Shops and dealerships know they need to be doing more to recruit technicians, but their recruiting strategies often fall flat.
The truth is the best recruiting strategies in the world will not be successful without a champion.
What is a Champion?
A champion is a person who takes ownership and leads a project or initiative in a company. This person takes on the responsibility of making sure the project remains a priority for the team—ultimately, leading to the success of the project.
At WrenchWay, we require all of our clients to identify a champion during the onboarding process. We know that this is a key component for shops who truly want to improve their technician recruiting with a Top Shop membership.
How to Identify Your Champion for Technician Recruiting
For us, a champion can be anyone in the shop who has 15 minutes a week to dedicate to recruiting technicians. We pre-populate an Activity Tracker with tasks in each client’s WrenchWay account. Some examples of tasks include:
- Recording a video interviewing current technicians about why they love working there
- Connecting with a local school through WrenchWay School Connect
- Encouraging team members to share a Shop Talk video on social media
- Researching pay and benefits of other shops in the area
A champion for recruiting technicians is typically someone in HR, marketing, a receptionist, or someone on the service side of the business.
Who Shouldn’t Be the Champion for Recruiting Technicians?
In our experience working with hundreds of shops and dealerships across the country, service managers and executive management don’t make the best champions. These individuals are pulled in too many different directions that recruiting often falls by the wayside. Instead, these individuals are what we call “executive sponsors.”
The role of executive sponsors should be:
- Holding the champion accountable for completing recruiting tasks
- Providing ideas
- Participating in videos or other activities, as needed
- Making sure the champion gets the support and participation needed from others in the organization
Ideally, the executive sponsor and champion work together to ensure recruiting technicians remains a top priority in the shop—even when the bays are full.
