Repair Shop Advice

The following article is a guest post from Bob Cooper of Elite.  It originally appeared in Elite’s Auto Shop Idea Center.

One of the challenges our industry has fought for years is finding and hiring qualified technicians. Here are 5 of the most successful techniques that I used to find the superstars when I was still operating shops.

1. Turn your employees into recruiters by saying, “Guys, you all know we need another technician, and I’d love to find someone that can not only produce, but someone that all of you enjoy working with. Now as you can imagine, I can invest a good amount of money in a recruiting campaign, but I’d rather see the money go into your pocket than into recruiting campaigns. So here’s what I’ll do: I’m sure you guys know other techs in the community, and I know that you meet them at training courses as well, so if you refer a really great tech to me, and if I hire them, then I’ll give you $2,000 on the first day they show up for work, and if they’re still with us after their 90 day probation, I’ll give you another $2,000. In essence, you can earn up to $4,000 for doing nothing more than helping me find another superstar just like you guys.”

Now before you jump to the conclusion that you’d never pay $4,000 as a referral fee, consider that not only is it an insignificant amount when you consider how much you’ll be paying a top tech, but just think of how much it will cost you if you hire the wrong tech. I have always been intrigued how so many people will not lay down a single dollar for a lottery ticket where they could win ten million dollars, but as soon as that jackpot gets to 100 million, you guessed it: People line up to buy the tickets. Interesting, isn’t it? It’s as though they’re saying “I’m not interested in ten million dollars, but when you offer 100 million, now you are talking real money, so you have my attention!” I have learned over the years that it’s the same with referral fees. The reward you offer has to be large enough to not only capture their attention, but it has to have that wow factor that brings results.

2. Ask every applicant for leads. When you have a tech or advisor filling out an employment application, always ask that they list two great techs they’ve worked with, or presently work with, as references. Not only can those references serve as a good source of info when you are performing your reference checks, but if you build relationships with the references during your calls, they may very well become employment candidates as well.

3. Make an offer that is hard to refuse. Go to your local dealerships, introduce yourself to the service manager, and say something like this: “Larry, the reason I wanted to speak with you is I am looking for a superstar technician with ___ experience. Now for the purpose of clarity, I’m not looking to recruit any of your employees; that’s not my interest Larry. What I’d like to do is speak with any of the superstars who have worked with you in the past, and for whatever reason, are no longer working with you here at your dealership. They may have gone on to another shop or dealership, and who knows, at this very moment they may not be very pleased with the company they’re currently working for. Now if you’re able to provide me with their names and contact info, or if you just reach out to them and have them contact me, this is what I’ll do for you… If I hire them, I’ll give you $2,000 on the first day they show up for work, and if they’re still with us after their 90-day probation, I’ll give you another $2,000. In essence, Larry, you can earn up to $4,000 for doing nothing more than putting me in touch with one of the superstar techs who has worked with you in the past, or that you may know of in our community.”

4. Sponsor a tool raffle. Tell your local tool truck driver that you will sponsor a raffle for a specific tool set, test equipment, etc. that has a value of $500. Now here’s how it works: You pay for the tools, the driver is able to sell raffle tickets at $5 each, and gets to keep all the ticket sales as well. The techs fill out each raffle entry with their contact info, and you get their names, phone numbers and email addresses.

5. Go to where the techs in your community go. Since techs are likely to have a quick lunch somewhere near their shop, consider grabbing a bite to eat at the fast food restaurants that are close to the shops and dealerships in your community. When the techs walk in at lunch time, all that you will need to do is introduce yourself to them, and strike up a casual conversation. Then you’ll just need to tell them you are looking for a superstar tech, hand them a business card, and the process has started.

In closing, the superstars are out there. All that you need to do is connect with them, then share your goals, your Mission Statement, the culture of your company, and how you can provide them with what every superstar is looking for: An opportunity to grow with an amazing shop, and help a lot of people along the way.

Since 1990, Bob Cooper has been the president of Elite (www.EliteWorldwide.com), a company that strives to help shop owners reach their goals and live happier lives, while elevating the industry at the same time. The company offers one-on-one coaching from the industry’s top shop owners, service advisor training, peer groups, along with sales, marketing and shop management courses. You can contact Bob at contact@eliteworldwide.com, or at 800-204-3548.

When it comes to finding employees, personality and character traits are more important than experience.  That’s one of the most important findings from Jim Collins’s Good to Great, one of the most influential business management books ever written.

The author is a Business School professor at the University of Colorado, and he worked with a research team of 20 people, gathering every piece of data he could from the most successful companies to try to identify the similarities between them.  He was looking for what makes a great company, using one of the biggest data sets ever compiled.

What the research team found was that the most successful businesses made a habit of hiring slowly and firing quickly, making sure that only great employees found a home.  Successful businesses were far more comfortable being short-staffed than they were being staffed with low-performers.

What makes for a great employee for your shop?  What does their work ethic look like?  Their sense of being part of a team?  Their desire to outperform?  Always doing what’s right?  If you get the right employee, they can help you deal with whatever challenges you encounter.  If you get the wrong employee, they will be the challenge, eating up all of the time you could be using to manage your shop for the benefit of yourself, your employees, and your customers.

This leads to another challenge: if you’re only willing to hire great employees, how do you find them, and how do you attract them to your shop?  With the shortage of technicians the industry is facing, it’s not going to be easy to attract the best employees.  In fact, your job solicitations will need to sell your shop.

Describe the type of work environment employees can expect when they come to work at your shop.  Tell them about the perks – and tell them what they can expect from their fellow technicians.  High-performers want to be surrounded with high-performers.  The same goes for integrity, customer-focus and truly caring about their fellow co-workers.  If you can create that environment, advertise that environment, and demonstrate that environment, you’ll attract the right kind of people to your shop.  It may not happen immediately, but it will happen.

Are you looking to attract great employees to your shop?  Let Repair Shop Websites help you recruit employees directly through your website!  Call us at 855.219.7506 or email Team_RSW@repairshopwebsdites.com to learn more!