Does your shop need to hire more technicians? You’re not alone.
The entire industry needs more technicians. Don’t worry though.
We might just have a solution for you.
Join Jimmy Lea, Product Evangelist for KUKUI, and Bryan Stasch AMAM, ATI Vice President of Program & Content Development, as they discuss how to attract more qualified help through your website!
Webinar Transcript:
Kukui. Who is Kukui? What are we about? Well, we're about to make this an interactive webinar. And to make sure that you know how to be interactive in this webinar, want you to go into the questions box because you're gonna have a lot of questions as we're having this discussion today, talking about a technician magnet.
Go to the inbox inbox question box. Go to the question box and type where it is that you are joining us from today, city and state. Tell us where you are joining from so we can see everybody that's on here. And and a little shout out to Dory. Dory Dory was the first one on.
Wanted to make sure they didn't miss anything. So, Dory, where are you from? We got Rich from Baltimore, Maryland, John from McAllen, Texas.
John, glad to have you here. And, John Powell from Richmond, Virginia, Scott Brown from Springville, Virginia.
You guys are awesome. Thank you for joining. Thank you for typing in because this is going to be an awesome conversation that we're gonna have talking about your technician Magda and what you can do to implement this in your shop. I mean, this is stuff you can implement.
Take notes. Do it today. This is stuff you can do today. So it's gonna be awesome.
Jenna from San Antonio, Scott from Temecula.
You guys are awesome. Thank you for joining.
Thank you for joining. Anybody else gonna be joining in? Type in the city and state in the questions box. So this is so you can ask the questions. I'll be the voice for you, and we're gonna ask my guest today about your questions that you have for your technician magnet.
So who is KUKUI? Why are we doing this? What does this have to do with your KUKUI software? Well, a little bit to do with KUKUI software, but a heck of a lot to do with your shop and your success. And that's the greatest judge of success in my book is your success. Your success equals Kukui's success.
What is Kukui? Kukui are these beads that I'm wearing. Kukui are, this is the the the nuts that fall from the kukui tree. They contain a high level of oil content. And with that, they're able to burn like a lamp, a candle, a lantern. And and to translate the word kukui from the Polynesian language to the English language is to say to enlighten.
We're here to enlighten, to inspire. We're here to enlighten you as a shop owner as to what you can do in your patch, in your market to make a difference with your techs, with your people.
So I'm excited for this discussion today. Kukui, the name Kukui has deep meaning for us, and we're glad you're here joining me today for this Kukui enlightening conversation as we're gonna talk about who Kukui is and what we can do. So technician magnet. So how is it that this works with Kukui software? Very little portion of that. It goes towards your about us page.
How are you using that? What does your about us page say? What does it do for you? So we're gonna let's jump into this.
My name is Jimmy Lee. I am KUKUI. I'll be the voice for you today. You've got questions.
We've got answers.
We've got a great discussion gonna happen right here, right now. Joining me today is mister Brian Stosch.
Brian is the, VP. How come this is not advancing? There we go. VP of, programs and content for ATI. Brian, good to see you. How are you doing, brother?
I'm doing great, Jimmy. And thank you for having me, my friend. Thank you for having me.
You are so welcome. You are so welcome. And you're coming through loud and clear, so we've got connection. It's, you and I here right now as we're gonna have this discussion.
So here we are talking about a technician magnet. How can the about us page become or be a technician magnet?
Well, you being the website expert, my friend, there's definitely two things in a website that I think really are gonna help, but you mentioned that the about us page.
And to me, that really is the owner's opportunity to tell the world who they are.
What is their story?
What do they believe in? Who do they wanna be? What kind of shop do they wanna be?
What is their mission and what is their purpose?
Did I say what do you believe in and what are your goals?
Now Yeah. At at ATI, we work with a lot of different things. And I work with members on several things, and a lot of times they wanna talk about compensation models, comp plans.
And the only problem with comp plans is it doesn't motivate all. And this goes right back to what we're talking about with your about us page because I'm two believers at two two or a believer in two ways to motivate humans. Yes, one is money, but the other one is give them something to believe in. Most people want to be part of something bigger.
And by you demonstrating who you are, what's your mission, what do you believe in? That's just your opportunity to give somebody a feel that you are something bigger, and they want to be part of that. And I hope that makes sense, Jimmy.
Yeah. So so does your about us page, does it demonstrate who you are? Does it show your story of your shop?
And what you're talking about is a tribe. People wanna belong to a tribe.
They do.
Is your tribe attractive to them? Does your tribe show who you are as a shop?
Yes. Definitely. And and and I don't wanna use this term, the younger generations of workforce, but that's that's who we're or we're trying to find. That's yes.
They do. And again, that even and I'm a Gen Xer, but and I've always wanted to be part of something bigger. But, yes, this is your opportunity. But some things I also think need to be part of their helping you with the tribe, helping you with the story is on that about us.
I love pictures of the team.
And a little bit about who they are, what type of skill levels and search do they have, and maybe how long they've been with you.
And we'll get to the, careers page in just a minute. But also some other things that I think help, what work do you do in the community? What things do you do as far as charities? What where do you give back? And I still think that all fits back into who you are, what do you believe in, your story, your mission, your purpose.
Right. Right. So pictures go a long way, especially pictures of the little league team with you having, what, putting out a pizza party for the team that won the championship, what whatever that picture might be or look like. Maybe it's the launch of the season.
Yes. Yep. You know, and Jimmy, and you've seen this happen at our conference. We like to give away humanitarian awards. But my point, you know, my point about this is there's a lot of them out there in this industry that just give a lot back. They give a ton back, whether it's time, people, resources, And they really are kinda bashful about that kind of things, and I think they should be proud.
Yeah.
It it it they're bashful because they're not doing it for the glory. They're not doing it for the spotlight. They're doing it for the goodness of their heart to give back. And and this is a scenario, a situation where on an about us page, you do wanna highlight it. So if you're sponsoring a little league team, if you are are are doing the the boy scouts and the girl scouts, their merit badge classes, if you're you're putting that information out there for people to see.
Maybe it's a a women in auto care. This is a a a car care clinic.
Yep. Awesome. All great.
So we put all these in the about us page. Is there such a thing as too much information on an about us page?
I'm sure if you knew a website expert kidding. He might be happy to but I I don't believe so. I don't believe so either. I but I'd want them to know truly who you are and what do you believe in, because people like doing business with people like that as well as people like to work with people like that.
Yeah. For sure. Now on the about us page, what about putting in video?
Video is cool. And I and and again with the careers page. Now couple different things. And in this world of trying to recruit technicians, and and I think we all know this that ads and typical ads, newspaper ads, even the Indeed and stuff like that, they're really not as effective as we would like them to be.
And the one and the ones that we find that are effective, yes, are videos.
But two different types, two different resources. Do I talk about videos on social networking, Facebook pages, and all that kind of stuff where somebody could simply do with one of these?
Yeah.
And they're cool and they're fun and people like fun. People like seeing people.
When it comes to an about us or a careers page, and with careers pages, yes, I love video of your people talking about what it's like working with them.
Right.
But I think that's a little different. Facebook social networking is cool.
But and again, you'd probably recommend to all the all of your folks that you work with. But when it comes to putting video and stuff like that on a careers page, it's gotta be a little bit different level.
I think that needs to be more of a professional level, but I see grade.
Yep.
It's more permanent and not meant to be I don't wanna say not as fun, but probably a little bit more serious than the social networking.
But a lot of the members that we work with or even websites I've seen or people that don't have issues finding, attracting people have great videos of their people talking about what it's like to be there, what it's been like, what has it done for them. So, I that's that's gotta be a different level, but I want videos. I want people talking about what it's like because that's what seems to get the attention today.
Yeah. Well, and and, you pointed out an interesting thing here, Brian. Not only do I see that being attractive to the next technician that wants to come work for the shop, but I also see a prospect coming in here and and searching around to see the careers page.
And here, they're looking at a technician talking about the great environment, the the meals on Fridays and Wednesdays or whatever the the training that we do, the training we provide.
And we're seeing I, as a consumer, am seeing a technician who likes to work on cars.
Yes. Definitely.
And along with those things that you just mentioned, I mean, things that you'd want in there are also anything culture related, anything teamwork related. And again, from both sides, whether it's a prospect or whether it's a customer.
And you also picked on something, and I don't know if you realize how important that really is.
One thing I don't think we do well as an industry k.
We don't do a good enough job sharing with people what kind of a career path this really could be for a young technician. And when I'm looking to attract lifers, I wanna talk about the training. I wanna talk about what type of career path there is for you here at Brian's Auto. So career path and train. Yes. Jimmy's super sharp.
But, yeah, I I I'd ask them I I mean, the the importance of it, I think we've kinda conveyed Yeah. That, yes, it's a professional image. It is well done.
And I'm not saying you have to spend a million bucks, but it's gotta be a next level above something like this.
Yeah.
It's gotta look well put together.
It's gotta look professional.
And again, talking about your team, talking about their tenure, what it's been like working for you, the culture, the teamwork, what what they've trained, what training potential.
I don't think think we do a good enough job at the career path.
Yeah. You know, I was just at, Christy and Donnie Hudson's shops in, Troy, Michigan, and they have a lot of what I would I would call it a lot of apprentices. They have three apprentice at one shop, three at another, and two at another. That's a lot, and they're they're homegrown these. And I was talking to Christie about it, and she says, Jimmy, my apprentice program, anybody that comes to my shop to work for me now, BTECs, CTEC, ATEC, it doesn't matter. They've gotta go through the appearance program to demonstrate our level of understanding.
Yep.
So an ATEC could just go whipping right through those exams. Right? I mean, this is second nature. We we know all this information.
Bam, bam, bam. We're done done with the apprentice program in in a week or or whatever the scenario is. Right? Yeah.
So anybody that comes to work at their shops has to go through the apprentice program. Those that are truly apprentice starting out as a GS, they're gonna work their way up.
Yes. And couple other little points on that if this is okay. Yeah. If not, I mean, yes, I'd love to be able to show a young technician that over x number of years, I'm gonna get you to a position to be an a technician or master technician.
And what's that timeline look like? And I'd love to demonstrate what earning potential should look like. But Yeah. And I wanna talk about our apprentice program because I dig it, and I love everything Chrissy said about it.
But also thinking about areas that they're having troubles or or rechecks or comebacks on. When is it time to put a BTEC or back end of something training? So agree with everything you just said. We just don't do a good enough job demonstrating that I'm gonna get you there.
And why there's a lot of go ahead.
I was gonna say Well, to that point to that point, is the careers page the appropriate place to put out that outline?
Outline, no. The verbiage, yes. Default that, yes, is what you do. I think something like that might be a little bit more behind closed doors or even in in the interview process.
But I want them to see that message along with what it's really like working for you, what benefits, and stuff like that, but that there is a career path.
Yeah. And we're gonna provide the training. And if you wanna be that master technician at someday, we're the place for you because we're not hiring, we're mentoring, which I think is just really cool.
Okay. You bring up a good point. How do we convey that we're not just hiring, we're mentoring? How can you convey that?
And this is why I like, in the videos or even on just about us, who the technicians are. In that description or along with title, the mentor and their training levels, and the and their experience.
But in there, a little bit more talking about that that they are the mentor, and they're young like, growing young technicians. And how we would do that would be with the curriculum timeline, the proper skill steps, and some of the accountabilities that go with it.
And, that's a really good question you hit me with there, Jimmy. No. I don't wanna put that in my careers page, but I want someone to understand that we do that, and I'd want the technician talking about how we did it. And, no, maybe even some of their apprentices on that page.
Yeah.
Career telling about what they've learned so far working with Jimmy Lee.
So Yeah.
Yeah. Because at Jimmy Super Shop, we have Brian Stosch, the the lead ATEC, the also the mentor, the instructor, and and you can talk about what you have done in instructing and bringing up the next generation.
Then we also, on the flip side of that, have the next generation talking about what they have learned, what they've implemented, the process procedures, the training that they have learned, the trainings they've attended, the raises that they've gotten?
And where I am today compared to where I started at Jimmy Super Super Shop. So yes.
Yeah.
Yeah. I like that. I like that. And and so it's showing the the culture, showing the training, showing the career path. We can do this with with video.
We can do it with pictures. We can do it with some content. Yep. Interesting. And and those that are listening, I wonder what they are doing in their shops to show that next gen the possibilities, their career paths.
Because I've seen them. I've seen it, Brian. I've I've seen thousands of websites that you go to the careers page, and it is fill out the form, drop us your resume, Shazam. And somebody will contact you maybe.
And along with that list of requirements for the job and a list of responsibilities, nothing that make it look really attractive, at least to the level that it really needs to look today compared to what it did ten, fifteen, twenty years ago. And video gives you great opportunities to do that, as well as a careers page and about us page.
Yeah. Yeah. Here's the question.
Can a customer customer can a customer be used as a technician magnet?
Oh my gosh. Yes.
And Okay. How?
Well, I know Jeff likes to talk about Jeff as an instructor that works with me at ATI and works with a class on employee engagement, staffing, and hiring.
But, he talks about six degrees of separation and that everybody knows somebody.
So that this is why talking to your existing customers, letting them know that you might be looking for someone if they have somebody because you never know who they know, nieces, nephews, so on and so on. Social media is so important because of that six degrees of separation. You just don't know how many or who this message is really gonna hit. It may not always be looking for or hitting somebody that's looking, but it might be somebody that's hitting somebody that knows somebody that's looking or an interest.
So great point, my friend. Great point.
Yeah. Six degrees to Kevin Bacon. I think that's what the game is.
Yep. Yeah.
So yeah.
Yeah. Customer testimonial, they that could show their elation, their joy, their love of the shop, and and that could attract that next person or the person that they know. There there was a shop owner that I I I'm trying to remember who it was. I was visiting their shop, and they introduced me to the friend of the friend. They were hunting technician number two, but he wasn't available. He was happy. He was good where he was.
So this the the the the shop owner asked the beautiful question.
Okay. But who do you know? Right.
Who do you know that's looking for a job? Because technicians know other technicians. They went to school together. They worked together. They've they've busted knuckles together.
And this guy, technician number two, knew a technician that was looking for a new shop to be at.
Exactly. Yep.
Yeah. Oh, that that's cool. And and okay. What about, resources available to technicians? Do we do we list this out on on the careers page, on the about us page? Where where do we list out toolboxes and scanners and brake cleaner and shop towels. I mean, you know what I mean.
Yeah. I think this probably be better suited for the careers page compared to the about us.
Yeah.
So in that careers page, I mean, yes, there's why would you wanna work there? Any of the resources, whether it's digital inspections, each technician has their own individual workstation with the tablets and things of that nature. So me, that would be probably better suited for, the careers page, but Yeah. Always willing to try to learn more.
And then on that careers page, few great reasons why to work here. What do we offer that and I hope I say this right, that the next shop does not.
What do we have to offer? Because you gotta remember, not only I talk about value proposition a lot and what makes you different to a consumer.
But the reality is you need to talk about what makes you different than any other repair facility that's also looking for that technician. And you need to be the most attractive one on the list at the time. Just just my humble opinion.
Yeah. Yeah. No. That's very true. What separates you from the competition? What makes you special?
I I was at Seth Thornson's shops in, where is he? Minneapolis, Minnesota, just outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota, And his shops are amazing. Every technician has a toolbox at the shop.
It's provided.
Yep. Awesome.
Oh my gosh. That that's amazing. I mean, that's thousands of dollars that you're providing as to the tech.
Exactly. And it really looks cool. It sounds cool, but the reality is one of there's several reasons that push young folks away from our industry, and that is one of them right there. They realize that you have a huge investment.
And for the business owner to be able to provide that definitely eliminates one, and to pay for the training would be another. And we don't wanna go down that road, but, yes, Jimmy. I'm a dude that probably invested sixty or sixty or seventy grand in the tools and boxes over my career. And it would have been much more attractive to work for somebody that was gonna provide that with me and for me, especially a young tech about to enter the industry that has a lot to learn, a lot to go, a lot to grow, help them acquire those as a either basic hand tools or as they meet certain growth levels to be able to provide that. What a great motivator. So I'm glad you brought that up.
Yeah. Yeah. In fact, I'm gonna grab something here real quick.
I I I was at Eric Prosser's shop. Eric Eric has this, toolbox.
The toolbox alone is, like, eighty thousand dollars. It must be, like, twenty five feet long and, like, ten feet tall. And there's probably three hundred thousand dollars worth of tools in there. Now that's his toolbox.
Uh-huh.
He converted his old toolbox to be the scanner box. So any technicians that come into his shop, they have access to any of the tools that they need to do the job. Awesome. Awesome.
It was super cool. And and at at Eric Prosser's, shop, his GS's, when they come in, they have a certain color of uniform. And then a a c tech has a color of uniform, and a b tech has a color of uniform, and the a tech. And then the the shop foreman has his own color of uniform for easy identification. You can look around in the shop and see right where right for the people you're looking for. I thought that was brilliant.
It is. It's brilliant. Very good one, Eric, because I really haven't heard that one before, but very cool. Very cool.
And go back to what you said about the tribes. I think that fits in there about a tribe. I think that fits in there with a young wanna make it to that next level, get to that color uniform, under that color uniform, or that I I just think that's kinda cool. Heck, I might even steal that one from him.
Yeah. Well, give Eric a call. Because I think I think the GS is when they come in, they have a a gray uniform, and then it as a c, it's like yellow or orange, and then it goes to a blue and then to a red, and then the the, shop foreman is a green or something like that. So, I mean, as you as soon as he pointed it out to me, I was able to look right around the shop, and I could tell exactly who was where Right. Because of the color of the uniform.
And that kinda goes along with something that me and the coaches at ATI been bouncing around because I think we gotta change our thinking with a GS tech, a C tech, a B tech, an A tech. And that's what most of us grew up with.
I mean, but at some point, does that really sound condescending? And do people want to be a general service or a C? So I kinda love that make it to the next color compared to a number one, two, or three, or an a b. I I kinda like that, because I've been looking for a solution for that, man. I've been looking for a solution for that.
There you go. There you go. And his GS is equal to an apprentice.
Yeah.
And he has a couple of apprentices to shop as well.
Yep.
Cool. Yeah. Mister Coleman is online, and he says it's almost like the belt colors in martial arts.
Yep. Everybody wants to achieve that next level. Awesome. I really dig that.
Yeah. You're right. I might have to reach out here. Oh, gotcha. I got that one. I got that one.
I bet. I can't keep it up here anymore. I have to write it down, Brian. I I forget. I just forget way too quick, man.
Oh, I know how you feel, sir. I know how you feel.
Yep. Yep. I think Don Donald Donald? Yeah. Donald Cousin, he's raising his hand. I don't know if he has a question or if he is agreeing or applauding or giving us a high five.
Cool. Good. But we'll take that one. Yeah. Alright. So we we we talk about the story, their mission, their culture, their goals. This is on the about us page.
Also, to in include community involvement, charities.
One that that I've seen here recently, we didn't even touch on it yet, is recycling.
It's on my list. And, yes, a hundred percent agreed.
And there's a lot of people that that really means a whole lot too. What do you do with that waste? And they wanna make sure you're there to protect that environment. So I'm glad you brought that up, my friend.
K.
So how? Where where are we putting in because I I think in sustainability, there's a couple of different areas. One is the recycle area, but also we've got creation area.
Cool.
So where do we put recycle, scrap metal? Go ahead.
The fluids, the chemicals, all that. And Yep. But I had that down under my notes, and I don't have to be right, but originally on an about us page.
Yeah. Because I think that that fits again, goes to internal as well as external customers, prospects, and, it means a lot to people. And they wanna know that you fit right there in with it and not doing anything that's gonna wreck our environment.
Again, our industry doesn't have a great reputation.
So anything we can do to raise that level of thinking to anybody would be would be great.
So Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. We're we're not pouring those chemicals down the drain. We are recycling them. And and now let's go to creation too because I I go across the country, and I get to see this. This is so awesome. The solar panels on the roof of these shops.
Yep. Yep.
The creation of power.
So in Vegas, totally makes sense. Three hundred and sixty days of sunshine a year. Yep.
Do you know I see more shops with solar panels, Midwest, Northeast, Northwest.
This is places that have a hundred days of sunshine a year.
They're still implementing these solar panels Right.
Yep.
In a strong method.
Anything that would help and reduce that impact, I think that'd be very good. Even in like, my friend Rich on here earlier from Baltimore.
Rich, I'm from Baltimore, a little town in Pasadena, just south, where I wish I would have three hundred and sixty five days, but, any little bit can help, man. Any little bit can help.
Yeah. Yeah. And it does help. It does go a long way. There are some tax benefits. There's some some ramifications that come from that that just really help out, and and that's cool.
That's cool.
What it really goes towards is what we're doing to make things awesome and amazing.
LED lights in the shop, they're so much brighter. They consume so much less electricity and power. Yep.
I was in, I was in, let's give a shout out to Fred Geswicki.
Geswicki. Fix it with Fred. Yeah.
Fix it with Fred? I was in his shop. I'm like, dude, you seriously gotta change out these mercury light bulbs. He's like, dude, they're all LEDs. So he had the old dome, and he had converted them all and changed out the transformers and everything. It was so cool. It was super cool.
Cool. Good.
Because the old mercury bulbs, you'd have to heat them up.
Yep.
Once you did, then it was pennies to keep them operating. But he switched everything over to LED now and super awesome. So I I love Fred's. Alright. To, to technical resources, we talk about in the careers page that career path, what they can expect, the training that you're gonna attend. Maybe you're going to Bimmers.
Maybe you're gonna attend vision. Maybe you're going to ATE or ASTA or ASTE in North Carolina.
What what training do you attend as a shop?
Love that as well. I love that as well. And again, that goes back from the consumer's perspective as well as a prospect because my guess is a young technician wants to see a future. They wanted to see that someone's changing their mindset, learning to go and grow with their business so they know that there's a future for them here as well. Because I know a lot of people don't think about this and I mean, the chance for business ownership in our industry is much stronger, at least in my opinion, than others.
Something else to think about for the future of that shop, a future of the of the next generation of technicians or whatever, but also a great point, Jimmy. Love it. Love it.
Yeah. Yeah. And and so take this to the mentoring idea too. If and I agree with you, but there's a lot of technicians in our industry that go on to be shop owners. It's a totally, completely different skill set being able to turn a wrench versus twirling a pen. Yeah. Maybe that's not the right way to put it.
Managing a business.
What about what is there a place in a careers page to say that I'll mentor you into owning your next shop?
I believe there could be. I believe it could be.
Yeah. Because you never know what what they might be looking for. So anything that you think what separates you from the next and I hate using that term, the next shop, but what would truly separate you?
What makes you more of an attractive option than the other shop that they might be looking at or in their market or whatever?
So, again, I love that. Love that. And I love this concept of of mentoring the the technician. So so you're gonna enroll him into all these management classes and HR and bookkeeping and and and and and all the business law, business ethics courses that you can, management classes.
And and what I what I see happening is two different things. One, a technician is gonna grab a hold of it, is gonna love it, and say, yes. This is the path I wanna go on. I have a five year plan.
I have a ten year plan. I have a fifteen year plan that by that fifteen year plan, I will be running my own shop and pulling in five, ten, fifteen million a year running the shop. Or plan b says, oh my gosh. Running a shop is way more than I wanna do.
I know how to fix cars. I can fix them really well.
I'm gonna dig in and not only be a a master technician. I'm gonna be an inspiration. I'm gonna be a mentor. I'm gonna provide the instruction for that next gen coming through so that they can obtain the same skill set, so that they can have the same passion, the same love for repairing cars.
Yep. Just a lot of options out there for a young technician, anybody that wants to get into this industry.
And I think they get rifled down into, as you said, the tech world. So anything you can do to open somebody's eyes up to what's possible, I think should be in a okay, a careers page.
What about, so because we talk about individual workstations, toolboxes, tool shop tools, scan tools, all that sort of thing. What about where does a a digital inspections fit into careers page or about us page? What what are your thought what are your thoughts there?
Both.
I think people like hearing about technology. They want you to be cutting edge, and anywhere you have opportunity to demonstrate that, I would do so.
And that the generation of not only workforce has changed, the generation of consumers changed. So I want that on both sides of the who who are we, the about us, but definitely the careers page. So and I think it just helps attract somebody that's grew up with this in their hand.
Digital natives? Yes.
Yes. Yes.
That's what I call it. Digital natives, they they were born with a smartphone and Shazam. They're in like Flint. So to the digital inspections too, I think technicians who have done them and done them successfully, digital inspections, have seen the difference. They've seen the amount of additional jobs that they can sell because the pitcher sells the work.
Yep. Pretty much.
So if a technician is comfortable with digital inspection, sees that your shop is doing its digital inspection, they're gonna be drawn towards that, attracted towards that because their bonuses, their raises, that they know that they will be able to book more jobs, book more hours, book more services because of your shop having digital inspections.
Earn more of this as well as help them go and grow. I mean, it's the digital inspection has been a game changer for this industry and just phenomenal. Love it.
Alright. Question coming in from, mister John Powell.
What about the recruitment of the experienced technicians?
Where do you find that?
I'd still think that would go if you're asking where this might be on the website. I'm a believer, and all of this still goes into, a careers page, but also with what are your other options of looking at, how do you attract techs, how do you find how do you get them to even look at you? And, there's a list, and some of you do a lot of this, some maybe not. But I think all that applies to whatever skill level of technician we're looking for. What really is attractive about that role, and what do you have to offer for that role.
So Yeah. Mister Silverman, thank you for joining. Appreciate you being in here. We get to travel the world. You get to see shops all over the place. To John's question, what about recruiting the experienced technicians? Where can a shop find experienced technicians?
Well, I don't know what you talked about going into this call. So so I was, late to the party. You might have already covered it.
Level zero and and go.
Level zero and go.
Personally, if I'm going to poach somebody, I'm gonna poach from the dealerships, and and I'm gonna do it very politically correct. I I went with one of our members out to lunch, and he took me to a really cruddy taco place on a Tuesday. And he said I said, why'd you go here? We're paying for this. And he said, well, it's Taco Tuesday. And I'm like, okay. I'm paying for this.
And then he walked around the room and he gave out his business cards to the guys that were there wearing dealership shirts.
Wow.
And and because they were all going there because it was Taco Tuesday. That's the most simple target thing you could do.
Target, Rich. I mean, yeah, that talk about shooting fish in a barrel. Holy cow. That was easy to finish in right there.
So are you talking about recruiting cards, Jim?
I am. This this particular shop owner said, hi. My name is, and handed out his card and said, I've got a shop down the street, and I'm, you know, full of work, and I need people to work. If you know anyone looking for a job, please reach out to me.
And and he did that, and that was how he got his experience, guys.
And I love that that he asked that you know anyone, not just that one particular person he approached.
Yep. Who do you know? Yep.
I followed a there was a there was a string on the Internet this week about people going after their tool truck driver.
Yep. Tool truck.
And and and I understand that, and I love the idea because the tool truck drivers know everybody. My concern has always been he also knows all of my guys for the other person that's asking for technicians.
And hopefully, your shop has the right environment, the right culture, the right people, the right satisfaction, the right tribe that your tribe never wants to leave, never wants to go. Cool. So I agree with you. I I think the tool truck driver, while they do know everybody in the industry, that might be just a who do you know question rather than a recruiting, and I'll pay you a thousand bucks if you get me a technician question.
Yep. Have you ever heard of the oil filter stickers, Jimmy?
I have, and I thought that was brilliant.
I do too.
But Tell us about it. Because because there's people there's people that don't know about it, so you gotta tell us now.
I got a list, of course, but, anyway, the oil filter stickers is just basically that.
When when you service a car, when you change the oil on whatever service you're doing, unfortunately, we will lose that customer here or there for light services for an so So on every time you do an oil service, there's a sticker that has your shop name on it, a little bit about you guys, and talk about things could be tired of working weekends, tired of working nights, working for a four day work week. What do you have sexy? This is what we have to offer at Jimmy's super shop. Now this is a love it or a hate it idea, but a lot of people are putting the oil change stickers on an oil filter, who they are, and why it might be cool to work for Jimmy's Super Shop. And some are getting phone calls or going to the websites and their career pages and stuff like that, off of an oil change sticker. It goes on the filter, not the windshield.
So Yeah.
I I love that. And in fact, Brian, you lightning has struck my brain while you're saying that.
Here's a technician under the car getting ready to change out the the filter. Here's a QR code. Jimmy Super Sharp QR code.
Love it. And now that now you got said something made me think too because we're talking here about probably a more experienced technician, which had a question got brought up.
So why not also a sticker that goes under the hood right on the core support that tells you a little bit about are you looking? Because I used to put them out there with Liberty Auto. I want just the services we did and when.
But instead of that, why not change that to a recruiting effort and put that onto the core support that, yes, I'm looking for technicians. If you're interested in looking at a place that has this, this, this, or this, hit this QR code. And I love the QR code idea. Imagine that from a a technical guy like yourself, Jimmy.
Right. So here here's here's my vision of what I'm seeing, and and I will I can't wait for a shop to implement this. I scan the QR code and, Shazam, the first thing that pops up is a technician testimonial talking about how awesome it is to work at this shop. Yep. Awesome.
Love the QR. You got my attention.
Oh, I'm picturing his attention.
An experienced technician.
I'm picturing him dropping is I'm picturing the shop owner saying, what are you doing there with your cell phone under that car?
It's gonna happen anyway, brother. It's gonna happen anyway.
Yep. Yep. Yep. Try and mitigate it as much as you can. But, yeah, I that's a brilliant one.
What else have we got? How else you say you've got a list, Brian. You got any others off the top of your mind?
We've talked about the career pages, which I don't think enough shop owners put enough effort into that. So please do so. And again, Facebook, it is more than just checking out the people you went to high school with and the kids. There's a lot bigger efforts than that. I love Jim's tool raffle. I love the recruiting cards. I love the oil change stickers.
And some have great success approaching the military, trying to get in touch with former military or veterans that, because remember, they also have their motor pool, they have technicians there, whether it's airplanes, tanks, cars, trucks, whatever, just other different resources.
And, again, the six degrees of separation, I don't know how many others really work that as hard.
Current employees, whatever a a recruiting bonus to the customer's recruiting.
And, again, years ago, Jimmy, when I opened up a cup I opened up three independent shops over a period of thirteen months, myself and a partner.
And I some people love this or hate this.
I visited all the quick lubes in that area. I was looking at those because I'm looking to find somebody that had walked with a purpose, seemed to have some pep in their step, and that's where you might use that recruiting card. This is who I really am. And if you're looking to be that master technician or have a mentor to help you grow your career, this might be the one to call. Now I've had some people not like my efforts there, but, boy, did I hit the ground running with techs that already did belts, hoses, filters, and fluids. They're taught teamwork and they're taught how to sell.
So there's my typical list.
And and you know that you're getting somebody that, feels like they're working below their capability because they're only working they they think I'm a great mechanic. Why am I working at a quick loop? And so, you know, you've got somebody that wants to grow. They they're perfect for a mentoring program like ATI has, and they're perfect for for, somebody that wants to bring on an apprentice.
Yeah.
And I think and I hope this comes out of me right, I just think way too many business owners put all their recruiting efforts into one basket, whether it's Indeed, whether it's this. You need multiple different avenues to be able to hit the right people at the right time to hit as many people as you possibly can. So as many times as you can get your name in front of people or QR codes, which I just love that idea, and utilize that careers pay. I the more eggs, the better. Not just the one. Bingo. Bingo.
And also, Brian, you did talk about you did talk about asking your your customers to refer technicians to you. Right?
Yes. I did, sir. Okay.
Yes. So we've got two suggestions that just came in on the questions box.
Ed is saying that the QR code links to the careers page on the website. I love that. And I'm wondering, Ed, is that something you're already doing, or are you saying, wow. That's a brilliant idea that I'm gonna implement that?
Number two, and I'm gonna work this into a story here in one second. John is saying, love the filter idea. The QR code should also go to on your business cards, Jim. So you passing out on Taco Tuesdays, QR cards I totally agree.
In fact, KUKUI has gone to this as well. We have a QR code on our business cards that say, you know, fill out this information for for a demonstration.
Ed says he's not yet, but he needs to, and it's Nate. Nate. Nate. Glad to have you here, brother.
Nate is sitting in, so Nate's gonna do this. Alright. So here's the story. And and this is a George Siekes, Tammy Shoemaker, Chris Shoemaker story.
The challenge was go out on a Saturday with Gatorade bottles and have your business cards attached to these Gatorade bottles. In the middle of summer, go on a Saturday to all the big box, to all the dealerships, to to places where people are working, they're outside, they're sweating, they're hot, and you're gonna hand those technicians cold bottles of Gatorade with your business card.
Hey.
I'm tired of working weekends.
Yeah.
I'm tired of working weekends.
Tammy did this. She went out and and as Tammy tells me this story, the way I heard it was George has given out this challenge for a decade and nobody's ever done it. She went and did it. And in doing so, she handed her card to a gentleman who said, I'm in school right now.
I need nights and weekends because I've gotta finish my schooling first, and then I'm going to be ready to move up. Well, he finished his schooling. She didn't think he even sang about it, but this is the rest of the story. She he finished his schooling, and this shop kept him pushing a broom.
They wouldn't even let him do the lube oil filters, changing wiper blades, changing bells, nothing like that. So here he is, a a trained technician, still pushing a broom, still taking out the trash. He calls Tammy and says, hey, Tammy. I don't know if you remember me, but, you know, three or four months ago in the middle of the summer, you handed me a bottle of Gatorade and a business card. I'm finished with schooling.
Is there an opportunity?
Oh, heck. Yeah. There's an opportunity. And he is now working at her shop, working right up the ranks. They have a career path. They have the training outlined so that he is absolutely killing it on his future career path. And he has gone from a shop that did not appreciate him, had him pushing a broom and taking out the trash to he's now doing the majority of the work at Tinley Automotive.
Awesome. That's pretty cool.
Yep. So on those business cards, the next step for the next time you go out, have that QR code that links that technician right to your shop to show what's amazing and awesome about you. Love it. Love it.
Nice. Very cool. Very cool. Okay. We we've talked about a lot. We've talked a lot about the, careers page. We've talked about the about us page.
Doing video, recording video with your cell phone, definitely appropriate for all social media outlets.
Definitely wanna be on the Facebook. You wanna be on the Instagram. You wanna be on the TikTok, because this is where technicians are spending their time. This is where they are putting their time, effort, and energy.
So as a shop, you need to be there. Yep. And as a shop, you need to demonstrate that your company culture and tribe is there.
Link that to your website where you've got the professional grade, professional videos, good lighting, good audio, great questions.
Give a technician two, three takes. Yep. Might take him a minute to put his words together, and that's okay.
Right. Yep.
Nice. Final words of wisdom. Jim, we'll start with you, Brian, then to you.
Well, okay. So you invited me to come sit in on this panel, and I said why? But because, again, you know, it's royalty. And plus, once Brian's in the room, no one knows as much as Brian.
So I'd like to just be among greatness. So, thanks for letting me come in here. It's the culture is why you work for a company. And and if your culture is not right, it's gonna be hard to attract and retain somebody.
So so keep your culture good, and and that's what I'm gonna say. And so and I didn't get the message on the black shirt either. I apologize.
So thank you all for, letting me come in for a few minutes, but, it's really all about Brian and Jimmy, and I'm just here to support. So thank you.
Cool. Thanks.
Brian, to you, brother.
I'm gonna go back to and I could be wrong about this, but I don't think a a lot put enough effort into that careers page and the mentoring and the training and what makes you different than anybody else. And you gotta think about what does everybody else's marketing look like or their recruiting.
Looking for a a certified technician, looking for the experience, a must have, must have. That doesn't work. That doesn't excite anybody. What makes you different in the technology, the cool tools that are available for service advisors and technicians out there are just really attractive, and you look cutting edge, especially for somebody that wants to be cutting edge.
So that would be my main message.
Yeah. The the the bait that you're putting out there, are you hunting moose or are you hunting aardvarks or armadillos? Yeah. If you're hunting moose, you've gotta use the right bait.
Yes.
So you're looking for that that top quality technician. I I agree with you. I echo everything you guys have said.
You're looking for the right people. You've gotta put it out in the right places, the right information. I love the lube oil stickers.
I love the QR codes, the business codes. I love Taco Tuesday. That's an awesome way of getting those technicians.
Social media.
The Gatorade idea? Yeah. Saturday? Take a Saturday. By the way, she went out four Saturdays in a row.
Tammy did. Tammy Shoemaker went out four Saturdays in a row to, pass out Gatorades. And she had them in her car, nice ice cold, brought them in, handed out to the guys, and, and there you go. She because Chris was turning the wrench.
He was eight hours, ten hours, twelve hours, fourteen hours. He did all the work, and he can't he can't sustain that.
Nope. Not at all.
He need three, four technicians in that shop.
So they they've done a great job. Absolutely love it. Thank you. Thank you for coming on. Thank you for sharing your wisdom, your knowledge, your information.
Thank you for, inspiring the industry.
Thank you for leading the industry, helping us to take those next steps in the right direction. You guys are awesome. Thank you very much. Thank you to all of you who have joined us today.
You've got questions. We've got some answers. This is my cell phone. This is my email.
Send me a text message. Let's connect. Let's see what we can do to take your shop up to the next level.
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