How things change! A few, short months ago, who could have predicted the economic situation we find ourselves in today? These are uncertain times –– an environment most of us probably have not experienced previously.
There were signs of stress in trucking, mostly driven by the irrational escalation in oil prices. The tightening credit situation has further reduced freight tonnage, caused fleets to extend equipment replacement cycles and created an excess labor capacity in drivers and the maintenance shop.
These are all challenging factors. But they also present opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked.
Opportunity No. 1 is time. While the lack of time can affect fleet maintenance, causing non-critical equipment maintenance or repairs to be postponed, now there may be time and labor resources to reduce that maintenance backlog.
I’ve heard anecdotes of fleet managers using unassigned drivers to help with PM activities in the shop, freeing up skilled technicians to perform heavier overhaul and repair jobs. Facility maintenance is another area that falls into this category and creates work environment improvements that benefit you for years.
Opportunity No. 2 is technician development. Taking a technician off the shop floor for a day or more is a tough proposition for the fleet manager when the workload is close to exceeding capacity. But now may be the time when you can better afford to train and develop your experienced technicians to increased productivity down the road.
In short, I suggest taking the long view. Protect your assets –– primarily your experienced technicians –– by increasing their value, both to themselves and to your organization. Developing skills of new technicians is an expensive proposition. But the investment can pay dividends immediately and in the future.
When I worked in retail automobile sales, we figured it cost about $300 per car to attract a new buyer, but virtually nothing to sell that buyer their second car, provided we treated them well in the service department. The same holds true for technician retention.
At the same time, resist the temptation to abandon your technician recruiting activities. Again, take the long view –– recruiting is a process, not a task. If you have a process in place with a local technical school to help develop and identify up-and-coming talent, for instance, cultivate it. Even though you may not have the same entry-level opportunities today as you may when the economy improves, you may find an individual worth investing in. And later, when you need to step up your recruiting, you will have developed a relationship with that source of talent.
To a certain extent, we’re in unchartered waters, given the current economic environment. It’s clear that over the short term there will be extreme pressure on fleet maintenance operations to reduce costs. Considering the long view might pay dividends now and again when things return to normal –– whatever “normal” is.