What I felt compelled to write about after helping someone fill out an online application is this:  Dear Lord……please stop making it SO hard for people to send their initial application!!!!!  The entire process should take literally a few minutes not almost an hour for God’s sake!  

I get it…..I really do.  I used to be a stickler for having the entire application filled out right off the bat.  And I do still advocate for a full application collected in the hiring process.  I want that application that requests information that I want to know versus the resume which is information the candidate wants me to know.  I still believe that this is very important and can lead to discovering critical information about your candidate.  I’ve simply changed my mind about WHEN I want that information.  And if you just can’t see your way to changing it, PLEASE don’t put fields like date of birth on your application.  Are you asking for a ADEA (Age Discrimination) suit?  Again, another article.  

But seriously, times have changed people.  We are not living in the same world we did even 5 years ago.    My perspective has changed in the last few years and I believe that we need to keep it simple and make the process faster.   Get the long tiresome application later in the hiring process.  Please.  

Why you ask?  

Well, I’ll tell you.  It’s pretty simple really.  

Because you are going to lose candidates.  

We are operating in a very interesting employment environment.  In the beginning of October the Department of Labor posted that for the 18th month in a row there were more job openings that people to fill them.  Think about that for a minute.  For a year and a half employers have been in competition for candidates that have a LOT of options.   

Additionally, we have historically low unemployment rates AND the workforce is filling with new generations.  Did you know that in just 4 very short years that 75% of our entire workforce will be made up of Generation Z & Millennials?  To top this off our Boomer generation is finally retiring—not only leaving a physical talent gap but also a skills gap.  In our industry, many of these Boomers hold our top management position.  Do you have a succession plan for this? 

So………..

So, we have candidates with options, very different wants and needs, who are doing EVERYTHING with their phone—and won’t be spending an HOUR to fill out an application for a position they MIGHT want to take.  Chances are they are already working and if they are dissatisfied and looking for a new employer they are going to apply with the company that gets them.  And if you don’t make the process quick and easy—that’s not you.  

So, rethink your application process—who knows what amazing new talent you are missing and gifting to the competition with an archaic process.  The talent pool is smaller than the ocean of open positions plus they are vastly different in their expectations.  

So, don’t be so old school in your recruiting strategies.  Update your thinking, update your process, update your application, update your ATS (my favorite is www.automotohr.com).  Make it simple, easy, and mobile friendly.  Talk to candidates—sell them on your dealership and your employee value proposition (yes, another article)—THEN once YOU know you want them, and THEY are convinced they want YOU—get them to fill out the application.  

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One symptom of the technology drought is Service Managers getting in bidding wars for technicians. The need of tech capacity in a certain specialized skill can be an emergency situation. Responding to fill the need this way can generate up the cost (and customer price) of labor and often the rate associated with technician attrition. Sometimes, techs obtain “stupid” offers from aggressive dealerships of high dollar flat price compensation that they either bite upon, and leave their current employment, or end up getting a raise to stay in their present location. “Well, the candidate called back and thanked us for the offer but said he was presented with a lot more money to stay” … sound familiar?

So how do we all proactively prepare and posture ourselves to make the best of this situation and make up for the lack of ready-trained technicians in the marketplace these days?

The constants I see that dealers can impact when considering how to attract and retain high quality techs are three-fold.

1. Continuously recruiting and doing a great job in putting our best foot forward when looking for and enticing tech staff to the dealership to begin with.
2. “Building” our own technicians from entry level quick service candidates, tech school graduates or attendees and current workers wanting to move into being a mechanic.
3. Tech retention strategies that will hopefully preempt the tech from searching elsewhere due to discontent.

The First Impressions

First of all this is a category that we should always be interviewing for and have our search engines bringing us candidates. Do not let your guard down. You never know when you are going to need one more tech, in fact you probably need 2 right now! Position your car dealership and department as a superior work place with an employee focused management strategy.

Dealers have to step up and cater to a technician’s needs and desires to attract and keep a top-quality team. Of course, financial gains are not the only focus the tech has when considering an employer. Certain cash is king, but let’s face it, there are a large number of reasons that make being a technician rewarding…. or the opposite. Here is just a short list of the issues a dealership might want to consider in their efforts to catch the attention of Techs:

• An accommodating but respected Service Manager they like!!! (Yes they have to LIKE you! )
• Liberal sign-on Bonus deals after probationary period
• Climate Controlled and comfortable work environment
• Generous vacation considerations. Illustration; 2 weeks Paid Vacation after two years of service
• Weekly paychecks and Spiff incentive programs
• Medical, dental and eyesight insurance available
• Car discounts for employees and family
• Tuition reimbursement plan for qualified technical institutes
• Healthcare & dental insurance availability
• 401K retirement plan with matching contribution
• Supplemental life insurance availability
• Short term and long term disability available
• Paid training / Technician guild program
• Employee and customer referral plan
• Well being program (Gym membership, etc . )

Building the machine to build the machine

The most profitable shops at keeping and developing technicians from scratch have mentoring programs that are a win, win, win situation.

• The Mentor wins – He is compensated for trainee creation ongoing based on the productivity of the student. This gives him “Skin in the game”
• The Mentee wins – Certainly an effectively trained apprentice advances into a highly desired, well compensated tech in the best scenarios.
• The Car Dealership wins – Profitability and Client satisfaction soar with a stable and improving workforce.

There is another factor that makes a big difference overall in the quality of production coverage you can offer. Lack of specialization. The strategy associated with employing well rounded techs plus training apprentice and journeymen technicians alike in EVERY aspect of just about EVERY specialty. A greater percentage of your technical staff members being able to “clean a ticket” is a productivity “super-food” …. Imagine all operations on a repair order being able to accommodated by the very first person that pulls the car into the store.

Cheaper to Keep ‘ Em

In reality, keeping top talent is an even more pressing use than recruiting and expanding technicians. The same types of programs you might be attracting new hires with need to lavish seasoned techs with the “what’s-in-it-for-me” that goes beyond the paycheck.

Consider your techs and what makes it respond positively.

• Embellish your own tech incentive and spiff applications, run quarterly or bi-annual competitions.
• Hold regular meetings and do employee surveys to listen to their insight and make appropriate changes per their suggestions.
• Allow senior staff special scheduling considerations and rewards for a work well done.
• Create a “Brag Board” where accomplishments, anniversaries and exclusive milestones can be displayed for colleagues to see.

Often what people really want is recognition for excellence. By maintaining your focus on your top achiever’s accomplishments, you give them each a jolt of motivation with the same time align your up and coming personnel with a prime role model plus path to excellence.

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