As was the case with most companies, lockdown measures have had an effect on hansgrohe’s day-to-day operations. But National Training Manager, Tiaan Pienaar, has not let that stand in the way of helping tradespeople and architects rack up the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) points they need to stay ahead in their businesses.
CPD training needs to be undertaken by architects and various other professionals, to ensure that their skills stay up-to-date with the latest industry standards and developments. And gaining CPD points (or credits) is entirely the responsibility of the individual professional. So, keeping up-to-date can often be an extra source of stress. hansgrohe’s training courses aimed to relieve at least some of that stress during lockdown, by offering a workable alternative to real world training seminars and events.
It all began during the initial phase of hard lockdown in late March, when Tiaan took to video chat app, Zoom, to provide technical and product skills development training for staff at hansgrohe. The internal training was so well-received that the company decided to extend it to external industry professionals, who would have the added benefit of earning CPD points despite lockdown.
In partnership with training provider, Specifying Techniques, hansgrohe issued invitations to a broad database of architects to join the CPD-accredited online training courses. And the response turned out to be phenomenal. In South Africa, registered professionals must accumulate a minimum of 25 CPD Credits in each five-year cycle. And the minimum requirement per calendar year is three. hansgrohe’s lockdown training initiative provided the opportunity for architects to gain two points – an appealing value-add during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Tiaan says, “It’s so important for architects to maintain their CPD status in order for them to keep practising. And in lockdown, this was initially quite a challenge. We felt this was a great opportunity for hansgrohe to step in and offer a solution that would help them stay on track.
“In many ways, conducting our training modules online made it much easier for architects to get their CPD points up, as there was no need for anyone to travel to real world events. They could participate comfortably from their homes.”
Many of the training courses were uniquely focused on water usage and sustainability, which is one of hansgrohe’s primary driving forces in the creation of their products and technology. And in a country faced with a water shortage, sustainability is, of course, an extremely hot topic, too.
“The comments I received from architects who attended the training were overwhelmingly positive”, says Tiaan. “We put an online attendance register system in place, which all attendees signed, to ensure that all the necessary accreditation was in order. And many who attended remarked that they saved precious time by training online.”
With a 100-person limit on online video call platforms and far more RSVPs than initially expected, hansgrohe added extra training courses to the schedule, to accommodate the widespread interest. Thus far, four successful skills development sessions have been conducted and an additional four are in the pipeline.
hansgrohe continues to find sustainable solutions – for consumers and professionals – in an ever-changing world that demands new innovation every day. To find out more about hansgrohe’s training, products and technology, visit www.hansgrohe.co.za.
hansgrohe. Sustainable by Design!
About the Hansgrohe Group
With its brands AXOR and hansgrohe, the Hansgrohe Group, based in Schiltach/Southern Germany, enjoys a reputation as a leader in quality, innovation and design within the bath and kitchen industry. The Hansgrohe Group brings form and function to water with taps, showerheads and shower systems. The 116-year history of the company is marked by innovations such as the first hand-held shower with multiple spray types, the first pull-out kitchen tap, and the first wall bar to hold a hand-held shower. The company holds more than 17,000 active propriety rights. The Hansgrohe Group stands for long-lasting quality products. With 34 subsidiaries and 21 sales offices supplying products in more than 140 countries, the company is a reliable partner to its customers around the world. The Hansgrohe Group, its brands and products have won numerous awards, including more than 500 design prizes since 1974. Sustainable production of resource-conserving products is central to the company’s business activities around the globe. The products of the Hansgrohe Group are featured in projects around the world, such as the luxurious ocean liner Queen Mary 2, and the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The Group’s high-quality standards are ensured by five wholly-owned production facilities: two in Germany, one each in France, the United States and China. In 2016, the Hansgrohe Group generated a turnover of EUR 1.029 billion. It employs more than 4,800 people worldwide, about 60 percent of whom work in Germany.
iF Design Leader in the Bathroom Industry
In the current 2019 ranking of the International Forum Design (iF) of the best companies in the world of design, the Hansgrohe Group, with its brands AXOR and hansgrohe , ranks in the TOP 10* among 4,215 listed companies.
The Black Forest based showers and fixtures specialist outperforms famous brands such as Apple, Audi or Daimler and reconfirms the company’s leading position * in the bathroom industry.
At the iF DESIGN AWARDS 2019 eight AXOR and Hansgrohe branded products received an iF DESIGN AWARD 2019
For further information on our design awards, please visit www.hansgrohe-group.com/en/about/claim/design/awards.
*www.ifworlddesignguide.com
