Managing an auto shop is such a tough grind. You need employees to manage, parts to order, and angry customers to blow off their steam. When you have dozens of small tasks that you have to oversee, it is easy to be sidetracked or overwhelmed and simply lose productivity.
Upholding high productivity is an indicator of running a successful auto shop. Need additional guidance? Here are a few things you can do to improve your productivity as an auto shop manager.
Remember the Triple Es
Employ Excellent Employees. This is the most important thing you can do as a manager of an auto shop. It might sound cliche, but as they say, employees are the backbone of every business. In addition, if the shop does not have great employees, you will have to shoulder the company's weight by yourself.
Keep in mind that good workers will take the initiative to start tasks without being asked, and they will finish their jobs quickly and efficiently. This means you do not have to micromanage reliable employees, which will result in getting more managerial things done.
So, try and hire employees who already have auto shop experience. Promote the available positions through an online job board that will sort all submitted resumes. Then, the onboarding process will not be as long or complicated since it can find the most qualified applicants. Moreover, you can attract the best job applicants by offering higher wages or good employee benefits.
Good Communication is Essential
Communication is among the essential things that you can do to improve productivity. Regularly talking with staff and technicians about the work progress of repairs, clients, and the like can make a significant difference not only to your productivity but to your employees as well. In addition, ensuring an open line of communication with your employees can make them feel you are approachable and reasonable when there is a problem that needs solving.
Delegate Responsibility
So you have hired great employees and built rapport with them; the next tip would be delegating responsibilities. Trusting your employees to solve a problem can significantly increase productivity in the auto shop. Also, since you are confident that you employed excellent employees, assigning duties like will not be a problem.
Centralize Your Operation with Software
Every auto shop manager has tasks they have to do on the computer. A suitable software program can assist you in completing such computer-related tasks a lot faster.
One of the best ways to boost your productivity is to streamline your overall workflow, mainly when using your computer systems to manage repair work. These management systems should help you manage your databases, come up with estimates for repair work, and engage in customer outreach via texts and emails.
For instance, the system can help you check which auto parts manufacturer has the specific classic auto car part you urgently need for your customer. This can include www.sunwayautoparts.com as part of your list since the company is a reputable vintage auto parts manufacturer. Check out their website to know their recent offers and services.
Schedule Out Your Day
If you want to enhance your productivity during your shift, then how about getting in the habit of scheduling your day? You can either use a day planner or, better yet, a scheduling app to set aside specific times of day to complete tasks.
Note that you do not have to schedule out each minute of your shift. This is because your assistance may be needed on a vehicle, and you have to be amenable. However, you can schedule certain hours of the day to do essential work, such as employee scheduling, accounting, ordering parts, and even making sure that the faulty decorative LED lighting has been taken care of.
In essence, the main objective behind scheduling your day is to refrain from multitasking too much. Lots of people think that multitasking will make you more productive. Still, too much multitasking can keep you distracted and even hurt your productivity. Hence, it would be best to simply assign parts of the day for working on one specific task at a time.
Bring Your Own Lunch
This might sound a silly one, but it can make a big difference –bring your own lunch to work. Although it is occasionally nice to get out of the office and get your meal outside, taking a long lunch break can hurt your productivity quite a bit. Besides, it could also be an opportunity to bond and eat with your employees and work on a good communication relationship with them.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, managing an auto shop can be daunting. If you feel like your productivity as a manager is slipping, you can try implementing the tips listed above and you will be amazed how much you are able to get done. You will be more effective, efficient, and save more money, and even earn extra income.