Last time, we looked at recruitment and offered some tips on how to find qualified and entry-level technicians. This time, we’ll examine the second of the Three Rs—Retention.
Once you’ve found a qualified technician and invested in the training necessary, protecting that investment is more important than ever before. Retaining both new and existing technicians is also something that requires a bit more attention these days. While compensation packages and benefits are important, job satisfaction trumps both when it comes to keeping your best technicians happy and productive. Here again, benefits like ongoing training and offering things such as incentives for achieving ASE certification shows your commitment and appreciation for the professionals you employ. Make no mistake about it, qualified truck technicians are professionals and should be treated as such. Showing respect for the talents and abilities we all need on the shop floor is the keystone to building the self-confidence necessary for good employee morale, which itself is at the heart of job satisfaction.
Another important factor in building team spirit is engagement. You have to demonstrate that each technician is an integral part of your organization’s overall success. Accomplishing this can be as simple as holding regular shop meetings where you bring everyone into the loop on what goals are established and how your organization is doing in meeting those goals. Competition improves the breed. If your fleet operation maintains multiple service operations around the country, establishing clear objectives and measuring each service location against the other in meeting those objectives instills a sense of shared responsibility that enhances teamwork and cooperation. Regularly recognizing everyone’s efforts towards meeting these goals reinforces the importance of each individual contribution. It doesn’t matter if it’s shooting for a reduction in productivity-robbing injuries or setting a new bar for unit maintenance in a month––establishing and achieving goals builds self-confidence and enthusiasm.
But perhaps the greatest tool you have in keeping your best employees productive and happy is an effective technician development program. It’s another opportunity to set effective goals in the areas of training and certification, which not only builds self-esteem, it increases the capabilities and knowledge of your workforce. The increases in productivity, first-fix accuracy and job performance also result in impressive ROIs for shop managers. Everyone wins.
Retention is all about communication. It’s no secret that it’s a lot more cost-effective to keep a good technician, rather than having to replace one. Regular performance reviews provide the opportunity for coaching and feedback to identify areas of excellence and needed improvement. But more than that, it demonstrates that respect for the talents and dedication I mentioned earlier. The most successful managers realize that a simple occasional pat on the back does more to build and keep a high-performance team than just about anything else.
Next time, we’ll finish up this series by examining how recognition ties it all together, and take a look at some of the ways you can use existing industry programs to make your shop operation sing!