Dealership fixed-ops departments require educated and well-trained employees to succeed, making the current technician shortage a devastating blow to long-term viability. Taking steps to boost recruitment and retainment during this challenging period is more important than ever.
On this episode of Inside Automotive, host Jim Fitzpatrick is joined by Ryan Haskell, fixed-ops director at Jeff Wyler Automotive Family. Now, Haskell shares his playbook for attracting and keeping high-quality employees and boosting service department performance regardless of the labor market.
Key Takeaways
1. Improvements in automotive performance and unaffordable car prices have pushed consumers to keep their vehicles longer. This has led to a more strategic approach to fixed-ops, where longevity and reliability are prioritized through comprehensive services.
2. Haskell has developed a “technician playbook” to help technicians navigate the modern fixed-ops career path. This playbook includes training strategies, identifies achievable goals, studies key growth metrics, and outlines compensation levels, all of which help set a structured career progression for technicians.
3. Effective recruitment strategies, including leveraging employee referrals with incentives and building relationships with local high schools and technical schools to attract new talent, are more important now than ever. Community engagement helps dealers maintain a steady influx of potential employees, offsetting fluctuations in the national labor market.
4. Haskell emphasizes the importance of offering substantial benefits to fixed-ops employees, such as work-life balance, performance bonuses, and professional growth opportunities. He advocates for fair compensation and benefits that align with the demanding nature of any auto technician’s work.
5. Dealers will need to continue adapting to changes in the fixed-ops space, particularly with the introduction of electric vehicles. Innovative customer engagement strategies like video multi-point inspections can enhance the service experience and foster direct interaction between technicians and customers.
"Leveraging word of mouth is really important. We have these kids there that enjoy where they're working, so why not have them tell their friends and say, 'I have this great workplace, I have a great opportunity, come join me, and come have fun and learn a lot while we're doing it.' And then we compensate those employees as well to make sure that if they are bringing a friend on, we're giving them referral bonus." — Ryan Haskell
