Photo credit: LandMark Implement
Q. HOW DO EMPLOYEES (AND FARMERS) STAY UP-TO-DATE ON EVER CHANGING PRECISION TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES?
BA – We spend a great deal of time training our precision and equipment technicians in-house. In addition, we hold customer events such as our planter, combine and technology clinics.
BI – We conduct a lot of internal training with our technicians to keep them up-to-date on any chang- es or new products entering the marketplace. Our staff also participates in a variety of John Deere University online and onsite training. Every other month, I also hold a Q & A session with customers to update them on what John Deere has to offer and how it might fit into their operation.
GI – It can be tough to stay up-to-date with chang- es coming at us so fast. Precision technology is daily topic at our dealerships. We participate in training sessions with Case IH and hold customer service clinics as well. We are continually looking at new products to see if it is something that will fill the needs of our customers.
HA – We easily spend 20-30 hours on training each year. Whether it’s held at the manufacturer or in-house, training plays a big role in our preci- sion farming business. We also offer training and customized solutions for our customers. I attend several shows and conferences each year to stay on top of ever changing technology. I enjoy discov- ering what the next big product might be and how it could benefit our customers.
14 | The Retailer Magazine | Mar/Apr
LI – This past winter, we held three days of in- depth, specialized training for a select group of technicians to bring them up to speed on the latest precision products. Our customer technology specialists also participate in online John Deere training, in addition to hands-on learning while on the job. Part of their job is to keep employees trained at each location. Annually, they conduct at least five training events with each event geared toward a specific product and work with all de- partments (service, sales and parts). In addition, we conduct some pretty extensive clinics for our customers throughout the year, such as our annual sprayer and planter clinics. These clinics are cen- trally located between all of our locations and are typically very well attended.
PI – A lot of our employee training is web based through John Deere. Our employees also attend two offsite training sessions conducted by John Deere each year and we conduct several seasonal in-house training sessions so our employees are ready for planting and harvest seasons. In addi- tion, we hold annual clinics for our customers that cover precision products and tie-in with our planting and harvesting clinics. We also like to sit down with our customers each year to discuss the past year and what we can work on for the upcom- ing year.
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