This is regarding Human Resource Management

Please answer the following:

Please utilize the reading material below to help answer the above :

PLEASE MAKE COPY PASTE AVAILABLE

MUST BE 500 WORDS

Is Mike's training strategic? Provide an rationale for your answer. What information did you consider in determining your answer. Ilow does Mike's support training? What else could they do to support their training activities to maximize their effectiveness? Does Mike's support continuous learning? I low? Provide recommendations about how Mike's could facilitate informal learning within and across its car washes. How would you evaluate your recommen- dations' effectiveness? Training Leads to Clean Cars, Satisfied Customers, and Engaged Employees at Mike's Carwash Inc. Mike's Carwash, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is company. As a result, the hiring process focuses on a privately owned chain of car washes that has 37 identifying employees who have a positive attitude, a locations in Indiana and Ohio with 650 employees. desire to work with people, a willingness to go out of Opened in 1948, the first Mike's was called "Mike's their way to please customers, and leadership quali- Minit Man Carwash," named after the type of equip ties. To identify new employees with these character- ment originally used. Mike's has a reputation for great istics, job applicants participate in multiple interviews, and speedy service and continues to expand to new pre-employment testing, thorough reference checks, locations. Mike's Carwashes are automated and fea criminal background checks, and drug testing. tute equipment systems and technology developed by Mike's retains and engages its employees through Mike's employees. Mike's credits some of its success a number of HR practices. Each employee has a to the family's business smarts but believes that most development plan and receives performance apprais- of its success comes from its employees and its hiring als twice each year. New employee training involves and training practices. Mike's original founders, Joe familiarizing them with best practices and how to help and Ed Dahm, were known to tell employees that the customers in different situations that they will encoun- company was truly in the people business but it just ter at the car wash. Before employees wait on their happened to wash cars. first customer they receive two days of orientation and Customer satisfaction is very important to Mike's participate in workshops that all focus on customer with the emphasis placed on repeat business by serving service, how to treat customers, how to recover from customers so they will come back again. The biggest service errors and mistakes, and how to deal with dif- challenge that Mike's faces is providing a consistent ficult customers. Mike's also provides training to help enjoyable customer experience. Mike's is constantly employees advance in the company. The career path trying to improve the customer experience through from hourly associate to supervisor to shift manager innovation and new ideas. If a new idea works it is to assistant manager is well-defined. Movement on the implemented in all locations. Mike's believes that the career path is possible through good performance and only way to provide a consistent customer experience completing internal certifications that include up to is through finding great employees, retaining them, 12 weeks of training and three exams requiring pass- and helping them develop. The company website ing grades of at least 80%. Employee engagement explains that it is "notoriously picky" when it comes and satisfaction is measured by semiannual surveys to hiring. For every 50 people Mike's considered hir- as well as information gathered from employees who ing, just one is hired. Mike's feels that it is easy to teach are leaving Mike's. Employees play an important role the mechanics of how to perform a job, but it is much in the choice and design of training and development more difficult to teach someone to care about custom- activities. A 15- to 20-person tearn consisting of mem- ers. Also, because about half of promotions to mana- bers who have been nominated by their store man- gerial positions come from current employees, Mike's ager serve a one-year term as subject matter experts in is looking for employees who intend to stay with the helping to develop new and modify existing training programs. Team members also are the first trainees in new programs, providing feedback about needed changes and feedback on program effectiveness In addition to its regular training programs for new employees and certification programs for advancement, Mike's has developed programs to meet emerging business needs. The economic reces- sion resulted in a decrease in the volume of custom- ers Mike's served as well as revenue. As a result, Mike's recognized the need to increase the spend ing of its customers by making sure that employees made them aware of value-added services such as underbody washes, tire treatments, and clearcoat. To do this, Mike's developed an online training mod- ule and trained managers to encourage employees to complete the training and practice using the sell- ing skills at monthly employee meetings, Mike's recognizes the important role that managers play in helping employees learn. At Mike's managers need to actively support and help deliver training. They are held accountable for training and develop- ing employees in order to advance and succeed. In this program, managers were taught how to iden- tify weaknesses in employees' service recommenda- tion techniques and use weekly coaching sessions to enhance them. Managers were also encouraged to observe and document employees making service recommendations to customers and to provide them with feedback. The results of this program were positive: overall revenue, revenue per customer, cus- tomer satisfaction, and mystery shopper scores all increased Another business issue that Mike's uses training to resolve is how to maintain a consistent corporate culture across its 37 locations. To address this chal- lenge, Mike's created "In the Loop," a weekly video communication that is shown on a computer termi- nal in each location. Each 10-minute segment is used to deliver training content, recognize employee and store performance, communicate to employees, and share best practices, Regularly on the video the CEO shares a letter from a satisfied customer and discusses the specific behaviors that the customer experienced that exemplifies Mike's customer service values. Since the development of the video Mike's has seen an increase of more than 100% in the number of posi- tive customer letters, comment cardy, and website contacts