Tailor-Made Training

Custom training—true custom training—can only take place when a diligent and curious group of educators gets together with a company that understands that the only way to fill the gaps in its knowledge or programs is by training employees with industry- and company-specific information. Trainers must have an in-depth knowledge of company processes, and create a learning experience based on actual company numbers and customers—not just hypothetical situations. Custom training can help a business improve efficiency and save money.

“Ultimately, customized training has to lead to a return on investment,” says Rich Kelly, training director of customized training services at Hennepin Technical College in Plymouth. Kelly says his clients are searching for a larger return on investment than what they would get with off-the-shelf, one-size-fits-all classes. By focusing on specific company dynamics, custom training providers say they can deliver services that are more useful than courses that aren’t tailored to a client’s needs. The stories that follow illustrate how custom training delivers targeted content for work force development.

Note: Each of the following case studies involves a Minnesota Job Skills Partnership grant from the state’s Department of Employment and Economic Development. The grants go to Minnesota businesses partnering with accredited public or private schools to develop new job training or retraining for existing employees. The business must match program funds at least one-to-one.

Rock the Warehouse
Hennepin Technical College and Rockler Woodworking and Hardware

Founded in 1954, Medina-based Rockler Woodworking and Hardware has grown its high-end woodworking products business from a mail-order catalog to a 35-store retail chain with commercial clients and an online store.

“Like all retail chains, they’ve had to expand to have a significant Internet presence and a significant mail-order business,” Kelly says. As online sales have become a priority, many processes have changed at Rockler, but some of them had trouble keeping up. The warehouse picking, packing, and shipping processes needed to be revamped. The company decided to introduce lean manufacturing principles to its production process and staff at the same time it was making changes in the warehouse.

A team that included Rockler CEO Ann Rockler Jackson, Human Resources Manager Kenneth Kjer, and Vice President of Warehouse Operations Mike Plehal originally embarked on a new warehouse strategy with the help of a consulting company. But that approach was expensive, so the Rockler team decided to look for other lean experts to help with the changes.