Investing in a thorough training programme to enhance the skills of our colleagues has paid huge dividends in a sector which requires a more profound level of understanding and knowledge than many people would expect.
For those interested in a career in our sector, we are proud that our investment of £1,000 per head into training, allows us to offer ongoing career enrichment opportunities. Our own CPJ Academy has been set up to support our colleagues as they progress through the roles that together make up the company as a whole.
Why is colleague training important?
Directing or arranging funerals requires deep care and compassion. A good training programme helps the team be better prepared to manage daily tasks and carry out their funeral arranging duties with an unwavering eye to detail.
The main benefit to retaining a hands-on and in-person training scheme is an increased sense of morale within the team – and this could not be more important in our view. It also helps us to deliver a high level of support to our families, safe in the knowledge that significant colleague training is always available, and acts as the backbone to strengthening CPJ Field’s development and success.
CPJ Field runs an 8-day industry-leading training programme, which can be taken as one, or as a combination of courses. With this in place we can address both onboarding colleagues new to the role, plus support current employees who want to improve their skills, in order to feel more confident in their jobs. We have seen an increase in productivity and employee retention, plus importantly a boost in our teams’ job satisfaction, essential to a job that requires a certain level of resilience and a keen sense of purpose.
What does our full training programme include?
1. Onboarding
Part of the training includes providing simple guides and information which will easily educate new colleagues on the CPJ Field way. For example, we train on how to manage calls or first contact with our families, and how to operate CPJ Field’s eFD, an innovative cloud hosted software platform for UK funeral directors, which combines automated processes, intelligent learning, and industry expertise to reduce the burden of administration.
2. The Funeral Home
Our training ensures an understanding of the way a funeral home runs, which is essential to both the smooth operation of the home and the high standards that we expect. Collecting and caring for the deceased person is very much the first priority, and this requires a level of knowledge around respectful mortuary care, such as washing and dressing the deceased person, embalming, and facilitating chapel visits for the family concerned.
3. Transport
We believe passionately in ensuring that a funeral is personalised to the families’ requirements. Our training teaches how to tailor and create bespoke funerals, and how to assist the family in every way, so that the burden is reduced, and the funeral is unique.
We train our team on the practical details, such as how to register a death and what administration is needed on liaison with hospitals, doctors, or coroners. We explain how to place a notice of death in a local or national newspaper, through to how to the liaise with a celebrant over the content of a funeral ceremony. A full demonstration of our client portal on our website allows a greater understanding of how to estimate funeral costs and manage a families’ deposits at the time that they are due.
4. Cremation
Training on the cremation process and how to manage them is an essential part of a funeral director or funeral arranger’s knowledge in order to be able to deliver advice and assistance on completing a cremation. This includes applications, digital submission of completed forms, how a ceremony at a crematorium takes place, and collection and delivery of ashes following the cremation.
5. Burials
Our team also needs a thorough understanding of the options around burials, and a good knowledge of the alternative burial sites, how to find a burial plot, and the costs involved. This training enables our team to answer the critical questions that our families ask us.
6. Different Faiths
Without an understanding of different faiths, communications with families would be difficult as circumstances are invariably individual in this regard. Different religious beliefs have varied preferences when it comes to burials or cremations, ashes protocols, or coffin use. Our team is trained to understand in detail what these preferences might be and, to be able to manage the funeral on the day to meet all concerns.
7. Local Knowledge & Information
Local knowledge is built up over time, however, the CPJ way includes training on where to find local sources to facilitate all that is needed in preparation for and on the day of the funeral. We have contacts in all relevant disciplines such as florists, printers, venues etc, so that there is a consistent approach to using local knowledge and the community.
8. Guiding the Family
Assisting the family at a difficult time when they are feeling overwhelmed is possibly the most important part of CPJ Field’s training programme. We train our team on how to help a family, should conflicts arise, plus how to give advice to families who are managing grieving friends at the time of the bereavement. Using our condolence pages on our website with obituaries for the person who has died, and how to receive charitable donations also forms part of our training programme.