SURVIVING THE TECHNICIAN SHORTAGE
Workshops on the lookout for new staff members will be very aware of the current major shortage of automotive technicians . A new report titled ‘ Directions in Australia ’ s Automotive Industry 2017 ’ produced by the VACC in partnership with Motor Trades Associations , indicated that more than 27,000 jobs , in a variety of fields , are waiting to be filled . This is the highest ever recorded and this figure is expected to rise to 35,000 within a year . It follows that with more workshops competing for fewer technicians there will be upward pressure on wage rates . There are two angles from which to tackle this problem . The first – secure existing staff . The second – recruit new staff . Logically , prevention is the best way to handle this issue , so your priority needs to be on getting your own backyard in order first . At some stage , however , some staff will want to move on , so the best solution is a combination of both . 1 . Reward the staff who perform well - It is a little insulting to offer an employee more money only when they announce they are moving to another job . If you want them badly enough they should have been paid what they were worth all along .
2 . Create high job satisfaction - There is no question that money is important to employees , but in the overwhelming majority of cases it ’ s not the only factor that contributes to job satisfaction . Other factors such as working conditions , team morale and praise for a job well done are just as important . Do you have a social club , do you lunch together , do you encourage training , do you celebrate staff birthdays , do you have a nice clean lunch room , do you congratulate your staff for a job well done ?
3 . Restructuring staff roles – In many workshops , the owner or a qualified staff member spend most of their time out front , as service advisor or business manager . There is no shortage of admin-related staff , so if you are short on technicians consider recruiting admin staff to take on front office roles , keeping technicians on the tools generating income .
4 . Keep an eye on your labour metric ratios – In October 2017 TaT Biz introduced business calculators relating to labour metric ratios . Download the calculators at tatbiz . net . au / resources . These will help you identify if the gap between your hourly labour rate and your average hourly cost of labour is too small .
5 . Labour rate increase – With upward pressure on wage rates it is inevitable that there will be an increase in labour charge-out rates . Small incremental rate increases every three to six months are less stressful than large increases every two or three years .
6 . Recruiting apprentices – This may not be on everyone ’ s radar but there are a couple of reasons why it is good business practice . Firstly , apprentice recruitment is part of the solution to the tech shortage and secondly , it helps bring down the average cost of your labour , allowing you to pay higher wages to your top performing technicians . Use your young technician network to seek out school leavers with an interest in vehicles . Introduce
26 CAPRICORN IGNITION JUNE 2018