Ramiro Pereyra Jr., a Las Cruces Utilities (LCU) gas service safety coordinator, shows coworkers how to tie a knot for fishing, something he learned from his family as a child. Now, showing others how to tie the knot is a way for Pereyra to hone his skills as a trainer at work.
“We recognized that particular skill as missing in our department,” explained Lucio M. Garcia, P.E., CEM, LCU distribution & construction administrator. “Most of us don’t have a uniform training experience, where you teach something that can be used immediately. We want to develop our employees professionally to be able to use that skill.”
LCU invited an outside company, Veriforce, to come in and train the trainers in improved communication skills that increase their effectiveness when training others. Led by Jesus Lopez, the training aims to bring the complex Gas Section content to life, and to give LCU employees the scenarios that could happen when implementing new changes to staff.
“It’s not just about dry procedures, it’s about eye contact and how to control nervousness. It’s about mannerisms and vocal inflection to add emphasis, plus learning to manage time, and providing effective feedback,” said Lopez, the Veriforce instructional designer supervisor.
It was a hands-on approach to training: day one explained different styles of learning, enabling supervisors to provide even footing for all staff to come up to speed. Supervisors practiced how to build a lesson plan, because on day two they’d be presenting to their peers. LCU will be revising its Operations, Maintenance, and Emergency Plan (OMEP) at the beginning of next year to incorporate this information, ensuring that supervisors are well prepared to train staff.
“Once they have a plan, they can tackle any topic to design and deliver it,” said Lopez. LCU employees had ten minutes to present a topic, related to their jobs or not, allowed immediate feedback on what they did well, and what they might need to work on.
Submitted by Las Cruces Utilities
You can reach Las Cruces Utilities at 528-3500 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Las Cruces Utilities provides GAS – WATER – WASTEWATER – SOLID WASTE services to approximately 100,000 Las Cruces residents and businesses.