Want to increase technician productivity in your service department? Then get out of their way!
Every shop foreman, service manager, service director, general manager, and dealer principal would like to see their technicians produce more hours every day. Most technicians would like to produce more as well. Let’s face it, nearly everyone in the dealership benefits when technicians are more productive.
“Not me,” you say. “I work in the parts department!” The parts department sells parts on work orders, right? For every hour sold on a repair order, there is a certain dollar amount of parts sold as well. We call it the “parts-to-labor ratio.” The more labor a service department sells each day, the more parts a parts department sells. The two go hand-in-hand.
“Ok, but what about me? I work in sales. How do I benefit?” Well, how about this. The more labor a service department can sell each day, the more vehicles they can service. The more vehicles serviced, the more guests come into the dealership. These are additional “door swings.” They are more people wandering the lot and browsing the showroom.
This creates more opportunities for the sales department to shake hands and make contacts. Could these additional customers become vehicle purchasers? Maybe. But they are extra opportunities created because technicians are producing more labor. And the more vehicles the shop services daily, the more happy customers we have. Aren’t happy customers more likely to buy their next vehicle from the dealership where they service?
“Ok,” says Mr. or Mrs. General Manager, “I understand there are benefits of increased shop productivity that reach beyond the service department. But you said we need to ‘get out of their way.’ What do you mean by that?”
What I mean is we need to remove the obstacles that are keeping our technicians from producing more hours each day. Let me outline a few.
Service advisors providing technicians with detailed customer concerns on repair orders.
When a technician is dispatched a repair order, does it contain enough information for the technician to successfully duplicate the customer’s concern, either in the bay or on a road test? If not, the technician wastes valuable time chasing phantom concerns or diagnosing problems that don’t exist. Then they must return the repair order to the advisor to call the customer for more information.
Let’s say each technician wastes 30 minutes per day because the advisor did not gather enough details. Multiplied by 20 technicians in your shop, that adds up to 10 hours per day. Multiply that by your effective labor rate and you see the potential loss. Most OEMs have job aids that can be downloaded and printed. These, combined with ongoing training, can help advisors ask the right questions and reduce wasted time. Most technicians would be happy to produce an extra 30 minutes per day.
Proactive parts department actively supporting the shop.
Two common complaints I hear from technicians about the parts department are:
“I don’t trust them to look up my parts right, so I just do it myself.”
If this happens in your shop, your technicians could waste up to 45 minutes a day looking up their own parts. Multiply that by 20 technicians and the hours add up quickly. Properly trained parts personnel dedicated to the shop are essential to any productive service department.
“I am always hanging out at the counter waiting for my parts.”
How great would it be if we could load parts onto a cart and deliver them to a technician at their bay when requested?
Service expeditors bringing the next vehicle to the tech.
Ever heard a tech complain about wandering the lot looking for their next vehicle? I have. Some dealerships have large parking lots. Would it make sense to have an expeditor bring the next vehicle to the tech’s bay? If it arrives at the same time as the parts cart, would that increase productivity?
Dispatch process.
How often have your technicians complained about waiting for their next job? If you’ve heard it, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate your dispatch process. There are many processes designed for different shop sizes, layouts, and advisor team strengths. Perhaps your current system worked in the past, but now you have more technicians or new advisors, and it no longer fits. A new or revised dispatch process could boost shop productivity by 10 percent or more.
Written oil change process for your express team.
Is your express team a well-oiled machine, or do they each do their own thing during an oil change? A written step-by-step process, paired with training, can shorten service times, increase productivity, and improve guest satisfaction. While it may not cover every vehicle, most gas-powered half-ton trucks, SUVs, and cars follow the same process. That likely covers 80 percent of your express services.
Shop tool and special tool organization.
In my visits to dealership service departments, I’ve seen tool rooms ranging from “WOW” to “OMG.” How does yours measure up? If a technician spends 30 minutes searching for a tool to complete a warranty repair that only pays 0.6, you should consider cleaning and organizing your tool room. Are your tire machines, brake lathes, and A/C machines kept clean and well maintained?
In the service department, we sell time—technicians’ time. Every minute is valuable. We should always look for ways, big and small, to maximize their production. If your shop can make even one or two changes to remove obstacles, allowing your techs to produce a little more each day, the impact on production percentage and labor revenue could be very positive.
Elevate your Fixed Operations department with our custom-tailored solutions. Our team offers in-depth assessments and specialized training programs, crafting strategies designed specifically to boost efficiency, maximize customer retention, and ensure long-term profitability. We’ll work closely with you to identify areas for improvement and implement targeted solutions that drive sustainable growth for your business.