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DO PEOPLE LEAVE JOBS, OR DO THEY LEAVE LEADERS?

Over the past 30+ years, I’ve unfortunately conducted hundreds of exit interviews.  Surprisingly, compensation has rarely been a legitimate reason for leaving. According to Leigh Brahnam, author of the book “The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave”, those reasons are:

  1.  The job or work place was not as expected
  2.  Mismatch between job and person
  3.  Too little coaching and feedback
  4.  Too few growth and advancement opportunities
  5.  Feeling devalued and unrecognized
  6.  Stress from overwork and work-life imbalance
  7.  Loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders

Have you ever considered the actual costs of hiring, training and retaining quality help?  An industry leader suggests the all-in costs of hiring and preparing a person to effectively manage a dealership is approximately $140,000.00 – 150,000.00, and approximately two years with the company working in various positions to learn the business and hone their skills.  

Suggestions to improve employee retention:

  1.  Be transparent.  During the interview process, paint the truest picture of the job and its requirements.  When a new hire realizes things are not as portrayed, doubt is created in the employee’s mind – “what else is wrong” or “what else are they lying about”.  
  2.  First rule of thumb, you will see the best side of people during an interview.  If you have a bad feeling, pass on the person or ask them to come back another time.  Assure the applicant has both the aptitude and attitude to be successful, or don’t hire them regardless.  Hire happy people. Hire people you would enjoy working for. Hire people who can one day replace you.
  3.  Coaching employees seems simple to me but is one of the greatest challenges I’ve witnessed among most managers.  Teaching a task, observing the student perform the task and offering feedback doesn’t seem so challenging to me. Maybe you don’t think it important, but your employees do.  They want to know how they are doing and what they must do to become better at their job.
  4.  Growth and advancement:  The number one reason people stay at companies has to do with developmental opportunities not how well they are paid.  Besides job enrichment, cross-training can increase the skill set and value of the employee, thus improving their preparedness for promotion.  
  5.  Folks want to work for a leader who recognizes their importance to the team regardless of position or responsibility and sincerely appreciates and acknowledges their contributions and accomplishments.  
  6.      Things have changed with the people we are hiring.  Work/life balance is far greater priority to employees today than ever before.  What is the culture at your company? Are you forcing employees to choose between having a career or having a life?
  7.  Inspire your employees by providing clear vision and purpose.  Empower them by delegating more responsibility and allowing them to do their job and more.  Demonstrate your trust and confidence in their ability to accomplish the goal, whatever it may be.  

A parting thought… Take a personal inventory of your leadership.  Identify the opportunities for improvement and establish a plan to reduce your turnover by becoming the best leader possible.  

-Bill Elizondo, February 1st, 2019

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List Making

Of all the tools we have at our disposal as managers, list making is probably the single most important tool for improving the productivity of your associates, as well as yourself.  I encourage not only managers, but all associates to become disciplined list makers.  There is usually so much work to be done it is impossible to rely on our memory to keep track of what needs done.  That’s when things start to fall through the cracks and get overlooked.  Making a list of things to do for each associate and ourselves must become part of our daily routine.  So where do we start?

We start by making a master list – an all-encompassing list of tasks to be done.  Anything we see or think of should be recorded on our master list – even the smallest of details.   Routinely walk your lot, your facility, inspect the offices and work areas of your associates and list all items you see needing attention.

From that master list, we can prioritize our tasks.  What needs to be done today?  What must be accomplished within the next week, the next month, the next quarter, etc.  The next step is to determine who is to perform the task, as well as when and where the work should be done.  Keep in mind that list making requires more than just writing down things to do.  The art of list making is methodically planning the day’s workload to encourage the associate to work at a quicker pace therefore accomplishing more, without overloading them with unreasonable expectations of what can be accomplished in a certain period.  Too few items on the list doesn’t usually challenge our associate to improve their performance while too many items can create a sense of defeat before they ever get started.  There are many benefits to good list making techniques.

  • The master list is a comprehensive never-ending list of things to do. I’m a bit old school – give me a pen and a legal pad, and then turn me loose.  Some folks choose to maintain their master list electronically on their phone or tablet.   The point is not the means, but the results.   Ultimately, I want to make a daily work list that will challenge my associate but can be accomplished in one day.
  • Prioritize what needs done now and what can wait. Decide who needs to do what and then make a list for each associate.
  • Meet with each associate, review their daily work list and communicate expectations. Make sure my associate clearly understands what is expected of them.
  • Make sure he or she has the training and the tools needed to complete their daily list.
  • Periodically follow up and communicate with each associate throughout the day assessing their performance, helping them overcome obstacles, praising their good work and providing feedback on the areas where they have struggled or failed to meet expectations.
  • At that time also discuss what could have been done differently to influence the outcome.
  • Require them to mark off each item when completed and return the list to you at the end of the day. Take time to acknowledge their accomplishments and question the unfinished tasks.  Let them tell you the challenges they encountered that prevented them from completing the list.
  • Usually any unfinished items carry over to the following day and at the top of the list, so the associate knows the priority is to finish what didn’t get done the previous day before starting on the new list of things to do.
  • As items are completed, mark them off your master list. As you are marking things off the list, you are also adding new tasks to your list.
  • Once a week (I chose Saturday morning), tear out all pages and start a fresh list, carrying over the unfinished items.
  • List making provides opportunities for associates to show what they know and can do, while at the same time identify opportunities for improvement, which also identifies areas where we as managers can improve our training and development of our associates.
  • There is an art to list making and my experience is that few managers really maximize the value of making a work list for their associates, as well as themselves.

Make no mistake, there are managers out there who do well despite being poor list makers.  But realize that they probably work harder and longer hours than needed, and their associates probably are not as well trained, and the entire lot may be lacking in discipline.  But also understand that those managers who have the discipline to make good, thoughtful work lists day after day will have more success, less turnover, and better trained associates who can be promoted.

The choice is yours – you can become proficient at planning and writing good work lists and enjoy increased success, or you can choose to ignore this incredibly simple but effective tool and make your job and that of your associates more difficult than needed.

Make the commitment to become an effective list maker.  Do the things it takes to make sure your associates are productive every minute they are on the clock.  Do these things now so that you are better equipped to manage more staff, more customers and more profit as your business grows.

Finally, know undoubtedly the habits you are developing today will have a tremendous impact on your future and that of your associates.

-Eddie Hight, November 16th, 2018

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Automotive Technician vs Automotive Mechanic

Mechanic is defined by the Oxford Advanced Leaner’s Dictionary as “a person whose job is repairing machines, especially the engines of vehicles.” Mechanics usually work with hand tools.

An automotive mechanic can be anyone, certified or not that is more equipped to handle the mechanical aspects of automotive repair.

Technician is defined by the Oxford Advanced Leaner’s Dictionary as “a person whose job is keeping a particular type of equipment or machinery in good condition.” Technicians usually work with technology.

The conventional view is, Automotive Technicians are individuals who deal with more of the computerized side of vehicles. This became popularized as cars started to become more computerized, which presented a need to deal with the on-board diagnostics. Automotive Mechanics tend to be self-taught and deal more with the nuts and bolts of vehicle repair. However, that does not mean an auto mechanic cannot be skilled in many aspects of vehicle repair. Many mechanics have adapted a wide array of skills that has enabled them to become capable of servicing vehicles of all makes and models.

Modern vehicles are much more complex then their older predecessors. With electronic control systems taking over what used to be controlled purely by mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical systems in the past, the modern automobile exposes the ever-widening gap between the skills required to be considered a technician versus that of a mechanic.

Repair shops should not hire an Automotive Technician to simply diagnose problems and then hand off the second part of the job to someone who is labeled as an auto mechanic. Auto technicians typically take care of the diagnosis and repair. Otherwise, it would cost a repair shop much more in terms of payroll. In the end, all technicians are mechanics, but not all mechanics are technicians. It is up to you as a business owner or service manager to hire accordingly.

-Jon Parks, October 26, 2018

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What’s The Problem?

Lightbulb on blackboard idea bubble

Some days it’s more like “what’s NOT the problem”! Of the many hats we wear daily as owner/operators or managers, the Problem Solver hat often occupies much more of our time than needed.

Consider the following questions:

  • Do I have the right associates in the right positions?
  • Are my associates adequately trained considering their tenure?
  • Have I empowered them to make decisions within the boundaries set for them?
  • Have I created a culture in which my associates aren’t afraid to make a mistake (customer service withstanding) without fear of reprimand?
  • Can my business function smoothly if I am unreachable for one week?

If you answered no to any of these questions, then you my friend are the problem. As your business grows, so does your staff, inventory, customer base, and sometimes your facility. When you feel that you must make all the decisions, or at least be in control of the outcome of decisions, you become a bottleneck that slows associate productivity and stifles associate growth.

There are problems that only you can solve; decisions that only you can make. Those belong to you and no one else. But train your associates to handle the problems that are inherent to their position, establish the boundaries within which they can freely make decisions. Then provide routine follow up.

As owners or managers, we can get in our own way and make things more difficult than necessary. I can’t speak to their validity, but I want to close with some humorous but very real examples of how management can allow a problem to become much larger than the solution.

In the early days of our space program, NASA discovered normal pens would not work in space. They subsequently spent years and millions of dollars developing a pen that would write on any surface under any condition. Russia simply chose to use pencils.

A rather sizable Japanese cosmetic company received a consumer complaint that a couple of the boxes purchased contained no product (which happened to be bars of soap) inside the box. Management demanded immediate action and the engineers implemented a high definition X-ray machine monitored by two associates, to see inside the boxes as they passed by on the line.

A rank and file associate questioned the need for such an elaborate and time-consuming process and asked he could have a crack at it. He returned with a pedestal fan, plugged it in, faced it towards the production line and turned it on high. A $40 fan accomplished the same thing as the X-Ray machine for a fraction of the cost. I can list a few examples that relate directly to your business, but you get the idea…

  • Train your associates
  • Establish boundaries
  • Empower your associates
  • Get out of their way and allow them to do their job, so you have the time to do yours!

Training and empowering your associates will!

-Eddie Hight, June 8th, 2018