MEETING THE CHALLENGE

INSTRUCTORS

To meet the goal of training more students a program must first increase its instructor core. The following are some ideas tried by TEAM OREGON over the years with various levels of effectiveness.

Let's start with a basic philosophy: It costs just as much to train 12 instructors as it does to train one. Funds and time available to us as trainers are limited. Be efficient with your time and money by running full Instructor Preparation Workshops (IPs). In that way you reach your goal of getting more instructors to the field quicker.

Getting the Word Out

This has been the single most effective way to find qualified individuals. TEAM OREGON has used two methods to touch these people. One is for the instructor to talk to a student (whom they feel would make a good instructor) and suggest they call the office/contractor if they might be interested. The other method is to have the instructors make a note on the course file for those individuals who may make good instructors. When the course file comes in, we send a letter inviting them to contact us for more information if interested. This provides a simple screen; we hear from those interested, if we hear nothing we eliminate them from our list.

It is important that the instructors have a good expectation of what type of person you want for an instructor. In our experience it isn't the person with the most experience, or the best test score. Rather it is the person who had an excellent attitude, was very coachable and rode well (at this point they don't need to have excellent skills).

The recruitment page on our website is the second most effective method we have found to get the word out. We added a page called "Join the Team." It contains a brief description of why they might want to become an instructor, the benefits available to instructors, the qualifications required, a FAQ section and a way to contact us to sign up for a "Recruitment Seminar" (described below).

This resource has all pertinent information about becoming an instructor, from expectations, to pay, to benefits. Then an online application is made available. Once the application is submitted, the applicant is given objectives (assignments) for course audits. Also their e-mail address is added to a list which will be used to send a monthly newsletter. The newsletter will allow them to stay in touch with the program while they await an opportunity to enter IP.

The brochure has been very successful. It includes text describing why a person might want to become an instructor, the qualifications, some of the benefits and a brief FAQ section. At the end it directs the person to visit our website for more information and provides a mail in coupon for those without internet capability.

See it online: Instructor Recruitment Brochure

We have informed dealers of the need for instructors and provided them with business cards and Recruitment Brochures. We have witnessed limited success from this method.

We have found paid advertising to be extremely inconsistent in its effectiveness. Most of the responses we have gotten are from people looking for full time employment (even though we state that this is only for extra cash) and/or folks who have little or no qualifications.

Instilling Interest While Generating Excitement

Motorcycling is an exciting and emotional sport. Most instructors stay with a program because of emotion. When soliciting for instructors it is important that you attempt to engage that emotion. Attached is an article entitled School of Cool This article is an example of the language that can be used in various forms of advertisements to evoke emotion and spark the interest of a would-be instructor.

Selecting Candidates

Selecting the best candidates is more critical than getting the word out. Ever start an IP with 12 candidates and graduate three or four? To be efficient with time and reach the goal of having more instructors in the field, a good screening process is necessary. To build a sustainable program you need to find the good people who can be trained to be good instructors with as little effort as possible. Fill your IPs with individuals with the heart, personal and professional skills and you stand a much better chance of keeping those instructors for many years.

Whether you use a brochure or web page, include a front-line screening tool. Provide enough information to eliminate those who aren't really serious. For those who may be serious enough, provide the next step (i.e., contact the main office, fill out a form, etc.)

Provide all the information about how the program works, how instructors are selected and trained, the expectations of instructors, benefits etc. This is another screen. The goal isn't to scare anyone away, but ensure that they are entering with both eyes open. This is a physically and mentally demanding profession and they need to know that up front.

The information can be presented in many methods:
• Recruitment Seminars, where an instructor delivers the information, answers questions, then distributes applications to those interested.
• On a web page where they can go through it at their own pace, or in a handout format.

With the last two there is no way of knowing that an individual actually read the information. With a Recruitment Seminar you can be sure they heard the information, but it can be very time intensive.

Although simply seeing someone isn't an assurance of physical ability, it can be a good indicator of someone who may not be up to the challenge. Speaking with them can be very enlightening. You get a feel for their ability to speak, but just as importantly you can get a feel for their attitude and heart.

A meeting format with an instructor providing all pertinent program information to include:

• Selection criteria
• How training is provided
• Expectations of instructors
• Qualifications
• Pay and benefits
• Physical and mental demands
• After the information is delivered, provide Q&A time, then offer applications to those interested.

Benefits of Seminars: You can physically see and talk to the interested individuals. Drawbacks: Seminars should be offered in each area where there is a need for instructors. At two to two and a half hours a piece, it gets time consuming.

Have your applicant visit two or three courses and provide specific objectives of what to watch for. There are two benefits. A) The instructors can give you feedback about the individual. B) It can provide an invaluable knowledge base for the individual when they attend IP.

Interviews tend to be time consuming, but very effective. They can be done via the telephone, making statewide selection more practical. Build a list of questions that allow the applicant to expound on their experience, attitudes and values. Score each question (1-5, with 1 being low), find the average score for all the questions and you have a fairly accurate comparison of all the applicants, making selection much easier. Plan on 30 to 45 minutes for each interview. See INSTRUCTOR CANDIDATE INTERVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE

There is a better chance that a person will show up if they have money on the line, and it's another tool to eliminate those who aren't serious. To keep from excluding someone who doesn't have a lot of money, keep the fee low (i.e., $100) and make a payment plan available to those with limited funds. Some programs make the training fee refundable once they successfully complete all their training.

If an applicant has never seen the course they will have a hard time understanding the concepts and flow of the curriculum. It is a beneficial policy that requires candidates to have taken the course in the fairly recent past, or at a minimum, audited the course.

Having taken a basic course is no guarantee that the candidate has applied any of the skills or concepts. If the basic skills are weak, the candidate will be challenged to successfully complete the skills test. That's why we recommend giving the skills test early in the selection process. Once IP begins you can no longer fill seats, and you don't want to have a bunch of empty seats in your IP class simply because candidates couldn't pass the skills test.