Marketing gurus say it’s less expensive to keep an existing customer than it is to go out and attract a new one. The same can be said for a good technician. There has been a lot written through the years about a technician shortage. In research we’ve conducted on this subject, we found that roughly one-third of shop owners are looking to hire a “qualified” technician. Once you find that coveted technician, you want to have the right features in your shop to make him or her say, “Yes, I want to come work for you.”
Now the new hire is an employee, and you want to do everything you can to keep him or her accurately and efficiently fixing vehicles, and making money for your business.
With the goal of providing you with ideas to improve employee retention, Babcox Research asked a sample of shop owner readers for their ideas on this topic. We received dozens of great responses, so thank you to those of you who responded. Here are a few we picked from the bunch.
10 Ideas to Improve Employee Retention
1. Share the profits and treat them with respect.
2. Give them a clean, well-lit environment to work in.
3. Make sure there is open communication between the shop owner and the technicians; make employees part of the decision-making process.
4. Pay an honest wage to acknowledge and reward their ASE certifications.
5. Recognize employees for their accomplishments at work and outside the shop.
6. Make sure they have the right tools and equipment to minimize errors and ensure the best outcome for each job. Also, offer easy access to repair information.
7. The shop must have good morale; get rid of the people who create conflict.
8. Offer a good compensation plan with incentives, but, make sure your techs understand the responsibility and accountability that goes along with it.
9. Run a good, productive shop that charges enough to compensate your employees. Work with reliable suppliers (good availability and quick delivery).
10. In addition to the normal benefits (medical and life insurance, uniforms, paid vacation, etc.), the shop must pay for training and the techs’ time away from the shop.
