From the Magazine: Developing your playbook

You don’t need to have all the answers written out — you need to empower your team to fill in the blanks 

Do you ever feel like you’re surrounded by “experts” trying to sell you the next get-rich-quick scheme or lose-weight-fast diet? Maybe you read this space and wonder if the advice given actually works, or if I’m just making suggestions that I think would work.

I get it. I’m a fairly sceptical person myself and I often question the “experts.”

Well, I’m here to tell you that I’m putting my money where my mouth is — I’ve just moved 5 provinces away from my shop.

Am I scared? Yes. Do I believe I have an excellent team that can handle the business without me? Absolutely.

Why do I believe this? We have spent years documenting our playbook and it spells out how to accomplish 80 per cent of the operations in the business. I suspect you’re thinking, “80 percent? What about the other 20 percent?”

I’m sure you’ve heard of the 80/20 rule. The way I see it, if we have systems and processes that cover 80 percent of the situations encountered on a day-to-day basis, my team can use creative thinking to handle the 20 percent of unusual or uncommon situations. We can’t prepare for every possibility — that’s not realistic — but if each team member knows the mission of the business, what role they play and how to play it, then they can work together to find solutions.

If COVID taught us anything, it was that there are new ways to do business. Our clients have the ability to book an appointment online at any time of day, see what we see when we send them a digital vehicle inspection and pick up their vehicle after hours, once they pay online.

You just need to write out your playbook, present it to the right players, coach them how to use it and hold them accountable if they don’t.

As a shop owner, I can utilize programs that allow me to monitor KPI’s and meet with my managers weekly through online conferencing. I’m only a Facetime call away for a tech that is struggling with a complicated diagnosis or a service advisor who needs advice on a challenging estimate. They definitely know that I’m not going to do their job for them, but I’m always willing to give advice when they have exhausted all other options. 

If you think you need to sell your business to have a less stressful life, to spend more time with your family or to take a vacation without worrying that the shop will burn down without you — that’s not always the case, as long as you plan well.

You just need to write out your playbook, present it to the right players, coach them how to use it and hold them accountable if they don’t. If you aren’t sure what the best plays are, hire a coach and have them teach you how to create systems that ensure you are profitable, efficient and are consistently delivering excellent results to your clients.

Our industry has some amazing coaches who have transformed their businesses and want to help others do the same. Interview a few of them and find one that understands where you are now, and where you want to go.

Keep in mind this isn’t going to happen overnight, you will have some work to do and that may take a couple of years. However, the payoff is that you will employ great people, who will make it a priority to provide excellent service to your clients, while you enjoy a little more freedom.

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

This article originally appeared in the June  issue of CARS magazine