Web places great value on the power of learning to not only train employees to be business people, but also to foster their personal growth. The unique approach to training that has emerged at Web was created with the input of employees from all departments. When an employee comes to Web, he or she goes through a month long set of classes, one hour each day. The classes are taught by Web employees, and although they may not be professional educators, Web feels that the classes are more meaningful to new employees if they are taught by employees. This dynamic fosters teamwork from the very beginning of an employee's career and produces a more informed staff of employees who have had to master a particular topic in order to teach it.
Teachers work from a detailed outline that is uniform throughout all of the different plants.
They can add whatever they want to the outline, but cannot delete anything. The classes begin as straight up lectures and gradually move into a more participative, discussion group style. Once the training concludes, new employees evaluate the program and make suggestions on how it can be improved. In addition to the financial training during orientation, all employees at Web receive ongoing explanations of the financials. All employees review the same three page financial statement each month, and the entire staff meets to discuss it.