CCA Global Partners
In the past decade, noted Howard Brodsky, co-chairman and co-CEO, a surge of new technologies, showroom enhancements and product developments have impacted the way many retailers do business. “These changes have placed a premium on training to keep owners and their employees up to speed with 
these evolving times.”
For CCA Global-affilated retailers, adapting to these changes has been made easier with the help of the CCA University, he added. As the training arm of CCA the university provides members with access to nearly 2,000 hours of education annually on a variety of topics specific to their business needs.
With the mission of providing learning solutions to improve members’ business results, Bob Hutter, vice president of training, said the university offers training for owners, managers, sales professionals, designers, installers and others within the store. With over 100 years of combined training experience and 75 years of flooring expertise, sales techniques, indepth product knowledge, interior design, installation, specialized software programs, leadership and management topics are just a handful of the offerings.
Developing a high performing sales and service culture takes more than a single approach, he noted, which is why the university offers “a blended solution to suit every learning style,” including in-person, instructor-led seminars across North America as well as via the Internet with a wide range of instructor-led Webinars and “state-of-the-art” ‘OnLine Universities’ for each CCA division with over 200 custom-developed courses.
The online courses and catalogued Webinars give the learner on-demand availability to train when it is convenient, at a pace comfortable to the person’s learning style, and easily accessed for a quick reference when needed, Hunter noted.
Each business unit’s OnLine University also supports the customer service and satisfaction certification process for sales professionals and installers, he added. “These certifications are awarded annually to individuals who successfully complete the program’s training requirements and achieve an acceptable rating on the customer surveys.”
The university also gives managers tools for in-store training to bring about real behavior changes that will yield better bottom line results. “Even the most comprehensive training requires proper coaching and reinforcement to be truly effective,” Hutter said. To ensure the training sticks, reinforcement and coaching plans are provided for all instructor-led training. In addition, mystery shopping programs, hiring and performance measuring tools, and the Professional Selling System, an in-store, video-based sales training kit are available for store-level training.
For more on CCA University call 800.450.7595 ext. 2185.