A lot of body shop owners have made their personal attention and management so critical to their businesses that, on the off chance they try to take a week off every now and then, the whole shop falls apart. According to Bryan Dodge, principal at Dodge Development in Duncanville, Texas, that's as much the owner's fault as the employees'. Shop owners have to develop leadership and management skills in their employees so that the business can thrive (and grow) even if the owner isn't there.
In his Friday NACE session, "Building a Team that Works Without You," Dodge outlined strategies for getting employees to "work hard for you when you aren't there."
"You have to show up for them when you are there," Dodge said. "Money doesn't buy you loyalty. Loyalty comes from impacting their life. If they can become better people because they are part of your environment, then everybody around you will support what you are doing."
Dodge said that owners have to inspire employees to empower themselves. "This type of coaching takes a different mentality," Dodge said. "If you're a coach, you can't get on the field, so micromanagement is impossible. You have to prepare them."
Owners have to get over the mindset that they have to control too many things about the business. Identify good managers, support them, and delegate to them. Dodge said that requires owners to identify and build on the strengths and skills of each employee.
"Doing this will allow you take a vacation every once in a while," Dodge said. "Without it, a small business will stay small forever."
For small shops to grow, owners have to make their jobs fun again. "If you don't like what you do, you're not doing anybody any good," Dodge said. "You have to get engaged and get back in the game. The industry has gone through some tough times, and the tough times are now behind us. It's time to get creative and grow."
A key part of this coaching and management strategy is time control, which can help owners rebalance work and home. "Stop spending so much time on stuff that doesn't matter, and not enough on the things that do," Dodge said.
One complaint Dodge frequently hears from owners, however, is that they can't find good people. "There are good people in abundance," he said. "The reason you can't find them is that you can't attract them. Why would a good person go to work for someone who doesn't like what they do? There are too many people unemployed right now to think you can't find good people. I can walk out the door and find good people."
But to find, and retain, those good employees, Dodge says that owners have to re-engage in the part of the business that made them want to be shop owners in the first place, and support their existing employees in ways that can help them grow in their own positions.
