Just ONE Thing
Why Auto Repair Shop Owners Are Losing Their Best People—And How to Fix It
Episode 196
with Rick White, 180BIZ
Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. My name is Rick White from 180BIZ and this is my Just ONE Thing. Let's get started.
We're talking about people leaving. Why? Because the reality is, you have people in your area that are absolutely poaching your best techs, your best advisors. It's happening all the time. So I just want to go through why your team is leaving, or could be thinking about leaving, and they're being poached all the time. So you want to make sure these are handled. Okay.
There are four reasons, and there's basically two fixes.
Number one reason why people are leaving is POOR MANAGEMENT. There's an old saying that says that people don't leave companies, they leave managers and that is 100% true. So what are you doing as a manager, as a leader to keep your team engage? That's the first thing—poor management.
The second is POOR WORK ENVIRONMENT. So poor management, poor work environment. Let's think about that for a second. That could mean outdated equipment, unsafe conditions, poor facility maintenance, right? You're not taking care of your business. You're not taking care of your facility. That's going to affect people wanting to come. But understand, poor work environment can also be due to being a toxic workplace, right? Lack of respect, poor management practices, etc. So you got poor management, poor work environment.
And then let's talk about the two no's and the two no's are NO GROWTH. Okay, no growth and no money, right? So what do I mean by no growth? The reality is you have, typically, a very flat organizational structure, and it has very few advancement paths. People can't see it. In fact, you can't see it. So here's what I want you to step back and think through. How can you show people an opportunity for growth? See, most of the time you're hiring somebody to fill a hole, and once that hole is filled, you feel better. And it's like, oh my gosh, thank God. I can just keep going.
Now let's go to the next thing I gotta deal with. But you gotta be able to step back and look at this. You gotta be able to step back and show these people how they're gonna get there, in this advancement path, right? You don't want them to feel like they're stuck. So this is super, super important. Okay?
So poor management, poor work environment, no growth.
And then the last one is NO MONEY. What do I mean by that? I gotta tell you something. I am sick and tired of shops, independent shops, telling themselves a lousy story about what they can and can't offer for paying benefits. You got to understand you are telling yourself a really crappy story. That's not true. You can't afford to pay somebody. You can't afford way at better pay and better benefits. “Oh, I can't afford what the dealers do,” or “I can't afford what the municipalities do.” That's not true. There's a reason why the dealers are charging more for labor. There's a reason why other shops are more expensive than you, and it's not because they're ripping people off. It's because they're recognizing you've got to be able to pay people to stay and show up. You got to get people so their basic needs are met, so that you can get them to stay now, you gotta stop telling yourself this lousy story. I want you to step back, and I want you to stop saying I can't, and I want you to start asking, How can I Okay? Because you can afford to. The reality is, auto repair is getting more expensive, and that's not just a fact. There's a shortage of help, you're gonna have to step up. Now this is a trickle down economy, which means that if your costs go up, you've got to charge more in order to get what you need and want. Does this all make sense to you?
So poor management, poor environment, no no path, right, no growth and no pay. Those are the four reasons why people are leaving.
And here's what you need to do. There's really two things.
Number one, you've got to SHOW THEM A PATH. You got to be able to give them a path, and maybe they don't change positions. But maybe they change their their skill set, right? So “hey, you're in here now as a solid line tech. We're going to get you to be a master tech. If that's what you want. You want to be a better line tech, we're going to help you do that.” Get it so that they can see growth. Now, where do we need to show them the biggest growth? Number one, there's gotta be a challenge at work, but here's the second. The second thing you've gotta be able to do is, you know, you gotta challenge them, but then help them see how they can achieve their dreams by helping you achieve yours. That's the big thing, right there. So show them the path. And then the second thing I've kind of already taught touched on.
The second thing is you got to STEP UP and YOU GOT TO PAY. One of the things I've been having shop owners do is I want you to call around. And I don't want you to call the cheapest shops in town. That's ridiculous. Don't let them set what you're going to do or not going to do. Here's what I want you to be able to do. I want you to step back and I want you to call the dealers. I want you to call the chain stores to see what they're charging for labor. Because that's what I want you to be. And here's the thing, to step back and even think a little further. Are you doing a better job than them? Are you? Because I'm willing to bet you are, and if you are, why are you cheaper? So that's just me pushing a little bit. You got nobody? Because here's the thing I say all the time, I want you to write this sucker down. Nobody's gonna value you until you do. Does that make sense? Nobody's gonna value what you do, how you do it, or anything like that, until you do, until you know your worth. Life isn't going to give you that, right? There's a really great poem, I don't have to look it up. There's a really great poem that basically says, I asked life for a penny and it would give me no more. And as I was struggling through life, I came to realize that if I asked for more, I would have gotten it, right? That's the thing.
Here's what I want you to do. Please share this video. Shop Owner Round Table next Thursday night, 7pm Eastern. Want to see you. I want to see anybody you know that might be struggling. Let's get them in there and we can start talking some things through.
Second thing, we have a Pocket Business Genius coming up next Thursday. You want a little bit more of yours truly. This is a great way to get it. You get a monthly webinar. You get the library. It's awesome, and it's really, really inexpensive.
If this is something you want, let's rock everybody.
I want to say, God bless. Have fun. Stay safe and go make some money this week, we'll see y'all next week, take care. Bye.
