We just returned from a dealer training event with our major supplier. There we got to rub elbows with dealership personnel from across the country and Canada. Though it got off to a rough start by humorously being singled out of the crowd by the kick off speaker as "the one most likely to be wondering if I will be here next time" (just wait 'til I show those young whipper-snappers next year), the training got better by the class.
I returned home (Johnny Carson's character Aunt Flabby always yelled "Never say HOME to an old person!") and found myself reflecting on a fertilizer spreader full of information gleaned from the journey. The topic here was the training on "Hiring and Retaining Professional Service Technicians." Now, this is a problem or there would not have been a class pertaining to the issue. I am sure none of you have ever had this problem right — and if the sentence ended there with a question mark, it would have been a dumb one.
We all would like to hire a good, easy-going farm boy who enjoys being a gearhead and turning wrenches. You have a better chance at hiring the tooth fairy. These kids just do not exist anymore.
#1: the number of farmers is less than 2% of the population. That is a small section of the population, then #2: the kids are 50/50 male/female and that cuts it down to less than 1% (I admit, I did have a dealer state they hired a female tech, but now you ARE talking micro demographics) and then look at your 'farmers.' If they are real big-time operators, do we think their kids are changing a wiring harness on a 100-degree day on some big unit on your payroll? Therefore, we are looking for five leaf clovers growing in a gravel road.
One dealer said when they dropped the drug test, they were finally able to hire a couple of techs. We laughed, but he protested, and he was serious. Our work group all agreed we were on the look-out for celibate, workaholic, gear headed, part-time monks. Seriously, the constant search for Big Hands is lessened if we but retain the help we have. A book was written on this topic but in short, we must appreciate these tech guys more, pay them better, communicate with them better, reward good accomplishments and change their boring routines time to time. Balancing inclusion, appreciation and finance is a mandatory 3-prong approach to retain the mechanics and parts personnel one wishes to keep.
A new topic hit me at this point, a different aspect of right to repair. These aforementioned Big Time Operators (BTO'S) are hiring the best techs and offering them a relative life of luxury. This has been a small issue in the past, but is hitting all-time highs. Why should BTO's hire us dealers to send out our techs at $100+ an hour when they can hire the tech for less than half this? With right to repair, they have little need now for the dealer's service, except for warranty. Also, the top techs can go out on their own and supplant the dealer at much less overhead, and thus they lower the charge per hour or job to our customers. Got shivers running down your spline yet?
Well, it is not catastrophic, yet. There are many of you out there with success stories that give us hope. Most employees realize the security of working for a good dealer. Many techs even refer talent to their dealerships (and we should reward them for this good behavior).
The takeaway is this: always be on the hire for technical talent. They are out there. They are elusive. They may have to be "raised." They may not be what fits your ideal mold. But they are out there. Therefore, always be a "Happy Perpetual Tech Hunter" or you had better be: your absorption rate will depend on it.
'Til next time, wishing you an abundance of smiles, profits and wrench turning, electrical genius, technical service persons.
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Told from the perspective of an in-the-trenches owner/operator — Tim Brannon of B&G Equipment, Paris, Tenn. — Equipment Dealer Tips, Tales & Takeaways shares knowledge, experiences and tips/lessons with fellow rural equipment dealerships throughout North America. Covering all aspects required of an equipment dealership general manager, Brannon will inform, entertain and provide a teachable moment for current — and future — leaders within equipment dealerships. |
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