From the Magazine: Building careers, not just jobs

Why shop owners must invest time and tools into mentorship to pave a clear path for the next generation of service professionals

As owners, it’s our responsibility to educate the next generation. To do so, we need to provide seasoned technicians with the time and tools to mentor these young apprentices.

This is also true for managers, service advisors and whomever you feel has the potential to lead the business when you are ready to step back or retire completely. You can show your team that you value their knowledge and experience by giving them the opportunity to mentor new team members, grow into a leadership role or become excellent in the role they are in.

This provides them with a long-term career, not just a job. 

I’ve realized that the first step is to understand the goals of each team member — both the new ones and those who have been with you for years.

I don’t know about you but I’ve had lots of jobs. I have flipped burgers, made smoothies, sold paper, rented apartments and I was even a wedding DJ for a while (yes, you read that correctly) before I began my automotive career at 26. Even when I started in this industry as an apprentice 20 years ago, I didn’t feel like the shops I worked at were going to provide me with a career.

Regardless, I did what I could to push my career forward: I advocated for myself when necessary, moved on when I could see that the opportunity to grow was not an option and, ultimately, built my own business to ensure I had the career I wanted. 

When I hired staff, I knew I wanted to provide them with the career opportunities that were not available to me. I didn’t always know how to do this, and it took me much longer than I would like to admit to get to a place where I feel like I was on the right path, but this past year has given me the opportunity to learn from my mistakes, adjust accordingly and move forward in a more intentional way. 

I’ve realized that the first step is to understand the goals of each team member — both the new ones and those who have been with you for years. This allows you to work with them to establish and reach their goals, while they help you reach yours.

Many people are interested in building a long-term career. If there is a path for them to follow that allows them to enjoy the work they do, you will have a team of professionals taking great care of your clients for as long as you want to be in business. By coupling this with hiring practices that ensure you are attracting career minded people, you will avoid experiencing the frustration that comes with a revolving door of new hires, or people who will only stick around for a year or two. 

It’s your responsibility to support their plan and ensure their goals, and your goals, can be achieved together. 

It’s important to remember that each person will have different goals. Some people will be natural leaders, mentors or managers, who want to grow into those roles. Others will want to continue honing their skills as technicians or client service professionals. It’s their responsibility to express their goals and come up with a strategic plan to get there. It’s your responsibility to support their plan and ensure their goals, and your goals, can be achieved together. 

For me, the main goal is to build a business that creates long-term careers for my team and long-term service for my clients, ensuring that we all successfully achieve our goals. 

Erin Vaughan is the owner of Kinetic Auto Service in Regina.

This article originally appeared in the June issue of CARS magazine.