Shop foreman pay

[Jerryd1029]

I am thinking about adding the position of a Shop Foreman to my Service Department. My reasoning for this is I have three new young techs who would benefit from a strong technically inclined shop foreman. I have a very good candidate in mind. Those of you who have a shop foreman or have had one at one time, I would be interested in the pros & cons. Also, I would like some ideas of how your payplan was set up for this position. He will be a working shop foreman but obviously will not turn the amount of flagged hours as he did as a technician. Thanks for any input.

[STEVERACER]

I DO NOT HAVE A SHOP FOREMAN, BUT HAVE HAD ONES IN THE PAST. I FOUND THAT IN MOST CASES IT HAS TAKEN A GOOD PRODUCTIVE TECH AND GAVE HIM A WAY TO BECOME LAZY. I THINK YOU ARE BETTER OFF TO GET YOUR HELP TRAINED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND MAKE THEM RESPONSABLE.YOU WOULD BE BETTER OFF HIRING ANOTHER EXPERIANCED TECH FOR A LITTLE MORE MONEY TO TAKE SOME OF THE HEAT WHILE YOU ARE TRAINING

[Doug]

I never had luck with a "shop foreman/technician" position. Always seemed like both roles suffered.

I now have a true shop foreman who doesn't routinely work on cars....(although, when the situation merits it, he does work on them) He has a *wide variety* of duties and is really more of an assistant manager or "shop manager". He is the primary "go to" guy for any/all repair problems and technician issues. His primary job, though, is to keep production up. He has the authority to hire and fire, etc.

It's been a great help to me and fortunately we have enoygh volume to be able to afford him.

Cheers
Doug

[Jerryd1029]

Thank you for answering my questions. The training offered by the manufacturer takes too long to train a technician to the point where he is productive enough to make it on his own. Although I have them on a fair (hourly) plan which also gives them a bonus for reaching goals of flat rate hours turned, it seems difficult for them to make the goal. I think in the long run they will make good technicians but was hoping their productivity would accelerate with the help of a shop foreman. Thanks for you ideas and input.