Do you really have a Fixed Ops manager?

[Richard]

A freind of mine works for a dealer group that has several stores. His General Manager got an email from corporate HQ.

Incorrect Personel Provisioning.

Many of our stores report having a Fixed Operations Manager, but we are getting feedback from our on-site audit teams that this is not true. The Audit teams suggests the following to determine the correct job title and pay classification for the Fixed Ops Manager:
Can the individual in question, without any assistance, go to a Parts Catalog, look up and bill an oil change? If the answer is YES, go to the next question, if the answer is NO, you have a Service Manager, please reclassify this individual.

Next, can the individual in question go to the warranty office, and encode a RO for warranty payment? If the answer is YES, congradulations, you DO have a Fixed Ops Manager. If the answer is no, you have a Parts or Service consultant, please reclassify this individual.

Thank You,
Human Resources Department

[This message has been edited by Richard (edited 06-13-2005).]

[kcatdeejay]

Can't believe there is actually some accountability for these myriad titles that have been thrown around for so many years-kinda like being expected to 'walk the talk'...WOW!...what next?

[franks283]

IF, THEY KNOW HOW TO READ A FINANCIAL STATEMENT, HIRE/FIRE PEOPLE, AND CONTROL EXPENSES, THEN THEY REALLY ARE FIXED OPS. I AGREE, TO DO THE JOB RIGHT, U NEED TO KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT ALL OTHER JOBS(SERVICE WRITING, TECHNICIAN, WARRANTY ADMIN, PORTERING, CUSTOMER RELATIONS)...IT CAN ONLY BE TO THAT PERSON'S BENEFIT.

[davedineen]

The real job of a Fixed Op's manager is to keep the focus on the "Proactive" side of management, not the "Reactive" side. I agree that a manager should be in tune with the requirements of the jobs of the people they supervise, but using the above logic he/she should also be able to buff a car, mix paint, reprogram a PCM, etc. These skills are not neccessary to be a good fixed operations manager in the "new" world. You better know and truly understand the financial statement and where the numbers come from, your parts inventory and DMS relationship, the psychology of your people, How to hire and train the right people, how to insulate your people from the Dealer/GM, Marketing, Factory Relations, Insurance company relations, and motivation techniques. Let your Parts mgr/Service mgr do thier jobs and deal with the day to day while you focus on next week, next month, next year, the next five years, etc. It is amazing how changing the time-frame you think about your job will change your attitude and the decisions that you make!