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By Joe Marconi in Joe's Blog5 commentsI recently spoke with a friend of mine who owns a large general repair shop in the Midwest. His father founded the business in 1975. He was telling me that although he’s busy, he’s also very frustrated. When I probed him more about his frustrations, he said that it’s hard to find qualified technicians. My friend employs four technicians and is looking to hire two more. I then asked him, “How long does a technician last working for you.” He looked puzzled and replied, “I never really thought about that, but I can tell that except for one tech, most technicians don’t last working for me longer than a few years.”
Judging from personal experience as a shop owner and from what I know about the auto repair industry, I can tell you that other than a few exceptions, the turnover rate for technicians in our industry is too high. This makes me think, do we have a technician shortage or a retention problem? Have we done the best we can over the decades to provide great pay plans, benefits packages, great work environments, and the right culture to ensure that the techs we have stay with us?
Finding and hiring qualified automotive technicians is not a new phenomenon. This problem has been around for as long as I can remember. While we do need to attract people to our industry and provide the necessary training and mentorship, we also need to focus on retention. Having a revolving door and needing to hire techs every few years or so costs your company money. Big money! And that revolving door may be a sign of an even bigger issue: poor leadership, and poor employee management skills.
Here’s one more thing to consider, for the most part, technicians don’t leave one job to start a new career, they leave one shop as a technician to become a technician at another shop. The reasons why they leave can be debated, but there is one fact that we cannot deny, people don’t quit the company they work for, they usually leave because of the boss or manager they work for.
Put yourselves in the shoes of your employees. Do you have a workplace that communicates, “We appreciate you and want you to stay!”
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By Joe Marconi
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By carmcapriotto
The Weekly Blitz is brought to you by our friends over at Shop Marketing Pros. If you want to take your shop to the next level, you need great marketing. Shop Marketing Pros does top-tier marketing for top-tier shops.
Click here to learn more about Top Tier Marketing by Shop Marketing Pros and schedule a demo:https://shopmarketingpros.com/chris/
Check out their podcast here: https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/
If you would like to join their private Facebook group go here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/autorepairmarketingmastermind
The Weekly Blitz is brought to you by our friends over at Shop Marketing Pros. If you want to take your shop to the next level, you need great marketing. Shop Marketing Pros does top-tier marketing for top-tier shops.
Click here to learn more about Top Tier Marketing by Shop Marketing Pros and schedule a demo:https://shopmarketingpros.com/chris/
Check out their podcast here: https://autorepairmarketing.captivate.fm/
If you would like to join their private Facebook group go here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/autorepairmarketingmastermind
In this podcast episode, Coach Chris Cotton from Auto Fix Auto Shop Coaching hosts a conversation with Coach Al and Kevin, a service manager, about the importance of team culture in an auto repair shop. They share their experiences with team-building activities like axe throwing, camping trips, and Christmas parties, emphasizing how these events enhance employee relationships and work dynamics. The discussion also covers their thoughtful approach to hiring and the necessity of appreciating staff. Coach Chris admires their methods and reflects on the value of investing in employees, while Coach Al highlights the inclusion of these practices in their hiring process to attract and retain a committed workforce.
Culture and team building exercises (00:01:00) Discussion about the importance of culture and team building exercises in the auto repair shop industry.
Creating a positive culture (00:02:50) Description of the strong chemistry and positive culture in the shop, emphasizing the importance of mutual support and camaraderie among the employees.
Hiring process and culture fit (00:03:54) Insights into the hiring process, including assessing candidates for their skills and cultural fit through interviews and observations.
Annual Christmas party and other events (00:06:02) Details about the annual Christmas party and other team-building events organized throughout the year, such as axe throwing and other outings.
Christmas party preparations and employee appreciation (00:08:00) Discussion about the process of selecting personalized gifts for employees, the budgeting for the party, and the significance of showing employee appreciation.
Appreciating employees through events (00:11:15) Explanation of the financial investment in employee appreciation events, such as the Christmas party, as a reflection of the shop's commitment to valuing and retaining great employees.
Camping trip tradition (00:16:24) Origins and evolution of the annual camping trip, including the planning process, activities, and the inclusive nature of the event for employees and their families.
Inclusive camping trip and its cost (00:19:07) Inclusion of employees' families in the camping trip and an overview of the costs associated with organizing the event.
Maintaining order during the camping trip (00:20:32) Anecdote about managing noise levels and potential disruptions during the camping trip, highlighting the challenges of organizing a large group event in a campground setting.
Camping Trip Planning (00:21:57) Discussion on the timing and survey process for the annual camping trip organized for employees.
Employee Bonding (00:23:50) Kevin emphasizes the positive impact of team-building events on employee relationships and work dynamics.
Investing in Employees (00:25:27) The importance of investing in employees and showing appreciation for their efforts is highlighted.
Recruitment Strategy (00:26:05) Incorporating team-building events into recruitment discussions to emphasize employee appreciation and engagement.
Connect with Chris:
[email protected]
Phone: 940.400.1008
www.autoshopcoaching.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
AutoFixAutoShopCoachingYoutube: https://bit.ly/3ClX0ae
#autofixautoshopcoaching #autofixbeautofixing #autoshopprofits #autoshopprofit #autoshopprofitsfirst #autoshopleadership #autoshopmanagement #autorepairshopcoaching #autorepairshopconsulting #autorepairshoptraining #autorepairshop #autorepair #serviceadvisor #serviceadvisorefficiency #autorepairshopmarketing #theweeklyblitz #autofix #shopmarketingpros #autofixautoshopcoachingbook
Click to go to the Podcast on Remarkable Results Radio
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By Joe Marconi
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By Changing The Industry
The Basics of Owning An Auto Repair Shop - Balancing GP per Hour and Productivity
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By Changing The Industry
Episode 162 - Lauralee Schmidt on Repair Shop Economics and Social Media Slips
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bstewart
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ScottSpec
bstewart,
I am the creator of SMOTGO and the videos. We use it everyday to run our shop. We have a 5 bay shop. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. The shop I own is in Rockville, MD so we are not too far from you. I'm not necessarily trying to remain anonymous. I run a shop full time and this is my hobby/pet project. While I answer any and all questions via email, I am not in a position to offer any type of phone support at this time. So I don't broadcast the connection between my shop and the program to try to mitigate the phone calls.
I think you have already picked up on the weakest points of the program, the lack of integration. One of the biggest reasons for this currently is the lack of integration/support from parts and labor vendors. SMOTGO is a web app. Like you said cloud based. There are only 2 other apps. like this that I am aware of. Most of the integration out there is for desktop programs. I've been in touch with RealTime and they are supposed to notify me once they can support a web app. I have tried to contact WorldPac, but have not gotten very far. On there site they say they are working on integration with Omnique which is web app, so I have to believe they are still building the systems. I've had some discussions with Ramac and they are also working on something. So for now, if you go with a web app. you may find integration lacking. It is certainly my desire to have integration, but for now I have to wait for it to become more mainstream.
As you read on the site, we do as much as we can to protect your personal information. We have no interest in this info, in fact, you don't need to enter anything more than a last name and a tag number to create an invoice. I'm building a tool for shops like mine. I do hope to find some sponsors in time.
This app. is great for a shops that are just starting out as you said, but I think it is a bit more powerful than that. I think this app. can serve small and mid sized shops pretty well. It has a lot of features that some of the more established programs do not. No installation, no backups to worry about, no limit to the number of computers it is used on, runs on anything with a browser, can be used anywhere you have an internet connection. I love being able to check our schedule from home before I head into work. the employees love that also. The can check the schedule any time they want so they know what is going on. I can hang out with the kids at home with my laptop and work on invoices or inventory. While the integration is lacking at this time, there is a copy and paste feature which allows you to copy info from a catalog you already have and then paste those into an invoice. They can also be added to inventory at the same time.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Scott
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bstewart
Well said, Scott.
As I was playing around with the demo, I was rather impressed with the appointment page, it seems to work well.
I like the idea of anyone in the company being able to check the schedule before coming to work.
Is there any data stored on the server unencrypted? For example, if a credit card was put in as a note on a customer's account.
If godaddy was ever hacked, would the credit card be visible in a text file, or is everything encrypted on the server side?
Do you do all the programming yourself? That's impressive if you do.
I'll probably be sending you an email with a bunch of questions and some suggestions, but I have to say, great job.
Many of the software packages I've seen truly do have less features, and a lot are WAY overpriced for what you get.
As a future shop owner hopeful, I could definitely see myself using this software to get things going, and maybe continuing to use it with a few extra features added in the future!
Ps. Not sure if you thought I'm in Edmonton Kentucky, I'm actually in Edmonton Alberta Canada. Not exactly close to Maryland haha.
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marista
Started using Smotgo about 6 months ago. Like any software of this kind there are pros and cons. Some of the features seem a little tedious to me (inventory/purchase orders) - but overall I really like it.
Scott is very responsive to questions and suggestions for improving or changing things. The appt page was a big plus for me - I used to keep an excel spreadsheet - but I had to key everything in - it's great to just pull the customer and vehicle from the database when scheduling.
i agree to ability to access the info from basically anywhere is great. I've used my iphone countless times on the way in to the shop in the morning to check the schedules and order parts I forgot about the day before or to call customers if we have an issue getting in by opening time (are we done with winter yet?)
My only real concern is that if Scott closes shop - what happens to the site and all my info? And obviously, if the integration with labor times could be accomplished I might just be in heaven.
I would definitely recommend it.
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bstewart
Right on! This is exactly the type of thing I was looking for!
I'm glad you like it, and I've already found out that Scott is quick to respond.
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jfinn1976
I have also used this for awhile. It does lack integration with parts and labor guides, but it isn't a huge problem. It works fairly easy, and Scott has been constantly upgrading and has answered all my emails. A great feature is customers can sign up and look at their invoice history or stored notes and pictures that you have attached to the invoice. That is a nice feature. The ability to email out quickly from the app is great, Mitchell lacks that. The ability to mass email specials, discounts and such from the app is another great plus. This has worked out great for me as a small shop.
I can't thank you enough for this.
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CCS Auto Inc
Are you still offering the setup? I couldn't find anywhere to register or check it out.
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ScottSpec
CCS,
I stopped creating new accounts a few years ago. The system is still up and running with about 75 users, but it never developed they way I hoped, and since my time to continue supporting it is limited, I had to stop adding new users.
Scott
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CCS Auto Inc
Thank you for replying and letting me know. Guess I'll have to keep hunting for shop software.
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