Training During Cold Months

Here at Bakeris Roofing, training, training, training is a year-round activity. The roofing business tends to come to a halt during the winter months in the midwest. The downtime could go from December, January, February, and even into March. But we don’t just sit back and wait for all those months to go by. We’re constantly working to be better and to learn new techniques. Everyone on our team is making a concerted effort to become sharper and ready for the upcoming season.

With that in place, Jeff also regularly sends us to training classes. We recently went to one in Orlando, Florida at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort. It’s an absolutely beautiful place to visit if you ever get the opportunity. (We call this one the fall expo because we go to one in the spring and one in the fall.) At this event we get to join with people involved with HVAC, electrical, and plumbing. We all get to take part in one group session, and then we break away into our own areas.

This is a great event because we’re not all competing with each other. We’re willing to share the concepts that work for us and learn some great ideas about what’s been successful for other people. We have a round table where we sit down together and visit about what everybody is doing in their industry. It’s a great environment where everybody is helping each other to get better at what they do.

They also have a fun day where they send us to a place called Winter Park. (It’s one of many options to choose from, including a visit to the everglades.) At Winter Park, we’re at a resort packed with lots of history. It was a nice experience to visit the museum and learn about all the area’s vibrant history. We took a boat tour, ate at a fancy French restaurant with great food, and then went back to the hotel.

There was also a museum for Tiffany’s, which makes some very nice jewelry and other items. The whole place was filled with security. It made me feel like I was the president because there were a bunch of guys who were all mic’d up. As we were walking around there was a guy who was following me. I asked him what his job was, and he told me that if anybody has been in a certain area, he has to go in and make sure it’s secured again after they leave.

After getting to enjoy the museums and sights for one day, we went back to training in the mornings. It was a great learning experience overall.