For a shop like Kizirian's, which employs almost 80 people, recruiting employees could be a full-time job if it wasn't done well – and if retaining them wasn't a priority. But the shop's body technicians, for example, have been with the company an average of more than a decade.
Many shop owners are focused more on sales than employee issues because of the still-sputtering economy, but others say there's no better time to focus on recruiting and retention because, unlike during a healthy economy, there's a much larger pool of available workers. If a business has job openings – or employees who might not be the best fit as the economy rebounds – now may be the ideal time for owners to seek new talent.Let them work
Part of what keeps employees at Jim & Jack's is flexibility.
"I don't run my business with a whip," Kizirian says. "I'm laid back. I let people make decisions on their own. I've given the guys their freedom. If they can't come to work a certain day because they have to take their kid to the doctor or a school event or whatever, I'm not hard on them."
To that end, Kizirian implemented a self-managed production system for body technicians last year. Grouped in seven teams of three or four, work is assigned to the groups based on their cycle time for vehicles the previous week.
"If you don't want to work on a Friday, no problem," Kizirian says. "You don't have to tell me. You don't even have to go to the production manager. Go to your team, your partners, and work it out. They know which cars need to be put together and what needs to be taken care of."Yet Kizirian isn't an absentee owner. Rather than having a private office, his desk is in the center of the shop's office.
"The owner is here with them every day," he says. "I'm not just coming in and collecting my check. I'm here, so when they have a problem, they know they can talk to me."
Unique scheduling
One benefit that helps Julie Gair's shop – Complete Collision Center in Federal Way, Wash. – retain its employees was a shift to four 10-hour work days several years ago.
"We're still open five days a week and have someone here an hour earlier and an hour later in the evening, which is great for customers," says Gair, who operates the family business with her brother, Ward MacPhail. "It seems much more productive, and my technicians enjoy having that extra day off."
As part of the shop's scheduling system, one of the two body technicians is off on Mondays, the other on Tuesdays (the two rotate which day week to week). Similarly, the shop's two paint department employees each take Friday or Monday off. Gair schedules in work accordingly.
"We used to have all the customer cars drop off here on Mondays, but now with one tech gone on Mondays, we split the drop-offs between Mondays and Tuesdays," she says. "With the extra hours you work, usually a five-day repair can be done in four days. It's made the work flow much nicer throughout the shop."
Gair acknowledges the schedule isn't something that'll work for every shop. Owners need to be cognizant of labor laws and overtime-pay requirements in their state related to such a schedule, and it takes the right team of people to pull it off.
"My body techs are paid a flat rate, but if a car the other technician took apart has to go, they don't mind putting somebody else's work together," she says. "The painter will help the body men. That's the only way this particular setup will work. I've got the best crew in the world. I wouldn't trade them for anything. They have the companionship and the skill level to make it work."
Teamwork and reputation
Just as a shop's reputation in the community can lead to new business and referrals, employee recruiting and retention is a matter of reputation as well.
"In this industry, everybody knows everybody else, so if you treat your guys like you'd like to be treated yourself, word gets around," says Marc Graham, co-owner of Exotic Motors Auto Rebuild in Bellevue, Wash. "We've built a reputation that attracts employees. They come to us, so we end up with almost a waiting list of people asking to work here."A key to retaining employees has been focusing on building camaraderie and a team atmosphere.
"Even though they're on flat rate, we all work as a giant team," Graham says. "We've had to push that idea because we work in several buildings. We had a problem in which some people were getting isolated, almost like we were working in different businesses. So we've had to manage that and focus on the team spirit. It's all about communication. Sometimes you have to repeat yourself, but the benefits are obvious. We want our guys to enjoy what they do and not dread coming to work, and they can only do that if we all get along and work as a team."
Benefits set you apart
Maintaining the right team of employees is a key to consistent quality of repairs and service.
"When you have consistent procedures and consistent, long-term employees, you get consistent results," says Frank Jandura, who, along with business partner, Stan Crebassa, owns and operates Crebassa's Auto Body in San Rafael, Calif.
Two-thirds of Jandura's employees have been with the company five or more years. The company offers several things to help build that loyalty, such as medical and dental insurance benefits, flexible work hours (production employees can start their eight-hour day at 6 a.m., 7 a.m. or 8 a.m.), profit sharing and a 401(k) retirement plan.
"We encourage people to max it out because we know they're going to need it in the future," Jandura says about the retirement program. "Many guys have built up a fair amount of money and have been able to take a loan out of their 401(k) to buy their first house. That's kind of cool. I've had employees tell me, 'If you hadn't done this, I wouldn't have saved anything.'"
Long-term thinking is perhaps another reason Crebassa's loyal employees help keep the shop's performance consistent.
"What I relay to a prospective new hire, and what I consistently relay to employees throughout their tenure here, is if we can make them successful, the business will be successful," Jandura says. "If just Stan and I are successful, then the business might not be. But if we all work together to be successful, everyone will benefit from that. Over the past 26 years, we've seen that come to fruition."
