Invest in internships to create a pipeline of talent for your business

May 24, 2017
The first step in creating a pipeline of talent is to develop the process that grows talent, followed by the acquisition of the people you put into that process.

Focusing on training and making a commitment to enable the people on your team to become the best at what you need them to do is a noble and worthy task; however, it is of no use if you don't have anyone to train. Many times I hear the statement, "I don't want to train my people because they'll just leave, and I'll have to train their replacements." Or "I don't want to grow my team's skills because they'll leave and start their own shop." In either case, finding new workers is becoming more difficult. Let’s look at that in more detail.

The most successful operators are those who invest in their people with the goal of growing a successor, creating advancement opportunities for their team by adding new locations or will help them open their own business. The act of investing in people instills a strong bond and loyalty that pays dividends. If your manager or lead technician learns enough to have the confidence to strike out on his or her own, you should celebrate that accomplishment, encourage them fully and continue to invest in their success. The byproduct of this is the creation of a program that can grow talent on an ongoing basis, allowing you to have the team you need at the ready no matter the stage in life you decide to add another location, step aside or retire. Sounds easy, right? But how do we get there?

The first step in creating a pipeline of talent is to develop the process that grows talent, followed by the acquisition of the people you put into that process. At a global level, there appears to be far fewer high school and vocational automotive technology programs available to recruit from. It is critically important to start with investing in the earliest stages of the pipeline, whether that be your time, effort or money. If you are fortunate enough to have a high school automotive program in your town, step one is to get involved. Meet with the high school instructor and determine if the school is NATEF certified. If they are, great, you’re miles ahead. If not, then you need to get some of your peers to join you and guide the school in becoming NATEF certified. NATEF, the National Automotive Technician Education Foundation, is the entity that sets standards for vocational automotive programs to ensure students are receiving the proper education needed to meet the needs of industry. Visit www.NATEF.org and research the standards, task lists and instructor requirements before you start down this path – you are the industry these courses are supposed to support! It will take some time to become familiar with NATEF, but it is worth the effort. Another reason to get involved: your public school is supported with your tax dollars. You have the right to become involved! Organize your local peers in the automotive business to join in this effort.

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Once you’ve gotten involved and offered your help, continue adding value for the local program. Become familiar with the AYES process (www.ayes.org). Invite students and instructors to your shop to shadow your team on a regular basis. Make the shadowing opportunity valuable to the students — invite one or two at a time, not the full class at once. Allow students to shadow or observe each position in your business for several hours. Get to know the students and treat this as a first investment in their education and career. Identify a a student that fits your culture; someone who you’d consider investing in for the future. Go a step further and as part of their high school automotive curriculum, invite a student to intern at your shop over the summer or during their senior year. It may only be a few hours a week, but it is the next step in your investment. Work with the instructor to allow the student to complete required tasks in context of how they are performed in your shop. For example, allow a student to assist in a brake job with a mentor technician. Many times they only get to do one or two hands-on tasks in the classroom, while you are going to do the entire job for a customer. Let them participate in work from start to finish..

If an intern fits in with your team and shows promise as a productive member of our industry, the next step is to determine if you want to continue your investment. Consider sponsoring your intern in a post-secondary vocational education work study program. Enter into an agreement where you pay his or her’s tuition and provide them with a part time job and tools in exchange for their commitment to continue their apprenticeship with your shop for X number of years. Continue providing a mentor who assists the student in completing their task list in context with your shop’s processes. Work with the vocational school and your mentors to ensure the process is valuable to all involved. This process should remain in place until the intern completes their formal education and, depending on your goals, should continue with you in an apprenticeship role for at least one and up to five years.

At the appropriate time your investment will be tasked with being a full member of your team. They will be on-boarded to your processes and culture. You will be able to predict performance and dispatch effectively. In other words, you will know what kind of team member you have. But it doesn’t stop here. While you’ve invested at 4-5 years in this person, their learning should not stop. In this industry, the process of staying current and relevant on trends and new technologies is ongoing. Make sure you include new team members and apprentices in your learning plan for the rest of your team. This will differentiate your operation from the majority in our industry. You can create a stable team that is ready to service your customers each and every time.

Then what? Do it again! And for those who are thinking “but I don’t need a tech, so this doesn’t apply to me” I say – eventually you will. Investing in the growth of young people entering this industry, even if you don’t have a place for them today, will pay dividends in the future. By always having a ‘Tech In Progress’ you will be able to grow and react to unforeseen needs without the stress of trying to find an experienced technician when you desperately need one.

There is currently a growing effort in our industry to band together with the goal of enhancing the process of filling the talent pipeline by assisting schools, students and repair facility owners. The new technologies that are being installed on today’s and tomorrow’s vehicles will, no doubt, expand the education requirements needed to provide quality service to your customers. Don’t be caught on the outside looking in. Become involved by joining local or national efforts. A great place to start is what is being driven by the National Automotive Service Task Force (www.nastf.org). If you become a part of the solution, the problems we face today will only provide opportunity.

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