In a recent column, I mentioned that earning several automaker shop certifications has been a big focus within my business over the last 12-18 months. A major step toward that has been achieving I-CAR Gold Class status. That’s required a significant commitment by everyone in the company, but I truly believe it’s going to pay off. Here’s what I can tell you about our experience.
Although financial considerations probably shouldn’t be the primary focus, there’s no doubt that Gold Class is not an inexpensive endeavor. We invested about $33,000 in training alone last year, almost all of that going toward I-CAR training. Granted, we hadn’t done a lot of I-CAR training previously, so we had a lot of ground to cover initially. But even moving forward, I estimate it will cost us about $10,000 a year to maintain Gold Class status.
We have some powerful incentives for making that commitment, however. First, I believe it will help us improve productivity and quality. That may be hard for us to measure precisely, but it’s something I believe.
Second, in addition to needing Gold Class status for some of the OEM certification programs, some insurers in our market began requiring Gold Class last year as part of their direct repair programs.
Unlike some DRP requirements that just require the shop to plunk down some money, such as for, say, a certain piece of equipment, earning Gold Class requires buy-in from all your employees as well. They have to commit the time to complete the training and testing.
That’s where the efforts I’ve made in developing a culture of trust within our company has helped pay off. They’ve come to trust that we’re not just asking them to do something for no good reason. That’s not to say there haven’t been a few grumblings about all the classes they’ve had to take, but for the most part, they appreciate the training and understand there’s a reason behind it. They may not always see the value immediately, but they generally believe we will all benefit over time.
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Going from zero to Gold Class in a short period of time has some downsides. Occasionally, some employees have had to take a class or two that weren’t as relevant to their jobs as other courses might have been if we weren’t trying to earn so many Gold Class points in such a short period of time. So I’d recommend getting started further ahead of any deadline you set for yourself to achieve Gold Class.
I’d also recommend making an effort to identify the best I-CAR instructors in your area and sending your staff to their classes whenever possible. Some of these instructors are clearly interested in making the industry better. One in our area, in particular, has not only been a good trainer, but also has helped me as I coordinate getting my team the training needed to reach our Gold Class goal.
I know some shops have hired an outside consultant, paying them a small monthly fee to track what training individual technicians need to sustain the shop’s Gold Class status, getting them registered for training and sending them reminders about upcoming classes. As I said, all that can be a daunting task. At my company, that has fallen on my shoulders, and that’s why I’ve appreciated the local I-CAR instructor who has helped me with it.
But I also know I-CAR offers help with this as well. Once your company has been designated as “Road to Gold,” I-CAR assigns a staff member to help you understand and meet the requirements.
Lastly, I know some shops require employees to sign contracts obligating them to repay some of the shop’s investment in their training if they leave the company within a set period of time. I don’t do that. My opinion is that investing in an employee’s training is just a risk my company takes in trying to improve. I can’t remember where I heard this years ago, but it has always stuck with me: “Which is worse: To train employees and have them leave, or not train employees and have them stay.” I will never forget that. I believe in it whole-heartedly.
