Proudly serving the industry for which it was named for more than 50 years, Outdoor Power Equipment provides dealers who sell and service outdoor power equipment with valuable information to succeed in a competitive market.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/38457
each week to every employee they manage. Every manager should commit to spending just 10 minutes every week with each em- ployee, asking and then listening to the responses of just two ques- tions: “On a scale of 1 to 5, how are you doing?” and “How or what can I do to make what you do here meet your goals?” Spending time truly listening gives you the crucial information needed to improve your company, and it helps employees feel in- volved in the process and motivated to help you achieve your goals, because by your actions, they see you are motivated to help them achieve theirs. Define and model your processes Employee behavior is shaped in part by their work environ- ment, including the processes and people in that environment. Well-designed processes enable us to be more productive and effi- cient. However, processes can never take the place of leadership or good management. Leadership is the most important aspect of the work environment. Good leaders establish direction and processes for the organization, and they model the attitude they want their employees to have. Sometimes, as leaders, we believe every em- ployee should be self motivated, no matter how poorly work processes are designed. But that’s not true. Processes that are well designed will motivate, but poorly designed processes create road- blocks and frustration. I believe that one of the reasons my company enjoys so much success with the dealers that we work with is because our processes in service and parts are so well defined, and we model those processes at the dealership so the employees learn by partici- pating with us during our one-week visit. Every parts person, service tech and service writer with whom we work has our per- sonal cell phone numbers, so they can call us with questions or is- sues that might arise. We don’t have a meeting with management and tell them what they should do, and then come back and check on them. The average person doesn’t learn in a classroom — they learn by “modeling.” They learn from working hands on with people who know what they are doing and being encour- aged to ask questions, try new ideas, and not be afraid of making mistakes. In a way, we bring the parts and service employees into an “apprenticeship” program with us, where they have the ability to not be in some classroom, but beside us. It is truly amazing how quickly employees “get it” once they understand the process, the daily measurements that are used to validate the process, and how helping the dealership succeed in parts and service helps them achieve their personal goals. Every day is a test Measuring is an important part of keeping employees moti- vated. Studies have shown that measuring what’s important heightens awareness and directly affects performance. If employees have a way of keeping track of their progress, their drive to excel naturally increases. Every employee that we work with in our dealership consultations knows the numbers that he or she is measured against every day. The employees know that when they meet or exceed those numbers, there are bonuses set aside every two weeks they can share in. Measuring what’s important communicates its importance to employees. Saying that something is important, but failing to keep track of it, sends a mixed message. If you tell your service techs that it’s important to bill out all of their time every day and then don’t follow up to make sure it happens, you have sent the wrong mes- sage to your techs. If it’s not important enough for you to follow up, then it’s really not that important after all. It would be like a teacher giving a test, but then not grading it. What’s the purpose? In the dealerships that we consult, every employee knows that every day is a test that he or she will be graded and potentially rewarded. The employees’ ability to achieve their personal goals will depend on how well they personally performed. They know that their success is in their hands and are self motivated to constantly look for better ways to achieve the results they need to achieve. Your job as an owner or a manager is to establish direction and processes for the dealership, and model the work practices you want your employees to use. By establishing milestones that enable employees to measure their progress, and rewarding the behaviors you want to encourage, you will create a team of high-performing employees that your competitors can’t beat. Bob Clements is the president of Bob Clements International, Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in the development of high-performance dealerships. His organization works hands on with dealerships throughout North America, helping them attain the personal freedom and financial wealth all owners strive to achieve. For more information, contact Bob Clements at (800) 480-0737 or bob@bob clements.com or visit his website at www.bobclements.com. 20 OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT www.outdoorpowerequipment.com OPE