How Much Time and Effort Should You Put into Education in Your Business?

As the country starts to get back to normal, training and education in the glass industry seem to continue to gain popularity. There seems to be more training and education available from and for our industry, and a lot more interest from companies and employees.

Trade shows are expanding past the trade show floor with more seminars and hands-on workshops on their agendas. Glass associations are producing literature and industry guides sharing years of industry experience and best practices. Many manufacturers are offering videos, webinars and workshops that help support their products. At Frameless Hardware Company, we are getting more requests for training and technical seminars from customers and even local trade unions that are seeking knowledge for their members.

Over the past two years, I think everyone has been exposed to Zoom or similar methods of getting people together without having to leave their offices. YouTube offers industries like ours that may not be able to afford an ad during the Super Bowl, a way to communicate effectively to a targeted mass audience. Many in our industry are learning how to use these technologies to sell products and services and share industry knowledge.

This comes at a great time, as companies struggle to find and hire new people. There is a lot of material available to help companies put together great training programs at the entry level, as well as guides and literature to keep your staff up to date on industry best practices. We are lucky to work in an industry that believes in sharing our knowledge.

My favorite example is the Heavy Glass Door Design Manual, put out a few years ago by the then Glass Association of North America. I was part of the committee that updated this manual to include laminated glass, larger doors and more updated hardware choices.

Working on this guide gave me a real understanding of how many people are involved in working on these publications. Members from all areas of the industry were involved, from glass fabricators, temperers, hardware manufacturers and installers; all were volunteering their expertise to produce a guide for the industry to create better products and provide the installer with a guide to designing a safe installable system.

These are also great training tools to bring new people up to date on best practices and help you explain to architects and owners, what can and cannot be done safely on their projects. This also shows them that you are a quality company that goes by the book.

Smart companies today are learning how important training is for all their employees and customers. It is an investment that will always pay off.

P.S.: I wanted to mention how appropriate that 2/22/22 fell on a “Twosday.” Paul Bieber made me do it.