[PODCAST] Attract, Develop, and Retain Top Automotive Talent

If you want to build a successful auto repair shop that operates without you, you need a solid team.

But where do you start?

I joined Carm Capriotto on his podcast along with 4 awesome shop owners and we took a deep dive into the 3 main areas that need to be covered if you want to attract and retain top talent.

Here’s a sneak peek at what we discussed:

ATTRACT

When you are able to market your shop effectively, it becomes much easier to attract a constant flow of high quality employees.

Russell Crosby, owner of Russ’s Wrench Auto Repair in Clinton, NJ shared a great strategy for attracting top talent.

Russ was encouraged by his 20 group to start sharing the unique things that he does for his employees on social media like hiring massage therapists and personal trainers.

When it came time to find a COO for his business, Russ posted an ad and one of the applicants came in and mentioned that he had been following the shop on Facebook for two years watching all of the things that they do for employees before he decided to apply.

Remember, folks are stalking your business on social media. Your customers and potential employees are constantly checking you out online. So you want to be posting regularly and giving people an inside look at what it’s like to work at your shop.

DEVELOP

When you develop your employees into high-performing, self-managing teams, it gives you a real business that operates without you.

Roy Niemi owner of A & D Auto & Body Repair in Haslett, MI shared how he hates hiring and firing so he set up an apprenticeship and mentoring program that works.

He shares the steps he goes through to bring new techs onboard and get them trained up. He also shares how creating this system has allowed him to build a deep bench of talent he can draw from when he needs help in a pinch.

If you plan to own your shop 5 years from now, you need to be recruiting constantly. And the best way to recruit is from the warm market of a deep bench.

RETAIN

When you implement strategies for closing the revolving door in your shop, the rock stars you’ve taken the time to attract and develop don’t get poached.

Rob Morrison, owner of Morrison's Auto Rite in Jamaica Plain, MA had two great insights into what it takes to keep good employees.

First Rob mentioned that he’s constantly focused on assessing his team and compensating them accordingly. His goal is to make it so that it's difficult for another shop to take one of his employees for a buck an hour or something like that.

He also stressed the importance of being interested in their personal lives. He hired a life coach slash mental health coach, as someone to help employees vent their issues. This is someone they can talk to in a safe zone and it has really paid off. Several of his staff members came to thank him for caring enough to even consider doing something like that.

When your employees know that you care about them, they care about your business.

I’ve just scratched the surface here. There are lots more gold nuggets in the podcast.