Tech training contracts

[spwilkins]

There may be a dealer that paid the previous employer for the training they provided; but I have never heard on one.

I can understand that requiring a tech to go to school, and to sign a contract, could be illegal. I have only heard of one real case of a tech leaving and getting sued - the dealer won. A contract is a contract.

If my tech would like to take off a few days for training, and the dealership wants to loan him $500 bucks, and the dealership wants to waive 1/6th or 1/12th of the loan for every month he works for the dealership...what law is broken?

I do like the idea of giving the tech options - borrow money to take a few days off for training, or no pay/no loan for training - and maybe a raise after certified?

I think the key is if the training is a condition of employment.

[texaslp]

A tech voluntarily taking time off for training that he personally chooses to take is totally different. If you pay for that as a "loan" then I'd agree that a contract is a contract.

Otherwise no, and the one that really concerned me that is definitly illegal is the one that mentioned trying to collect back wages as well. No, no, no.

[DealerProfit]

Bunch of bathroom lawyers.

It is perfectly legal to require a specific verifiable skill set for a job that potentially risks lives. Just ask any Doctor. It is also perfectly legal to require ongoing education to maintain continued employment. Just ask any realtor. It is also perfectly legal to loan your employees money. Just ask any bank. It is also perfectly legal to provide financial incentive for employees to maintain their good standing as valuable well trained employees by forgiving debt. Just ask any of the techs that have worked for me over the years.

There are enough legal issues facing us all today do we really need to invent new ones????

[ederemer]

DEALERPROFIT
May I get a copy of your "generic" tech promissory note?

ederemer@odanielauto.com

Thanks,

Mr. Ed

[Old Irish]

Dealerprofit,

I don't think anyone is questioning that the methods you use and/or the things you mentioned are legal.

The legal question arose, I think, relative to a different scenario....one where your method is not used... where the company pays for training, the employee then leaves, and the employer then tries to extract repayment from the employee. That's a horse of a different color, as any bathroom lawyer or even dopey service manager can see, and is not legal in all states.

bbouton, you may agree with Dealerprofit but your methods are quite different. He doesn't pay for training. He is loaning the employee money *for* training and then electing to forgive the debt...or not. (A pretty clever workaround, I might add). You (and most others) are paying for the training outright and then trying to get your money back if the employee leaves. That's where the legal issue comes in.

We did it that way for years until an employee "called us" on it and we found out we were in the wrong, thus my advice to get legal advice, even though Dealerprofit apparently thinks doing so is a silly notion.

[This message has been edited by Old Irish (edited 11-21-2007).]

[DealerProfit]

I will get it out to you on Monday Mr. Ed.
Irish sufficiently slapped, but everyone seemed to miss the most vauable benefit!!!

I am a raider. I steal Technicians! You all pay to train them and I take them. A strong training program and promisory notes with a 6 month window innoculates me against people like me.

The really cool part is the Techs really appreciate the fact that I send them to everything they want to learn (as long as they follow through). Its nice to have a loyal group because it is where they truly WANT to work, and have the insurance policy the promisory notes provide

[techuser]

How do you "steal" them. Do you keep your flat rate higher than the rest?

[DealerProfit]

Thats one of the tools. more effective is training dollars, and flag hours. What works the best is having them talk to the existing techs. I just make the place available for them to feel comfortable poking around for a few hours. Dont forget the wives invite them to come for a visit.

[u2btech]

No one wants to get jilted for training expenses but I heard a good 'thought for the day' and it stuck;

"The only thing worse than training good employees and losing them is NOT training them and keeping them" Zig Ziglar

With the importance of "good quality" service today, which is worse?

If you don't keep your tech's up to date on their training who loses, you or your customers? When a customer leaves because of a poor repair from an uneducated tech who pays for that and where do you go to get your money back?

After 20+ years in the business I've found tech will stick around IF you treat them with respect. How are you "treating" your techs? If you don't respect your techs do they respect your customers.

More than likely the guy who gets educated by you and leaves didn't get any respect from you to begin with, so he's not going to respect you and your expenses.

It all revolves around "education", which education do you want your techs to have?