Why training new technicians feels slow
Most shops train by ride-along alone. The new tech follows a lead, sees whatever calls come in that week, and learns whatever the lead happens to explain. That is how techs end up with gaps nobody notices until a callback shows it. The fix is not more ride-alongs. It is structure around them.
Step 1: list the jobs that matter
Pull your last few months of jobs and list the ones you do most often. For many plumbing shops that is drain clearing, toilet repair, faucet replacement, water heater swap and leak finding. For HVAC it might be no-cool and no-heat diagnostics, tune-ups and capacitor or motor replacements. Pick the top 10 to 15. Those are your curriculum.
Your price book is a good place to start, since it already lists the jobs you sell.
Step 2: one checklist and one short video per job
For each job, write a checklist of 8 to 15 steps, in the order your best tech does them. Safety steps go first. Example for a gas water heater swap:
- Confirm the job, model and venting from the photos on the work order.
- Gas off, water off, power off where needed; check it.
- Drain and disconnect the old unit.
- Set the new unit, connect water, gas and venting to code.
- Leak-test gas and water connections.
- Check venting draft and the relief valve discharge.
- Light, test, set temperature.
- Before and after photos; haul away; clean up.
- Walk the customer through it and collect payment.
Then have your best tech record a short phone video of the job (a few minutes is plenty) talking through why each step matters. Short videos get watched; long ones do not.
Step 3: watch, help, do, sign off
| Stage | New tech | Lead tech |
|---|---|---|
| Watch | Watches the video, then watches the job | Explains as they go |
| Help | Does parts of the job | Does the hard parts, checks the rest |
| Do | Does the whole job | Watches, only steps in for safety or quality |
| Sign off | Has done it right on their own | Signs that job off on the list |
Keep a sign-off sheet for each new tech: jobs down the side, the four stages across. Dispatch uses it too. A tech who is signed off on drain clearing can be sent alone on drains, even if they still need a lead for water heaters.
Step 4: teach the customer side, not just the wrench side
Many new techs can do the repair but freeze when it is time to talk. Practice these in the shop, out loud:
- At the door: "Hi, I'm Jordan from Harbor Line Plumbing. You must be Ava. Can you show me what's going on?"
- Explaining options: walk through good, better, best options without pushing.
- A price objection: "I get it. Let me show you what's included, and there's a simpler option too."
- Leaving: show the work, show the cleanup, ask if there's anything else.
Role-play for ten minutes at the morning meeting once a week. It feels awkward and it works.
A 90-day plan
- Week 1: safety, tools, truck, paperwork, the phone app. Watch videos for the top five jobs.
- Weeks 2-4: ride-alongs; help stage on the top five; first sign-offs on the simplest jobs.
- Weeks 5-8: solo on signed-off jobs, lead a phone call away; keep riding on harder ones.
- Weeks 9-12: more sign-offs; customer-side practice; review their callbacks and tickets together.
- Day 90: review, next pay step, next set of jobs.
Measure whether training works
- Jobs signed off per month for each new tech.
- First-time fix rate on their solo jobs.
- Callbacks on their work, reviewed with photos, not blame.
- Customer reviews that mention them by name.
Pay the lead tech something for training. If teaching costs them commission and earns nothing, they will do the minimum. See how to pay technician commissions.
Common mistakes
- Pairing a new tech with whoever is free instead of your best teacher.
- Sending them solo because you are short-handed, before sign-off.
- Training only on the wrench side and never on talking to customers.
- No written checklists, so every lead teaches a different way.
How SWITCHBOARD handles this
SWITCHBOARD Workshop holds training courses part by part, each with video, a checklist and a quiz, with captions in English and Spanish. On the tech phone app, job checklists and safety checks come first and cannot be skipped, and job photos are time-stamped, so a lead can review a new tech's work from the office. Switch can draft a checklist for a job from your own notes for you to edit.
Questions people ask
How long does it take to train a new service technician?
It depends on the trade and the person. With a job-by-job system, a new tech can often run simple calls alone within weeks, while harder jobs take months, and a full apprenticeship takes years.
What should a technician training checklist include?
The safety steps first, then each step of the job in the order your best tech does it, the photos to take, the cleanup and the customer walkthrough.
Should I pay lead techs for training?
Yes, in some form. If training slows a lead down and costs them commission, a small training bonus or hourly rate keeps them invested.
Are training videos worth making?
Short ones are. A few minutes of your best tech doing a common job, filmed on a phone, gives every new hire the same baseline.