TRAINING DAYS

Jaguar Land Rover is placing a new, laser‑like focus on ensuring its retailer staff gets the highest level of training. Here, Jeff Jennings, Jaguar Land Rover North America Director of Training, runs through the company’s latest training initiatives.
 

What has been your most significant change this year?

That would be the dramatic increase in the number of training courses we hold for our retailer staff. We went from just 50 courses in 2013 to well over 500 so far this year. To help us, we appointed a new agency to organize the logistics and increased the number of trainers and budget allocated to these activities.

Who at the retail locations get to attend the courses?

Certainly all of the front‑line key contact people. Everyone from the sales associates, the reception staff, the service counter people, service advisors, to the warranty administrators and the cashiers. Anyone, in fact, who comes in contact with our customers. What we are really focused on is creating a hugely‑knowledgeable staff that treats customers in a way they would expect to be treated when buying a premium vehicle from one of our brands.

Where does the training take place?

Just last month we opened our new Western Region Training Center in Irvine, Calif., a 29,000 sq. ft. state‑of‑the‑art complex. In Atlanta we have a 30,000 sq. ft. center. Right now we are working on expanding our existing Mahwah, NJ facility to over 40,000 sq. ft. That’s scheduled to open in 2016. At Mississauga, Canada, we have a 7,500 sq.ft. center.
 

Is all JLR training carried out at these centers?

Not all. One of our major innovations this year has been to take training to the retailers. We have been organizing key training at premium hotel locations close to the retailers, removing the barriers of travel and time away from the store.
 

Does the arrival of key new products, like the all‑new 2015 Land Rover Discovery Sport and 2016 Jaguar XE, mean retailers will need more highly‑trained staff?
 

They will. With the excitement that’s building for both the Jaguar and Land Rover brands and the massive investment being made in new products, we are starting to attract top service technicians and sales advisors from rival brands. They are seeing Jaguar Land Rover as a company with tremendous opportunities for growth.
 

You also have plans to use the U.S. military as a source of technicians?

Yes and we’re really excited about this. Starting next spring, we’ll be looking to recruit a number of service men and women with a strong technical background, who are coming out of active service. There are some highly‑trained, highly‑motivated technicians looking for new opportunities, and we would love to work with them. They would go through our intense, six‑week FAST PACE training program, held at our Irvine and Atlanta centers, then be allocated positions in the retailer network.
 

We hear you have also come up with some interesting incentive programs for students in your training programs.

We have introduced a fun recognition program we call “The Journey To Excellence”. It’s for people who have achieved a Gold level certification or higher in training. These roughly 450 sales associates and technicians will come to our Irvine training center next April for a head‑to‑head competition. The top 180 will then go to the UK for a week to be immersed in Jaguar Land Rover culture. It will include a visit to the Goodwood Revival motoring event, drives in classic Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, visits to the Solihull and Castle Bromwich assembly plants, drives around the Gaydon test track at over 160mph*, off‑roading through the infamous Solihull Jungle Course, and day trips to London. It’s a fabulous program.
 

Why is Jaguar Land Rover putting such an intense focus on training right now?

The company is poised for dramatic growth. And the only way we are going to attract new customers, ensure unrivaled customer satisfaction and build real loyalty, is through having the very best‑trained, most‑knowledgeable staff at our retailers. Our goal is simple; to be the best.
  

*Always follow local speed limits.