Construction Training in the Phoenix Division

1. Construction Training in the Phoenix Division Needs Based, Feedback Fed Focused, Relevant, & Timely Participant-Friendly, Varied, & Fun Merges Both Training & Education Regular, Ongoing, & Systematic Measured, Monitored, & Managed Participant Centered with Small Class Sizes Promotes Career Development Cost Effective with Numerous Benefits

2. Richmond American HomesPhoenix Division Construction Management Training Program Mission Statement: The mission of the Construction Management Training Program is the creation and implementation of an in-house, comprehensive, challenging training forum for entry, intermediate, and advanced level Construction Managers, unprecedented at Richmond American and unique to the homebuilding industry in Phoenix. Our objective is to educate ambitious, intelligent individuals, mold their construction management careers, and provide them with the means to evolve into outstanding Warranty Representatives, Assistant Superintendents, and Superintendents, as well as future Project Managers and other company leaders who are better informed, better qualified, and more productive than ever before. Other goals of the program include greater consistency in operations and policies through standardized training, the cultivation of a sense of company loyalty and commitment through employer proactive career development, and in the long term, enhanced productivity and profitability within the ConstructionDepartment.

3. Needs Based, Feedback Fed • Starts with assessment of needs. • What areas of training are most critical to your staff? • Where is the greatest need? • What experience level are your trainees? • Program geared to participants, not participants geared to program. • One Division’s training needs may not be pertinent to another’s. • Participant feedback is essential.

4. Focused, Relevant, & Timely • Information presented in class is directly, and immediately applicable on jobsite. • Class assignment is based on level of experience and job function. • Effective training must tune the participants into radio frequencies WII – FM (what’s in it for me), and MMFG – AM (make me feel good about myself). • Class are selected based on current “hot topics”, perceived challenge areas, and participant feedback and requests.

5. Participant-Friendly, Varied & Fun • A primary goal of our program is making class relatively accessible and convenient for the participants. • Training is critical, but always takes a lower priority than completion of our “day jobs”. • Long term interest and enthusiasm can only effectively be maintained by not imposing excessive travel and meeting requirements on the participants. • Adults learn like kids learn – the more fun they have, the more they learn. • By utilizing creative training techniques such as games, puzzles and mock game shows, everyone has a good time, and is more likely to retain the information. • In addition to reasonable class times and demands, a diverse array of topics and class activities are critical components to an interesting,effective program.

6. Merges Both Training& Education • Training teaches “how”, education teaches “why”. • Both are essential to employee development and running a professional workforce. • By going beyond simply teaching people how to do their jobs, we provide an culture where people can motivate themselves. • An effectively trained construction workforce will operate more efficiently, effectively, and consistently, and be less prone to human error, costly mistakes, and potential construction defect litigation.

7. Regular, Ongoing & Systematic • Training and education is not just an event, but a process. • Classes are organized and conducted on an ongoing basis. • Degree of training is directly linked to level of experience. • Entry level classes meet more frequently than advanced ones. • Class calendars are published monthly. • Participants only excused with prior approval.

8. Measured, Monitored, & Managed Class loads determined by work loads and adjusted as needed based on production levels. No classes for Production Staff in last week of month. No classes for Warranty Staff the same week of their monthly meeting. Special circumstances are taken into account. For example: Warranty Reps may be excused in order to pay special attention to challenging customer service situations. We do not want to overwhelm our staff with excessive class time or travel demands – must be reasonable. We closely monitor work performance and adjust training schedule when necessary – The participants have day jobs.

9. Participant Centered With Small Class Sizes • Active participation in class is essential – but rarely feasible in an exclusive lecture format. • In the words of Confucius, “What I hear, I forget; What I see, I remember; What I do, I understand.” – Participation must be active. • Adults, like children, have limited attention spans. Whenever possible change class activities every 20 minutes, limit class length, and offer breaks if more than 1 to 1 ½ hours. • Many of our class sizes are 5 to 7 people. • When needed we spend one on one time coaching. • Due to logistics, special speakers, and other circumstances, some large lecture classes are still and always will be necessary.

10. Promotes Career Growth • Through comprehensive, ongoing training, employee career development is promoted aggressively. • Employees recognize the program as a job perk unavailable through other builders. • Training builds career momentum through motivation, and team consistency by providing essential information uniformly. • By including participant’s supervisors in the process, we are better able to monitor progress and needs of individuals.

11. Cost Effective with Numerous Benefits • There are tons of free training resources to utilize through subcontractors, suppliers, industry trade and manufacturer associations, magazines, trade publications, the Homebuilder’s Association and the Internet. • Promotes consistency, employee loyalty, and a smoother, more cost-effective overall operation, while enhancing our credibility with buyers, subcontractors, and co-workers.