Continued Professional Development
Possibly the first question you should ask yourself is ‘are you a professional?’
Most of us in the driver training industry would answer a resounding ‘yes!’ In that case, why do some ADIs believe that CPD is not worth doing?
Imagine for a moment spending a considerable amount of time and money proving yourself capable of doing your job and for the next 50 years never considering different methods or changing the way you do whatever it is that you do even when your workplace moves premises, updates their machinery or equipment, or even changes their product range.
Doing the same thing in the same way will mean that even if your results are relatively successful, they could be even better or easier to achieve and the only barrier stopping you getting better results, working less hard and earning more money was the reluctance to try something new.
Sounds ridiculous but some ADIs have been doing this for years, passing their initial qualifications and expecting better results just by doing the same things in the same way when the driving test, vehicles and road conditions are always moving forward.
Worse still is that this type of instructor expects their clients to pay premium prices and recommend that their friends come to them when they get around to doing their test training. Just because an ADI has been around for a while does not necessarily mean that they are good at the job.
How many times are you driving or working and have some sort of issue with another driver? More times per day than you can shake a stick at probably. What is the problem with these ‘bad drivers?’ Well let’s see, they passed their test at some point and from then on just did things their own way with no correction or adaptation beyond what they think personally. Ringing any bells?
Is this perhaps where ADIs become anxious about their standards check? Especially those of us that passed our initial qualifications before the part 3 test changed format. This industry has remained stagnant for a long period with ADIs reliant upon their clients not knowing how to rate their instructor in the marketplace, how many times have you gained a client that is not happy with their previous instructor? This is changing with the DVSA’s plan to publish ADI gradings on their site along with explanations of the grades.
This means that if you are a grade B ADI, although competent, you are likely to miss out on those valuable clients that do not know you personally. You may be thinking that you will be ok as you get lots of recommendations but as each client that we see will only create a limited income for you then is this really a good long-term plan for your business?
Partaking of CPD training as an ADI is an investment in your business which is, more specifically, yourself. It can introduce you to smarter ways to work, equip you with techniques that help both you and your clients, update your knowledge and abilities and when it comes around to the dreaded standards check, the only headache will be the traffic, and maybe the weather.