Your team has a lot to do with the success of your garage. Good teamwork can lead you to success. It is essential to have all the repair shop staff members working in a coordinated way, through simple communication processes. This will contribute to maintaining a good work environment and will improve the results of the business in both, short and long term. We have some tips for you to improve the hiring process and ensure a professional team for your auto repair shop.
Create a clear job description for each position
It is important to have a very clear vision of the position and of what you are looking for during the selection process. For this, spend no more than 30 minutes to create a job description. The job description should clearly describe the activities and responsibilities of the position, its attributions, limitations, technical requirements, and any other important qualifications to consider. For example: if your shop is handling various types of cars, make sure to describe the required experience to work with those cars.
Define salary conditions
The salary and the conditions of the job position should not be established hastily. Before you start your selection process, be sure to agree on salary and terms. You can later decide, based on the candidate, if a negotiation is required.
Promote your job opportunities on different channels
Once you have the above steps ready, make sure you have enough candidates to choose the right person. To achieve this, post the position on different channels. Share it with friends or ex-colleagues via email or social media, or look for free relevant websites or social media pages. Some relevant websites for posting mechanic related jobs might be: Indeed and Glassdoor.
Filter your possible candidates
When you feel like you have enough candidates interested in the position, the next step would be to filter according to the priorities you have set on the job description. Once this step is done, we highly recommend you to orgnize them and establish the ones you are not willing to settle for. For example, confidence, attitude, academic background, experience, etc.
Interview
The next step would be to schedule a one on one meeting. The interview will be important as you will meet the person and get a “first impression”. The interview must have clear goals, such as to observe how the candidate expresses him/herself. You can also evaluate aspects such as punctuality, formality, and motivation. It is necessary to have some questions ready to guide the talk and to make them prove their experience. Sometimes it is also recommended to prepare a small theoretical or practical task (consider giving them a couple of days to deliver the task in case it could take more than 1 hour).
Perform the necessary practical tests
Depending on the job position and its profile, in many cases, it would be necessary to carry out some practical tests. These require time and resources, and they are important to ensure that the person has the knowledge and the skills they say they have. If you have a customer relationship management system (CRM), we also recommend to evaluate if they know how to use it or if they have previously worked with one.
Set clear work conditions
Once you are more decided and have a good feeling about one candidate, schedule a meeting or a call to address the salary and work conditions. The goal of this talk is to understand if what you are willing to offer is in accordance with what he/she expects.
Investigate references
The candidates should give some personal and work references from people that can recommend them. In several occasions, the references will help to make a better decision regarding the candidate. Bear in mind that no candidate is perfect, so make sure you understand, based on your talks with references, the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate. This will help you to understand the guidance he/she may need.
Try a fast and practical process
You must take into account that the processes of hiring personnel nowadays should not take too long due to the following reasons:
- People have the need to work and, usually, do not want to wait long to be hired.
- Good prospects always have other job offers and may go for another option.
- Finally, it is important to clarify if the process will take longer and the reasons why this could happen, out of respect for the candidate and his professional and personal plans.
Lastly, we recommend you to also consider improving your branding; the more known your car repair shop is, the easier it is for you to attract the best candidates out there. You can read more about how to use social media to the image of your auto repair shop here.
We hope that using the above-mentioned tips will assist you in the hiring process and will help you find the most professional team for your auto repair shop. Feel like we’ve missed something? Share with us your tips!