Ron Marhofer Auto Family is one of the most viewed Top Shops on WrenchWay. Not only are they a great place for technicians to work—offering a sign on bonus, flexible work week options, no nights or Sundays, and a 40 hour guarantee—but they also have a rock solid recruiting strategy that gets their shops in front of thousands of technicians every month.
Recently, I had the pleasure of chatting with Robert Hamer, Human Resources Director at Ron Marhofer Auto Family to find out how they are using their WrenchWay Top Shop membership to attract more technicians and connect with local schools and organizations.
About Ron Marhofer Auto Family
Top Shop Page: Ron Marhofer Auto Family
What started as a horse and buggy service center in 1919, Ron Marhofer Auto Family has been in business for over 100 years. They are a family-owned business on their third generation of ownership that has grown substantially to serve the Northeast, Ohio area. They have six dealerships including: Buick & GMC, Chevrolet, Hyundai of Green, Hyundai of Cuyahoga Falls, Nissan, Genesis of Akron.
Ron Marhofer Auto Family prides themselves on delivering world-class experiences to customers, and their exceptional team members are a key part of their mission.
Developing a Recruiting Strategy that Goes Beyond Job Postings With WrenchWay
As the Human Resources Director at Ron Marhofer Auto Family, Robert Hamer has his hands full leading the recruiting efforts—and finding quality technicians is one of his biggest challenges. With the evolving market and growing technician shortage, Robert knew that he needed to develop a comprehensive recruiting strategy that goes far beyond job postings—and WrenchWay has become a key part of that strategy.
“It’s a lot more than just a plain recruiting tool. WrenchWay has become an integrated part of our daily process.”
Robert Hamer, Director of Human Resources, Ron Marhofer Auto Family
Once they signed up for a WrenchWay Top Shop membership, Robert was able to get their Top Shop page up and running quickly with the help of their dedicated account manager.
“It was a very easy process to set up. The account managers were able to guide us through what the best practices were so we could provide the information technicians were actually looking for, as opposed to what we just thought they wanted to know. It was nice to get the inside information about what types of things technicians are looking for when actively or passively looking for a job.”
Robert Hamer, Director of Human Resources, Ron Marhofer Auto Family
How Ron Marhofer Auto Family Has Become One of the Most View Top Shops on WrenchWay
Following the advice of their account manager, Robert leveraged their Top Shop page to get it in front of more technicians by encouraging their employees to share the page with their own social networks.
“The WrenchWay team was able to guide us on how to connect with our own team internally to make them promoters for our Top Shop page. They [our employees] share the page with their friends—the people they went to tech school with and the people they know. Then, those people go on the page and start looking around. Next thing you know, we started getting those people applying for us.”
Robert Hamer, Director of Human Resources, Ron Marhofer Auto Family
To draw even more attention to their Top Shop page, Robert also added their WrenchWay-provided QR codes to their shop signage pointing to their Top Shop page. While customers are waiting for their vehicles, they will scan the QR code and visit their page. This has led to customers sharing it with friends and family members who work in the industry who might be interested in new job opportunities.
But just setting up the Top Shop page is not enough. Robert is always adding new content to their Top Shop page to keep it fresh and keep technicians coming back to see what’s new.
“Pretty much every week we go on there and add new information and share new things. If we get new tools or technology, we always share that. By doing all those things and sharing all those things, it’s something that makes people want to come back and see what’s new and exciting.”
Robert Hamer, Director of Human Resources, Ron Marhofer Auto Family
Taking Full Advantage of Every Part of Their WrenchWay Membership
Not only is the team at Ron Marhofer Auto Family taking full advantage of the Top Shop page, but they are also leveraging the other great tools included with their WrenchWay Top Shop membership like School Connect, Reverse Job Posts, and WrenchWay Insiders.
Establishing Local Partnerships with WrenchWay School Connect
Using WrenchWay’s School Connect program, Robert has been able to connect with schools in their area which has resulted in them bringing on three new apprentice technicians.
“We’ve been able to form good partnerships with some of the teachers and advisers in the schools. They are now making recommendations when they get a good student or someone who has a lot of potential, so we can sponsor the student while they’re going to school. We supply them with tools and different things so they can get their education, and then they can come on board and join us as a full-time member of the team afterwards”
Robert Hamer, Director of Human Resources, Ron Marhofer Auto Family
Building Relationships with Technicians Using Reverse Job Posts
Over the last month, Robert’s team has also started using WrenchWay Reverse Job Posts to connect with technicians who are passively looking for new job opportunities.
“It [Reverse Job Posts] has allowed us to make a lot of connections with people who are passively out in the market right now and aren’t interested in putting their information out there until they’re a little bit more comfortable. With Reverse Job Posts, we’re able to maintain a relationship with these individuals so that down the road, when they’re ready to make a change, we’d be able to get them on board.”
Robert Hamer, Director of Human Resources, Ron Marhofer Auto Family
The team has even been able to connect with several technicians from out of state who are looking to move back to the area and trying to get a feel for what opportunities are available. Most recently, they’ve been talking to a technician from Nebraska who is moving to their area, and they’re going to be bringing him onto the team in the next several months.
Bonding as a Team Over WrenchWay Insiders
For Robert, one of the best parts about WrenchWay has been seeing the technicians at their shops bonding over the WrenchWay mobile app, and WrenchWay Insiders in particular.
“One of the things that has been fun with our technicians that doesn’t get talked a lot about is the gamification piece of WrenchWay. I’ll have technicians when I’m walking through the shop stop and say, ‘Man, I got to 30 in the Higher or Lower game.’ The whole gamification process has really caught on in our shops. Our technicians have a lot of fun with it.”
Robert Hamer, Director of Human Resources, Ron Marhofer Auto Family
Hiring Technicians, Growing Future Technicians, & Improving the Industry
For the team at Ron Marhofer Auto Family, being a WrenchWay Top Shop is about so much more than hiring technicians. WrenchWay has helped them become a bigger part of their community by working with schools and local organizations to help make improvements in the industry.
“It’s really been part of something much bigger than, ‘Hey, there’s a shortage of technicians. Let’s go out and hire a bunch of people.’ It’s more about being a part of a development program where not only are we hiring technicians, but we’re growing future technicians and we’re doing things that can make our industry better in the long run.”
Robert Hamer, Director of Human Resources, Ron Marhofer Auto Family
Interview Highlights
