FLOOR ED
Want a better bottom line? Make sure your installers are certified
I
Steve Abernathy, Floor Covering Education Foundation Interim Director
nstallers with certifications drive value along three major fronts—effectiveness, efficiency, and employee engagement. Effectiveness is seen in improved service quality, customer satisfaction, project execution, and compliance. Efficiency is bolstered through operational excellence, return on investment and reduced installation costs. Put simply, certified workers are more confident, more knowledgeable, more reliable, and perform at a higher level. They are artisans. To the consumer, floorcovering has no value until it’s installed. Getting it installed—and installed correctly—is a challenge faced by every professional flooring dealer across the country. In the sales process, it can be treated as an after-thought when, in fact, it represents a critical service experience, the final and most impactful touchpoint. For the craftsmen, expertise gained through training and experience and up-todate product knowledge matter intensely, particularly as new flooring products and installation technology is being introduced into the market rapidly. For the professional flooring dealer, competition for installers is tough, and supply is tight, and there’s uncertainty about how well prepared the future workforce will be. That combination places a high value on the workers who possess the right qualifications. Artisans inherently understand the value of training and certification. They know an improvement in their skillset opens opportunities, increases efficiencies, builds their confidence, adds value to their billable work, and possibly higher wages. But to understand the value of certification to the entire industry, think about how it affects the whole consumer experience. What does it mean for the retailer, the installer, and the customer, and how does this impact your bottom line? For the retailer, there may be resistance to supporting independent contractors in their training efforts when they may take those skills somewhere else (even if they mostly work for you.) You also may lose installers for a period of time while you are already trying to keep up with the load in front of you. Of course, there is also a question of who will pay the cost. Training is viewed as an expense rather than an investment. You need to consider the long-term benefits of certification—advanced troubleshooting and the ability to do many jobs. Subpar installation services have a
Put simply, certified workers are more confident, more knowledgeable, more reliable, and perform at a higher level. They are artisans.
46 Premier Flooring Retailer | Digital 4 2020
