Many of us have learned valuable lessons from our dads that have really helped us in business. It didn’t matter whether they were in our business or not, because the stories they told somehow would help in any situation. I want you to listen to a great story told by our head coach, George Zeeks, about his dad, because this story will help you and your employees become much more productive. Here is George’s story.
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My dad received his GED while he was in the U.S. Army, which he joined to escape his family of 15 brothers and sisters. His departure meant one less mouth to feed, but he was still loved and missed. His eighth-grade education drove him to years of reading and study, however, he never lost his habit of cryptic witticisms. This led to many deeply frustrating attempts to share what he had learned with his hard-headed son.
Though he rose to the highest enlisted rank possible and led men in battle in two wars, his attempts to lead his son through seemingly simple tasks put us at odds many times. One of his favorite sayings was, “Why are you trying to push that rock uphill?”
First, I didn’t see any hill. Second, what rock was he talking about? I thought that maybe this was the result of some long-forgotten explosion that had finally caught up with him and addled his brain unit. He never explained that saying to me. He just said I would understand someday.
What a typical parenting response, especially from a man without a proper education.
Don’t Push Harder — Be Smarter
I managed a solid crew at a good shop and always had done very well with them. Then one day, I was frustrated at my crew for not being able to perform one basic task. It was time for some serious cleaning. Kind words, bribes, high-volume conversations and physical threats just weren’t working. I had neglected to look at the problem from any viewpoint other than mine. Then it hit me: I was way too busy pushing the rock up the hill.
Every shop owner I have ever talked to has shared this moment. The biggest difference is if and when they realize who is at fault. That nagging problem starts at the very beginning, when an employee is first hired. Have you ever felt the hope and optimism in hiring an employee you just know is perfect for the job? I mean, this is going to be the answer to all of your problems. Just plug and play and we are in the promised land, right? If you recognize this feeling, then you have had your hands on the rock before. Way too often, we plug a new employee into a faulty system and sit back and watch them fail.
It never gets better than the interview. The new broom sweeps clean, but it always becomes an old broom. Experience comes from time, wisdom from pain and excellence from learning not to do the things that caused the pain. Great sayings, the kind my dad would love, but the real world is much harder and simpler. It takes more than some clever quote to fix the problems in your shop. It takes installing systems and processes.
Set Employee Standards
When you have a new hire, do you set the standards for them so they know what is expected? Do you know what those standards should be? Failure to clearly explain what you expect from them will leave them to make up their own standards of what they should do. They learned those standards from their old shop, and they don’t work there anymore.
Maybe they left on their own, maybe not. Do you want to leave that loose end hanging? Having clear-cut standards and expectations starts with you, the shop owner, and those standards echo down through the staff. Things as basic as when you are to show up and how you are to dress affect the culture of the whole shop. Do you have standard policies that everyone follows?
One of the biggest mistakes we see all the time is forgetting to explain the purpose behind the standards. I want you to take a second and think of why you have your staff come in at the time they do each day. What is the purpose behind it? Can you explain it to your staff in a way that will lead them to care? Do you give up?
Try something like this: “Bob, the reason we have you come to work at 7:45 is so you can be ready to start on the cars at 8. We know that you only have so many hours in a day to be able to make the money that you need — money used to take care of your family, the birthdays, vacations and holidays. We want to make sure that you make a good living so you and your family are happy and doing well. To make sure that you have that opportunity, we make appointments for customers starting at 8. That way, you can start making money from the first minute that the shop is open. We make a promise to the customer, so we can keep our promise to you.”
It might seem a bit wordy, but I promise that explaining the purpose will reach them. It also sounds a lot better than “You’re late, dirtbag!” I know it will have better results.
The key is that we talk about things the employee will care about. The most important point is that we should have this conversation when the employee is first hired. We hear all the time that we should create an employee handbook, but we don’t make the time to do it. Most of the basic problems we have can be avoided if we let the new hire know ahead of time what is expected.
Another huge problem is the lack of productivity standards for the technicians and sales staff. Have we shared with them how many labor hours they are supposed to produce or sell? Do you know how many hours are in your labor inventory? If not, then how does your writer know how many hours they have to sell each day?
Do the technicians know how many hours you need for them to produce so you make a profit on their labor? These are all questions that you need to answer for yourself before you even know what to expect from them. All of these things may seem basic, or not, to you.
The real question is, do you know what you need and do you ask for it? If you fail to know these answers or provide them to your crew, you are setting them up for failure. If they fail, you most surely will fail. You must know what you expect, and they must know what the standard in the shop is. Every problem, every fire that you put out each day comes back to this basic issue. Your standard shapes your team and how they interact with you and each other. It creates your culture and your brand.
It Depends on You!
Building a team and creating the right culture in your shop depends on you. You have to know what the proper expectations are. Set the proper standards for the crew and hold everyone accountable. Most importantly, hold yourself accountable.
A lot of you out there have a problem with this part. Some of you are too eager and enthusiastic when it comes to confrontation. Some of you would avoid confrontation as much as possible. Remember that accountability is not about confrontation. It is much more about separating the behavior from the person and focusing on the bad behavior, or praising the good. If you have a clear policy on accountability for all of the systems and processes that you need to have followed, life becomes easier for you and your staff. Then none of you have to find yourselves pushing the rock up the hill.
If you would like to have an Employee Problem Checklist and the reasons for those problems, please go to the link at www.ationlinetraining.com/2012-08.
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