The automotive repair industry is growing more competitive and complex by the day. In order to succeed, repair shops need to focus, not only on working within the shop but working on the shop itself.
Currently, the automotive industry is grappling with a severe labor shortage. It is estimated that 624,000 technicians will be needed by the year 2024. This is where shop owners really need to focus on hiring a quality team of technicians that are just as passionate about learning and growing with the industry as repair shop owners do.
What Are The Best Tips For Running A Successful Auto Repair Mechanic Shop?
When striving to be the best auto repair shop, it would be wise to look at those who are operating successfully. Here are some of their best tips to optimize your establishment.
1. Hire The Right Workers
Hiring the right person from day one will help you reap many benefits. The right person must not only be highly skilled and qualified out the gate, but they must also fit in with the company’s mission and culture.
If this is not done from the start, this highly qualified person’s time at your establishment will be short-lived. Having an employee referral program might prove beneficial as your current team can play a great role in promoting you to their peers.
2. Invest In Training And Development
The Work Institute released a report that revealed that three in four employee turnovers can be avoided by offering more perks, such as career development. In fact, 20% of employees quit their job due to this issue.
It’s not about making your technicians read tomes the size of War and Peace in order to stay ahead of the newest trends. With advancing technology, more virtual reality and video are being used to help train and develop workers in the industry.
3. Invest In Auto Repair Shop Management Software
To stay ahead of both the competition and the technological advances, it would be a wise choice to invest in an auto repair shop management software.
It would greatly facilitate communication through the automation of a vast range of channels including inspection approvals, live in-app booking, scheduling, invoicing, repair estimates, accounting, and so much more.
4. Get Social
In this increasingly digital world, having a modern, intuitive website, along with an engaging social media presence is just the bare minimum to get noticed in this noisy world of ads and mounting competition.
A blog that aims to speak to its audience in layman’s terms in order to educate, provide value, and establish trust is also a must. Setting up an editorial calendar to schedule out content, themes, and topics will ensure that you will provide meaningful and strategic articles that could facilitate a conversion.
5. Aim For Employee Retention
The National Institute For Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) reported that as much as 42 percent of technicians leave their place of work in just the first two years. The main reasons they give for leaving include: seeking higher pay, not being sufficiently challenged, and feeling less than inspired.
Repair shops can also mitigate this by offering career development and paying a competitive, if not above average salary. If you keep your workers happy, you will keep your customers happy as well.
Differentiate Yourself
There are just as many repair shops as there are make and models of vehicles on the road. It all comes down to how you run your shop that will make a difference in how you stand out from the competition.
If you put effective processes in place, hire the right people and retain them, stay on top of the trends, and even hire a coach for other more complex manners, you will be able to differentiate yourself from your competitors.