Yellow flags usually indicate caution, and that is what this post is about. Things to be cautious of when looking to transfer or additionally align with a new Training Center or Training Site. For clarification, we use the term Additional Alignment rather than Secondary Alignment, as Instructors can now have more than 2 alignments.
We’ve previously posted about the Top 10 Things to Find out when Switching your Training Center Alignment. There are some good tips there as well.
So here is our Yellow Flag list of Caution:
The Training Center or Site only wants you to additionally align, they do not want you to transfer
This is a yellow flag because it means they may not want to be responsible for you as an instructor and how you teach. According to the AHA, the Primary Training Center is responsible for the actions (or inactions/errors) of all the Instructor aligned with them. Whether directly or indirectly through a Training Site aligned with them. If you as an instructor make a mistake, and your student calls the AHA to complain, the AHA will give the student the contact information for your Primary TC to handle the complaint. Even if you are teaching under another TC/TS and your roster and eCards are issued through your secondary or additional alignment, your primary alignment is ultimately responsible for your actions as an instructor.
By suggesting/recommending that you do not transfer or have an additional alignment they will receive revenue from you through your purchase of eCards and other items with no responsibility for how you teach those classes.
The Training Center promises to make you a Training Site right away, even if you don’t have the required minimum of 5 Instructors and/or teach a minimum of 250 participants annually
This is a large yellow flag. The AHA PAM defines the criteria to be a Training Site. Individual Instructors cannot be a Training Site on their own. If you have at least 5 Instructors and you have a strong track record of growth, creating a Training Site with a history of training less than 250 participants annually might not be a yellow flag if your projections show you will meet that benchmark.
The Training Center never talks to you individually. Only in groups or electronically
This is a large yellow flag. If your only contact with the Training Center was filling out an online form or a webinar-style meeting, then you are just potentially a name on a list. They know nothing about you. Will you be able to contact them with questions? Will they support or mentor you?
A Training Site tells you they will make you a Training Site
This is a large yellow flag. Training Sites do not have Training Sites underneath them. The Business model for the AHA Training Network only has only 3 levels: The AHA which authorizes Training Centers, and Training Centers that Align Training Sites and Instructors, and Aligned Training Sites that have at least 5 Instructors.
You are a new Instructor and the Training Center or Training Site tells you they will make you Training Faculty
This is a yellow flag. The definition and role of Training Faculty are loosely defined in the PAM. But generally Training Faculty teach Instructor Essentials classes and provide monitoring and support for Instructors. If you’re a new Instructor, do you have the knowledge to mentor and teach others? Training Faculty should be experienced with the AHA Training Materials, be able to support Instructors to use those materials correctly, and be proficient in the content and skills of the courses they teach.
A question to ask yourself: How well would you learn how to be an AHA Instructor if you were trained by someone who was brand new and not familiar with AHA policies and training materials? A Training Center is only as good as the quality of their Instructors. Inexperienced Training Faculty are doing a disservice to the AHA Mission.
The Training Center or Site is actively recruiting for Instructors to align
This isn’t always a yellow flag, but one to still exercise caution. Training Centers receive discounts from ShopCPR based on the volume of their purchases. So the more eCards and other products they purchase, the steeper their discount. Small Training Centers will typically have smaller discounts than large or mega Training Centers. (We unofficially define a mega TC as having thousands of Instructors.) In order to offer low eCard prices to their Instructors, or to increase their profit, they need to purchase more from the AHA. Having more Instructors aligned and purchasing from them helps them with this.
In addition for small Training Centers, if they are close to the minimum numbers of students trained annually, they will be looking to grow their Instructor base to meet those numbers.
We’ve heard of some large and mega Training Center cold-calling Training Sites and sending out unsolicited emails to lure Training Sites to transfer to them. While it could be for volume discounts, we’re wondering if they’ve been flagged by AHA Compliance. Bringing quality Training Sites under their Training Center will improve their reputation.
At Coastal CPR & First Aid we do not solicit Instructors to align with us. Whether directly with our Training Center or through one of Training Sites, we start any alignment discussion with a conversation. We talk to you. Because we might not be the right fit for each other and we should figure that out first. We don’t have the cheapest eCard prices, but we also don’t have the most expensive. We’re kinda in the middle which works well for us. We expect our Training Sites and Instructors to follow the AHA Guidelines and policies; and our Training Center policies. We send out regular communication, have an online Instructor Portal, and every Instructor has our phone number they can call or text.
What are some other Yellow Flags you’ve seen?