Workflow and efficiency are the true measures of the success or failure of converging processes behind the scenes. And, as hard as we work to perfect those processes, they should be seamless to the customer. What we need to remember is that our industry isn’t solely about repairing vehicles — it’s also about relationships.
Our customers don’t really know or understand what we’ve done to equip our staff with the tools and roadmap they need to succeed. What they do know is that their vehicle came into our shop with a problem and they expect it to be returned to them properly repaired within the promised time frame.
Seems simple right? Well, we all know nothing in this business is easy, but by sharpening our focus on our policies and procedures we can maximize our ability to get work completed correctly and efficiently. In turn, this will improve the relationship with our customers and keep them coming back for service. The following are a few points to consider to streamline workflow and boost efficiency as a vehicle makes its way through your shop.
First Impressions
Your front desk and waiting area are key places to begin an efficient process. Make sure that when a customer walks into your shop and hands over the keys, they feel like there is a focus to succeed within your business. Remember, perception is reality. The customer needs to be efficiently handled in order to instill confidence in everything that happens from that point on during the repair process.
A clean, organized waiting area is an easy way to put the customer at ease, and this will improve that first interaction. Be sure to interview and document the customer’s issues completely. Ask both closed- and open-ended questions in order to get as much information as possible right off the bat. In doing so, you drastically decrease wasted time between techs and service advisors as well as minimize any annoyance with the customer, measurably improving the efficiency of diagnosing the vehicle and getting an estimate to the customer.
Being Organized
Once your advisor has this information, and the now-confident customer has left, there has to be a workflow system in place that makes sense to the shop and the management staff. This is not the time or place to have a pile of paper that is unorganized and haphazardly assigned. There are some really good paperless and quasi-paperless systems that work well and integrate into most management systems. The same rules apply even if you are still using a paper system.
In order to flow work efficiently, you must break it down into its simplest form and stick to the categories you have created. For instance, start with a diagnostic category, then from there move to an estimate request category, then pending work, and so on. I am sure we are all using some version of this process now. The question is, “Does it work for you as well as it did five years ago, or even 10 years ago?”
Another question we have to ask ourselves is, “Do we stick to it?” That is the key. No matter what procedures you set in place or how good they are, if you do not follow them, they won’t work as designed. This creates confusion and increases the likelihood of mistakes and poor communication. And, it can have a really negative impact on efficiency behind the desk.
In The Bays
One of the most critical aspects impacting your workflow is what happens on the shop floor. Truly, this is where profit is made or lost. It starts with the layout of tools, lifts and equipment. If you are like me, you probably find yourself always feeling like you don’t have enough room to do things in the most ideal way. The upside to that is it forces you to develop strategies for your layout that work for you. Start at one end of your shop and ask yourself, “Is this the most efficient use of space, and are my techs most efficient in the shop’s current configuration?” Small changes here can have a huge impact on your bottom line.
If you are skeptical, try this exercise: Either monitor your techs or actually measure for yourself how much time is wasted by having to walk around your shop because something you need (or need to do) is on the other side. Can you reorganize or is there a way to improve your process? Remember, time is money. You won’t be able to fix everything all at once, but even the smallest improvements will allow a higher quantity and quality of work to be performed.
The Technician’s Role
On the subject of efficiency, your techs need to understand that their role is critical. Several areas will affect their efficiency, but the foundation of a technician’s productivity includes essentials like training, work ethic and technical competency, which all impact their ability to get vehicles in and out in a timely fashion.
Obviously, the flow of work as dictated by the service advisors is critical to their success. This is why having a good process on the front end will ultimately benefit the entire shop operation. If the technicians and service advisors aren’t on the same page, success will be difficult, if not impossible.
Communication is the key. There needs to be a clear path, whether electronic or paper, for the techs and service advisors to communicate. Using a paper system as an example, when a job is sold, a technician worksheet is placed in a tech’s work board. The worksheet should include all of the pertinent info relating to the job (key number, parts location, work to be performed, special circumstances specific to that job, etc.). The tech then signs off on each task, road tests the vehicle and quality assures it. He then hands it back to the advisor, who now has confirmation that the job is complete. When this process is done correctly, it creates an efficient path for work to be completed.
There are several paperless workflow products out there that offer features like instant messaging between advisors and techs, as well as work assignment management and workflow control. In my opinion, a paperless way to flow work is the ultimate goal — one that will truly allow us to move to the next level.
Once we have these processes in place, we need to monitor them to ensure they function properly and produce the desired results. Most management systems have a reporting function that will give you the ability to watch the flow of work through your shop and quantify it. This is a powerful tool because as you improve work processes, you can verify that efficiency is also improving. Many years ago, I attended a seminar on this very subject and was told by a wiser man than myself (it was so long ago that I don’t remember who it was): “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”
In the end, we need to tie this all together by measuring the performance of our staff, utilizing key indicators, making appropriate changes and continually improving our processes.
