Moving Training from an Expense to an Asset
“The cost of taking technicians out of the field to train is just too high.”
I hear this constantly. I call it the “Training Dilemma.” It is a hurdle found in every corner of field services—whether it’s floor care, HVAC, plumbing, or specialty installation. Many owners view it as a zero-sum game: if a technician isn’t turning a wrench, the company isn’t making a dime.
The stumbling block is the idea of paying someone to improve while they aren’t actively generating income. However, as my mentor and dear friend Bob DeWeese often says: “You need to look at problems through a different lens.”
What if you shifted training from an overhead expense to a project cost? By doing so, you move it from something that “hurts” the bottom line to something that is “funded” by the work itself.
Here is how you can operationalize that shift in perspective.
1. The Math: From Overhead to Billable Line Item
Currently, most companies treat training as a General & Administrative (G&A) expense. When training lives in overhead, every hour in the classroom feels like a financial loss.
The Shift: Treat training like a consumable, similar to fuel or specialized chemicals. Build a “Growth & Quality” burden into your estimating software, just as you do for taxes and insurance.
- The Calculation: If a job is estimated at 40 man-hours, add a 2.5% “Training Accrual” (equivalent to 1 hour).
- The Logic: The customer isn’t just paying for the repair; they are paying for the expertise required to perform that repair correctly.
2. Creating a “Training Reservoir”
By adding this fractional line item to every contract, you create a dedicated fund. This removes the “guilt” and the “emergency” feel of scheduling professional development.
- The Accrual Model: As jobs are completed, “training minutes” accumulate in a virtual bucket.
- The Execution: Once the bucket is full (e.g., 8 hours per tech), the technician is rotated out of the field. Because that time was already funded by the previous month’s projects, the company’s cash flow remains neutral during the downtime.
3. The “Quality Multiplier” Effect
When training is integrated into the job cost, your value proposition changes. You aren’t just “more expensive”—you are more reliable.
- Reduced Callbacks: A well-trained tech makes fewer mistakes. Avoiding a single “re-do” trip often pays for the training session several times over.
- A Recruitment Magnet: In today’s labor shortage, the company that pays for a technician to become more valuable is the company that keeps its talent. This funding model creates a clear pathway to certifications, making you the employer of choice.
4. Better Product, Better Experience
The ultimate goal is to provide a superior experience for the customer.
- The Client’s Perspective: Clients don’t necessarily want the cheapest technician; they want the one who can solve the problem the fastest and most effectively.
- The Efficiency Gain: A highly trained, certified technician can often complete a four-hour task in three. By “charging” for training in the estimate, you actually increase your effective hourly rate because your team becomes significantly more efficient.
The Bottom Line
From the technician’s perspective, you are providing them with confidence. You are proving that you believe in their value enough to invest in them.
At the end of the day, retention is revenue. Whether you are looking at it from the perspective of hiring costs or the customer’s desire for consistency, keeping your employees happy, skilled, and up-to-date makes your company a better place to work and a more profitable business to run.
