Boss away, employees play.

[CAautogroup]

Anyone else encounter this problem? I get the feeling as of though when I am out of the shop or "trying" to take a day off, the techs and mechanics seem to not act the same and relay different information to customers than when I am personally there. My manager does not seem like the type of person to push people to work when i am not there, but does when I am.

 

Wait times for diagnostics are quoted longer, customers wait longer and many just leave since we "don't have the parts" yet we usually just order them from a local parts store when I am there. Cell phone use has also sky rocketed which I cannot stand!

 

How would you handle this?

 

I appreciate all your thoughts and opinions in advance.

 

Thanks!

[mspecperformance]

Is your staff on incentive based pay?

[Joe Marconi]

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[Mike Walter]

I agree with Joe 110%. I made the transition to offsite owner back in Sept. It wasn't easy and I am still working on ALOT of items to be sure my business will continue to grow. I could not have done it without already having the right people in place. Its all about competent, trustworthy employees. Getting your business to grow is one thing, but you cannot do it without the right people that want to help you to grow.

[APM]

Joe and Mspec have it right.

 

In order for you to remote manage your shop, your employees need to understand what their responsibility is to the shop and most importantly, your customers. A couple of elements go into making this possible: incentives and accountability. Your techs should be incentivized to do their best work and more of it. Instead of being paid to just be there (aka hourly), they should be paid based on how many quality inspections and repairs they are doing. This also allows you to hold them accountable. If your tech is only getting through 2 cars a day with a below average ARO, then you should be able to track that and hold them to an established standard. The other element is having a 10 minute meeting every morning to reestablish the shops culture and goals. This is also a great place for employees to let you know their concerns that might otherwise be holding them back from being productive.

 

Ratchet + Wrench had a great article about establishing a successful shop culture, which I highly encourage you to read. www.ratchetandwrench.com/RatchetWrench/May-2014/Creating-a-Successful-Shop-Culture/

[FROGFINDER]

When the cat is away the mice will play.