Across all industries, studies show that "the right person" is hired only 50 percent of the time. And each hiring mistake costs 15 times the person's base salary, says Geoff Smart, chief executive officer of management assessment firm ghSMART.
And now may be the time to hire more techs for your bays. "More wear and tear will take place. Your shops are going to be filled," says Mike Romano, regional VP of operations for Universal Technical Institute (UTI). "I'm looking at the amount of business they have and they're saying it's slowing down out here. I'm seeing cars lined up one after another. We definitely recognize that there's a demand there."
Smart's plan from his book, "The A Method for Hiring," emphasizes four easy steps to hire the right employees.
1) Use a Scorecard
The best managers want attitude and to train for skill, says Tyler Robbins, president of Automotive Training International. "Unfortunately, many managers and owners hire experience rather than attitude primarily because of the laziness factor, in that they are too lazy to train that new 'great attitude' individual and instead opt for the poor attitude, experienced individual."
Education is key in getting drivers to perform more regular maintenance on their vehicles. Part of training techs, says Romano, also means preparing them to work with and educate customers.
According to Smart, implementing the A Method will help evaluate candidates for skill and attitude. The first step is to create a scorecard spelling out the role you're hiring.
At the top of the scorecard, write your mission for the position. Add five to seven measurable goals the new hire will be expected to achieve. Complete the scorecard with a list of characteristics the person will need to succeed. After you interview each candidate, use the right-hand column to evaluate that person against each of the criteria.
2) Generate Candidates
Most shop owners don't recruit until they need to hire someone, which is the worst possible time to do so, says Bob Cooper, president of Elite, a Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., company that provides business-building solutions for the automotive industry.
Smart says cultivating personal and business networks are two successful ways to find qualified candidates. Brainstorm a list of 10 or more contacts who could refer job candidates to you. Then call each contact weekly and ask, "Who are the most talented people you know that I should consider hiring?"
Gene Morrill, owner of Certified Automotive Specialists in Glendora, Calif., advocates recruiting from technical programs. His company works with a local community college and a regional high school program, and he has successfully hired and groomed four recent graduates.
Romano says UTI has seen this demand for techs increasing and shifting from dealerships to independent shops. Now is a good time to align your shop with an institution like UTI to get more of these techs and complete this second step.
Networking and attending technical training classes are other ways of meeting potential employees, Cooper says, because it helps your company become less of a name and more of a face.
Remember that A players are usually employed. If you find a candidate you would like to interview or hire, consider calling them to introduce yourself and just say you would like to know what their career goals are.
3) Dig Deep in Your Interviews
When hiring technicians, one of most difficult challenges is assessing their technical abilities, says Russell McCloud, co-owner of Accurate Automotive Attention in Yuma, Ariz. If you use the A Method, it has a way of addressing any candidate's skill set.
The A Method's three-step interview process begins with a 45-minute phone call known as the Screening Interview. The goal is to eliminate the wrong candidates by asking these questions:
1) What are your career goals?
2) What are you really good at professionally? Please give me some examples.
3) What are you not good at or not interested in? Please give me some examples.
4) Who were your last five bosses, and how will they rate your performance when we talk with them (1-10)? Why?
When hiring technicians, gauge their technical abilities by asking specific questions about their job performances in comparison to their peers.
Candidates who pass the Screening Interview should be invited for a Topgrading Interview. Each candidate should spend three to four hours with you in the morning, followed by lunch with someone else and then three 45-minute interviews with others.
Begin by asking your candidate about his or her education and job history. Finally, ask them for their career goals.
For the three afternoon sessions, each interviewer should concentrate on one aspect of the outcomes section from your scorecard. Also ask the candidate for a list of top 10 people to call for references and speak with seven.
4) 'Selling Your Company'
Once you narrow down the candidates to the top one or two, sell them on the company.
Smart says to use the five Fs of selling: fit, family, freedom, fortune and fun. While this may seem like an exhausting process, compare the upfront investment with the lost time, money and even client goodwill when the wrong person is hired.
Angi Semler is director of operations at C&M Auto Service in Vernon Hills, Ill. She has more than 10 years' experience in the automotive aftermarket, including four with ABRN.
