TRAINING

[dew23456]

HOW MANY OF YOU OUT THERE ATTACH TECHNICIAN TRAINING TO THEIR PAY? I AM LOOKING TO MAKE IT MANDATORY THAT EACH TECH COMPLETE AT LEAST 2 TRAINING COURSES EACH MONTH, CAN BE WBT, IDL OR HANDS ON. IF THEY DO NOT COMPLETE AT LEAST 2 COURSES THEY WILL LOOSE $2.00 PER FLAT RATE HOUR.

AM I BEING TO HARD?

[btk]

Are you allowing them time to train-are you paying them to sit at the dealership and train or do they need to do it on their own time?

I always looked at the individual, and when it came to web based training, I would take one low trained technician and offer either time at the shop to train or if they wanted to do it at home, I would tell them get 70 % trained by this date and get a 2.00 an hour raise- get 80 % trained and get a 3.00 an hour raise. That usually motivated most guys to get their training done.Of course any time raises are talked about training and % trained always comes into the conversation.

[Lhansen]

Most dealerships I work with pay the technician for the time spent taking the training. Off site live manufacturer's training paid at the 8.0 hours per day. Web based taken at home, paid for the time allowance of the course..2 or 3 hours usually. Same if taking web based at the dealership.
What brand(s) do you represent? You can easily make attaining a certain level of training a requirement(i.e. DCX dealers level 1,2,3,etc.), but remember that the manufacturers do not always provide the live courses that one of your techs might need, in a timely manner.
I usually sit down with the service managers at the beginning of the year and map out the year's training on a tech by tech basis. Most training sites for manufaturers let you submit a wish list. If yours does, I encourage you to take advantage of it.

Happy training!

Linda

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Linda Graham Hansen
Auto Dealer Focus www.autodealerfocus.com

[This message has been edited by Lhansen (edited 01-06-2007).]

[DANPARTS]

ARE TECHS HAVE TO KEEP UP ON THEIR TRAINING BY CONTRACT. 8 ASE AND 80 % OF THEIR HONDA TRINING IF NOT THE LOSE THEIR MASTER TECH RATING AND ABOUT 7.OO AN HOUR. OUR TECHS AVERAGE ABOUT 70 HOURS A WEEK SO DO THE MATH AS TO HOW MUCH THEY WOULD LOSE IF THEY DONT KEEP UP. AND WE PAY 1/2 HOUR FOR EVERY ONLINE TEST PASSES AND IF THEY GO TO THE TRAINING CANTER THEY GET 8 HOURS FOR THE Day.

[Old Irish]

70 hours/week average ? Hooo boy ! That's 175% efficency.

How do they do it?

Cheers
DD

[westover6]

We pay our techs for completion of training. ie: Basic Electrical,4 web based classes 3 training center classes 2 ASE. They get paid 8 hrs a day for off site, we pay for ASE(if they pass) and $1.50 flat rate hour increase upon completion. All raises are based upon completion of training. A trained tech is valuable to both the tech and the shop.

[ReggieDay]

I have exactly the same philosophy toward a well-trained tech that General Motors does; therefore, we pay our techs their hourly rate ($18-$22 per hour) times the hours required to take an at-home computer based course, with a cap of $50 per course. They are paid 8 hours when attending a GM hands-on class (approximately 100 miles away), plus mileage and one meal. We don't pay them any extra for IDL courses taken in-house, during working hours. We also pay all their ASE test expenses. With these incentives and the fact that I constantly stress the benefits for them, our customers, our dealership, and GM, I have very few problems attaining and sustaining our training objectives.

[dew23456]

I APPRECIATE THE INPUT FROM EVERYONE. I ALSO PAY FOR TRAINING AND ASE TESTING, THAT IS NOT THE REASON I HAVE TROUBLE MOTIVATING THEM TO MAINTAIN TRAINING.

MID-YEAR 2006 WE HAD A DIFFICULT TIME TRYING TO HIRE QUALIFIED TECHS, AND THE TECHS HERE WERE COMPLAINING ABOUT "NOT MAKING ENOUGH MONEY". THEY WERE AT $20.00 F/R HOUR, NOT THE HIGHEST IN THE AREA, BUT WITH-IN THE HIGHEST. THE DEALER GOT MAD FROM HEARING THEM COMPLAIN AND AGREED TO RAISE THEM TO $25.00 HOUR. HE THOUGHT THIS WOULD QUIET THEM DOWN AND WE COULD MOVE ON.

DO I NEED TO GO ON? IT DID NOTHING EXCEPT KILL MY PROFIT, AND CREATED MORE BAD FEELINGS IN THE SHOP. SINCE THEN I HAD TO FIRE MY BEST TECH, WHO WAS THE WORSE CRY-BABY. MY TRAINING LEVELS HAVE DROPPED SINCE THEN AND HAS BEEN HARD TO RECOVER. HIRING NEW TECHS AT 100% TRAINING IS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE. THE TECHS THAT ARE STILL HERE ARE UNDER TRAINED FOR THEIR PAY LEVELS, MOST ARE NOT TOP LEVEL TECHS.

MY SITUATION IS TRYING TO KEEP THE TECHS HERE FULLY TRAINED, I CANNOT OFFER MORE MONEY PER HOUR IF THEY PASS A CLASS, BUT I EXPECT THEM TO GET IT DONE. I AM AFRAID THAT IF I DON'T MAKE TRAINING MANDATORY TO KEEP THEIR CURRENT LEVEL OF PAY, IT WILL NOT HAPPEN.

[flyboy]

How much of you training requirements or standards has been clarified in writing prior to hiring?

I believe we should pay them for training, but if you do not have your expectations laid out IN ADVANCE, well, shame on you! Pay can be based upon specific training standards no problem, but we owe it to them to lay it all out for them. That affords us the ability to direct them as well, pointing them to the areas we need the training also.

I suppose this goes back to open communication. If we hire lower skilled guys, then dont set expectations for them, a year from now we will still have lower skilled guys. Let them know what you expect when you hire them, then hold them to it.

[texaslp]

Sounds like you need to have a meeting along the lines of "I am currently paying you at the rate of xxx level of training, if you wish to stay at at that rate of pay, you have until this date to reach xxx level of training".

With ample time to allow them to do the training and the means available to them, certainly you can reduce their pay. And ideally you will not have to reduce anyone's pay. Then of course ongoing,when you hire someone new, make it clear up front that future pay raises will be contingent upon training levels.