[05:50]

"Whatever you receive your education or your training, if you're the business owner now, make sure you got the right person up there that's sharing it."
[42:01]

Key Quotes with Timestamps

• Kevin Cumberford [00:19]:
  "We started our university in 2014. We've got technicians that are making upwards of 300,000 now. North of that, we've got salespeople that are making north of 600,000."

• Kevin Cumberford [02:06]:
  "More than anything else, when you're starting a university, start small, start simple. We did it by just training maintenance technicians, train drain cleaners."

• Chad [06:44]:
  "We hired professional adult learning teachers and administrators. Educators. Game changer."

• Jonathan Bancroft [28:45]:
  "Training is... what are the repeatable tasks... Education takes it a different level... we're trying to instill... the inquisitive side of them to want to go further and learn more."

• Kevin Cumberford [33:17]:
  "Training is 90% of the speaking is the person up at the front... Learning or education, it's flipped on its head. It's 10% is the instructor speaking, 90% is the students working."

• Chad [22:57]:
  "I think it's super simple. It's about transforming your contracting business into a learning and development organization."

• Jonathan Bancroft [10:09]:
  "What would it be like for us to have both bachelor and master's level education pieces wrapped around that?"

• Chris [13:31]:
  "It's crazy to think that our kickoff meeting... I'll be talking to a group of 300 people. ... if they don't retire from here, like wherever they go, they certainly left a lot better place than they were when they came in."

Conclusion

This episode serves as a compelling blueprint for home service companies aiming to harness the power of training and education to drive business growth. The shared experiences and expert insights from Kevin, Jonathan, and Chad offer listeners actionable strategies to implement within their organizations, regardless of size. By starting small, prioritizing continuous learning, and fostering a culture that values education, businesses can cultivate high-performing teams capable of achieving remarkable success.