Up Your Business is an exclusive GEARS Magazine feature in which I share stories, insights, and reflections about business and life.
It seems that whenever two or more shop owners get together, the topic of employees comes up. Where do we find them? How and where do we train them? What motivates today’s employees? How do we compensate them? How do we keep them once we have them?
Finding and keeping quality employees is a significant challenge for our industry. Due to the lack of skilled techs, many shops hire based on 3 criteria – attitude, aptitude, and ability. The idea is that only candidates with good attitudes and aptitudes are worth investing time and money to develop their skills and knowledge.
ATTRIBUTES OF A PERFECT EMPLOYEE
The question is, “What are the attributes of a perfect employee?” Such a list could serve as a guide for selecting new hires or evaluating existing employees. Because nobody’s perfect, you can determine if any missing attributes are essential or can be developed later.
If you asked 100 shop owners what qualities they look for in an employee, the list would be long and varied. However, there would be more similarities than differences. In some cases, there may be some contradictions because of differing needs and managing styles. For instance, some managers prefer employees that are innovative and creative, while others want employees to do things in strict compliance with policies and procedures. Of course, the job itself may not allow for creativity – “I think I’ll try this Toyota clutch in this Ford transmission to see if it works better…”
Employees that fit with the team and the company culture are assets to the organization. They can affect a positive influence on others and, ultimately, on the team’s performance. However, the wrong employee can become cancerous to the organization.
The following attributes are universally applicable when evaluating existing and potential employees. This list is not exhaustive, nor is it arranged in order of importance, but I think you’ll agree that it contains valuable qualities. I hope you find it helpful.
Humility – Arrogance is one trait that can tear a team apart. Nobody likes a bragger, a know it all or a self-promoter. Humble people are generally more cooperative, coachable, helpful to others, and pleasant to work with.
Communicator – Good communication is essential within any organization. Over the past 3 decades, I’ve consulted with hundreds of shops, and poor communication is consistently cited as the most significant problem between owners and employees as well as within the team itself. Unclear, inappropriate, inaccurate communication causes systemic problems.
Interpersonal Skills – Closely related to the first two attributes, excellent interpersonal skills are crucial. These skills include respectful listening and patience, as well as communicating ideas in a manner that builds relationships.
Self-Discipline – Most self-disciplined people possess high degrees of responsibility and accountability, both of which could qualify as line-items of their own. They don’t tend to make excuses but look for solutions. Many other positive traits fall under this heading.
- Good personal appearance
- Organized
- Pride in work-product
- Dependable
- Autonomous and self-directed
- Confident – willing to take on challenges
Positive Attitude – Employees with positive attitudes naturally make positive contributions to the company. That is, positive results are the natural outcome of positive attitudes. Attitudes are contagious, whether positive or negative. So, seek employees with positive attitudes.
Polite – Who doesn’t know a co-worker that you look forward to seeing every morning? They offer a warm greeting, a smile, and often, a well-placed compliment. They say “Please” and “Thank you” and respect others.
Punctual – Time is money. Employees who are conscientious about time understand this principle and don’t steal time from the company. Punctuality includes arriving on time and not leaving early. But it also includes completing jobs on time, avoiding timewasters, and eliminating procrastination.
Reliable – When an employee is reliable, you can freely delegate tasks without concern for results. Reliable people tend to be responsible, overachievers – they get things done right and on time.
Ethical – Wow! This one is powerful. Here’s a list of modifiers that describe an ethical person.
- Honest – While ethics involves more than honesty, nobody likes or trusts a liar.
- Self-aware – They’re honest with themselves and don’t overstate their abilities. They know who they are as well as their capabilities and limitations.
- Excellent work ethic – Provides value for wages, diligently performs assigned tasks, and adheres to company policies while inspiring others to do the same.
- Committed to rightness – doing the right things even when you’re not looking.
- Integrity – This is the foundation of trust. Without integrity, nothing works. If your team has integrity, you can sleep well every night.
Resourceful – This is an often-overlooked attribute, but it’s vital for accomplishment. Resourceful employees are creative, adaptable, decisive, and fast learners. Seldom does everything go exactly as planned, and resourcefulness is the key to dealing with the unexpected. Without it, you have delays, roadblocks, and even chaos. Resourceful employees don’t fix blame, they fix problems.
Team Player – Today, many shops have a team culture. Even if you don’t have formal teams, you’ll have some aspects of teamwork in play. Team players are selfless – not thinking less of themselves but thinking of themselves less. Attributes of team players include:
- Helping others perform better
- Open to sharing ideas for improving process and quality
- Open to new ideas from management and teammates
- Giving credit to others when credit is due
- Sharing credit with others when receiving personal praise
- Avoiding gossip and rumors about co-workers or the company
Self-Motivated – Who wouldn’t prefer a self-motivated, “gitter done” employee over a “motivatable” or even worse an “unmotivatable” employee? At its roots, all motivation is self-motivation. When motivational techniques are applied, the results are temporary, at best, in the absence of self-motivation. Tap into whatever it is that propels their self-motivation – the threat of consequences, the incentives of rewards: money, status, recognition, awards, teamwork, good working conditions, security, etc. It’s up to you to supply their preferred propellant, but it’s up to them to ignite it.
THE SELECTION PROCESS
Once you’ve determined the attributes that you’re looking for, how do you determine if a candidate has them?
The ultimate test comes when you hire them, but here’s the step-by-step selection process a friend of mine uses. The process itself helps you measure the candidate’s punctuality.
He meets the candidate in the parking lot at an agreed time. In addition to noticing the candidate’s punctuality, he assesses personal grooming and the condition and cleanliness of the candidate’s car – all clues about some of the candidate’s attributes.
During the first interview, he reviews the employment application and asks about any inconsistencies and gaps in the employment history. He explains the company’s zero-tolerance drug policy and watches for signs of uneasiness, confusion, and defensiveness in the candidate’s responses.
To learn more about what makes the candidate tick, he asks probing questions that require explanations rather than yes or no answers. Here are some examples.
- What did you like best about this or that job?
- If you could have changed one thing to make that job better, what would that have been?
- How did your co-workers treat you?
- If I asked your boss about you, what would he say?
- What’s your proudest accomplishment in any of your jobs?
- What’s your ultimate career goal?
- How do you feel about training employees?
- Do you prefer to start and complete one job at a time, or do you like multitasking?
- Why are you considering a job change?
He addresses the topic of income by asking, “If you’re selected for employment, what’s your income requirement?” He probes deeper with questions for justification of that wage. The answers often reveal the presence or lack of specific attributes.
Next, he introduces the candidate to the team. The team can raise concerns, ask questions and has thumbs up or down discretion. By involving the team before hiring, the transition typically goes well.
If he’s interested in the candidate, he often uses applicable attitude/ personality tests, as well as aptitude and skills tests that are readily available on the internet. Many are free or low cost.
Finally, if the test results are favorable, he invites the candidate to lunch or dinner to speak more comfortably away from the pressure of the shop. He asks the candidate to pick him up at the shop. He observes how the candidate drives and interacts with the restaurant staff. He guides the conversation with questions that reveal clues about the candidate’s ethics, character, and relationships with former co-workers and bosses. If the decision is to hire, the offer is made at this point.
While this sounds time-consuming, the “filtering” aspects of the process actually save time, and my friend tells me that they seldom make a bad hire. Bad hires are a colossal waste of time, money and energy. Additionally, they can damage your team and your business.
SELF-ASSESSMENT
I challenge you to make a painfully honest self-assessment. How do you measure up against these attributes? After all, aren’t you an employee of your shop and a fellow team member? Why shouldn’t you hold yourself to the same standards? Shouldn’t you set the example?
About the Author
Thom Tschetter has served our industry for nearly four decades as a management and sales educator. He owned a chain of award-winning transmission centers in Washington State for over 25 years.
He calls on over 30 years of experience as a speaker, writer, business consultant, and certified arbitrator for topics for this feature column.
Thom is always eager to help you improve your business and your life. You can contact him by phone at (480) 773-3131 or e-mail to coachthom@gmail.com.
HOW TO FIND CANDIDATES
Of course, the selection process is of no use if you have no candidates. While this article’s focus is on selecting or culling out the best from the rest, here are a few ideas you might consider for finding candidates
- Attracting employees requires marketing. The days of just putting out a “Help Wanted” ad are gone. Happily-employed people aren’t likely to read or see “Help Wanted” ads. You need to fish in the pond of the employed.
- Advertise on the radio to reach candidates who aren’t currently seeking a job change but are coincidentally tuned in to the program. Make the ad dual-purpose by saying things that sound good to your customers while appealing to possible candidates.
- If you know a great mechanic, tell them about us.
- Due to expansion, we have immediate openings.
- We only hire the best.
- We’re currently paying a signing bonus.
- Become active with nearby trade schools or high schools and recruit from their best students. Consider offering a work/study program or tuition reimbursement.
- Attend job fairs and school recruitment events. Roam the floor, striking up conversations with individuals interested in tech/trade school training or apprenticeship programs. Consider volunteering to help work in a trade school’s booth.
- Tap into your team members’ circles of influence. They know other people like themselves. Offer them a bonus if they bring you a key employee. You’ve probably had the experience of hiring somebody only to have one of your employees say, “I wish I’d known you were looking for help, I know the perfect person…”
- Always be recruiting. Keep your antenna up at all times. You never know when the perfect candidate will appear. You might overhear somebody talking about someone that’s moved into the area and looking for a job. Yeah, it doesn’t happen every day, but how often does it need to happen?
