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DECEMBER 2020 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 13 If the candidate is someone you want on your team, then try to make their schedule and your needs work. This one is not easy, but it can be a key to getting the best people on your team, especially right now. 5. Create a sense of mission: Show them the bigger picture. Share your vision of being the best company in your field, whether that is the best PCB shop or the best design company, etc. This is one of the best ways to get them moti- vated for the long haul. One certainty is that any company is only as good as its people. And its people are only go- ing to be as good as you and your company motivate them to be. In the end, that's the best way to grow your business. The Importance of Mentoring and Training Now that you have gone to all of this effort to find and hire good young people, how are you going to assimilate them into your com- pany? How are you going to train, educate, and prepare them to assume the next phase of your company's future? Aha! This is where seasoned veterans come in. You must develop mentoring and training programs that are simi- lar to the apprenticeship programs of old. You have to convince your veterans that it is in their best interest and the interest of the company to pass on their years of experience to newcomers. And this has to happen at all levels, from top-level management to quality engineers and line operators. I'd recommend that your company develop a formal training program, and sooner rather than later. Here are eight guidelines I recommend: 1. Choose the right seasoned vets: Not ev- eryone is a great teacher, and your best per- son in that particular position might not be the best teacher. Keep that in mind. 2. Develop a formal step-by-step program for each position: The good thing is that one teacher can handle more than one person. 3. Develop a complete orientation pro- gram, including: a. The history of the business whether it be PCB or PCBA. b. A history of your particular company, in- cluding how it started, who started it, and why they started it. Include company lore, too, as they are great stories that are hand- ed down from one generation to another. c. An on-the-job training program for at least two weeks where everyone who joins the company has to spend time on the floor and experience every operation first-hand. 4. Show them the future: Work with the new employees to help them to choose the right career path. This should be done in de- tail, explaining to them where each path leads right down to year-to-year progress and pos- sible earnings they can achieve if they stick with it. This is important. Most young people have no idea how much money they can earn in manufacturing. 5. Develop team-building opportunities to help everyone work better together. 6. Instill company pride in all of your em- ployees. 7. Demonstrate some of the contributions your company, your products, and your in- dustries are making to improve the world: We build important things in our industry. Our products have been to space, save lives every day with medical electronics, keep the world safe with the defense industry, and are at the cutting edge of new innovations, from private space exploration to electric and autonomous vehicles. Give them something to be proud of that they're excited to tell their families about. 8. Treat your seasoned veterans with the utmost respect: Making a point of appreciat- ing your seasoned veterans will ensure that young hires will follow their example. And most importantly, be intentional during the entire process. Act as if you are investing in your future because, in the end, you're do- ing exactly that. PCB007 Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group and an I-Connect007 columnist.