Women of the Flooring Business Expands Education Program

Lisbeth Calandrino Flooring Specialist and Associate Publisher and Director of Social Media for Fabulous Floors Magazine

Women of the Flooring Business Expands Education Program to Include Installation Inspection and Product Knowledge

Women of the Flooring Business continues to grow in membership and course offerings. The Weekly Executive Program provides a forum to discuss relevant issues with our executives, Michelle Winters, Rachel Berlin, and Lisbeth Calandrino. Topics range from how to hire to plan all types of training. In addition, we have Workshop Wednesday, where we bring in various speakers from within and outside the industry.

We continue to grow; our members are excited and committed to our mission — helping women succeed and grow through education. We’re dealing with bigger issues such as childcare. We’ve learned from COVID that the childcare business model doesn’t work and that 1.2 million women were out of work because of childcare issues.

“Planning weekly education programs presents challenges as well as being time consuming, says Michelle Winters, Education Director of WofB. However, our members tell us it's extremely important, so we make the trainings meaningful and short. In addition, we provide video recordings of all the interviews for our members, put them on our YouTube channel, and distribute them throughout our social media platforms and in other flooring groups.

Developing our training programs has been very exciting. Everyone wants training, and it’s not always a floor-covering topic. So instead, we experiment with different topics, from sexual harassment to product knowledge and flooring inspections. The idea is to keep people up to date with short and interesting topics. Our programs are usually a half-hour to 45 minutes, and then they are archived.

The importance of installation can’t be overlooked, and flooring inspections and product knowledge go hand and hand with installation.

We have added a newsletter, which will include our sponsors. Bella Flooring Group, Karndean Design Flooring, and QFloors. Of course, we archive the interviews so our members can view them; we also put the interviews on YouTube, which we upload to our social media platforms.

The importance of installation can’t be overlooked, and flooring inspections and product knowledge go hand and hand with installation. Unfortunately, the industry doesn't include many female installers, but one of our members, Melissa Bender, recently wrote in FCN about her experience of being a long-time flooring installer in our industry. To read the article on Melissa Bender, click on this link: https://www.fcnews.net/2022/08/wofb-proving-yourself-starts-with-hard-work/

“As an industry, we rely heavily on manufacturer’s reps to provide product knowledge, but we can’t expect them to know everything, says Mark Farnsworth, author of flooring product knowledge book, Your Complete Flooring Guide, (www.floorcoveringbasics.com).

On the other hand, the floor covering professional must know everything if they’re going to answer consumer questions”. See my interview with Mark Farnsworth as we discuss his book and the need for learning product knowledge:

My interview with Mark Violand, IICRC Approved Instructor and Flooring Inspector, provided insight into the field of inspection. Members don’t usually have an opportunity to speak with flooring inspectors unless they have a claim, and then they may only see a written report.

https://youtu.be/kgWGfHPVebM

To buy Mark’s book, click on: www.floorcoveringbasics.com/product/lisbethcalandrino

My interview with Mark Violand, IICRC Approved Instructor and Flooring Inspector, provided insight into the field of inspection. Members don’t usually have an opportunity to speak with flooring inspectors unless they have a claim, and then they may only see a written report.

“These classes will help you avoid costly claims and improve customer satisfaction, says Mark Violand, as well as deescalate claims and what we call heightened awareness syndrome, flooring inspector lingo for “customers get worse as the job goes on.”

We are offering two l-hour classes through Women of the Flooring Business. First, there is a $99.00 three-hour Zoom class regarding flooring products, understanding moisture levels, floor prep, and maintenance. The second class is a 13-hour Zoom class for installers on install issues and how to avoid claims. You can sign up for these classes by going to: https://floorcoveringbasics.com/product/3hourviolandclass/

“These classes will help you avoid costly claims and improve customer satisfaction, says Mark Violand, as well as deescalate claims and what we call heightened awareness syndrome, flooring inspector lingo for “customers get worse as the job goes on.”

If you would like to sponsor our Workshop Wednesday getting in front of our 2000-plus women, please email: Lcalandrino@nycap.rr.com or text/call 518-495-5380. ■

#lisbethcalandrino #markfarnsworth #markvioland #IICRC #yourcompleteflooringguide #womenoftheflooringbusiness