Ever thought of building a calendar around the happiness of your employees? Birthdays, anniversaries, work anniversaries, meetings (productive ones), company provided apparel, work parties, company provided meals, ice cream, warm soup etc.

I hope this post finds you well, with a shop full of profitable work (and the hands to get it done). Lately, I've been hearing from shops across the country that it’s taking longer than usual to fill open positions and I wanted to let you know what I’m seeing personally. From coast to coast, I'm seeing a trend: hiring is taking longer, and applications are fewer. Now, before you start thinking it's just your shop or your area, let me assure you - this is a nationwide phenomenon. Here's what's going on: 1. Summer Slowdown: We see this every year. People are more focused on vacations than job hunting. 2. Election Year Effect: With the upcoming election, we're seeing increased ad censorship and a flood of political ads, which affects our industry's visibility. 3. Competition Is Increasing: So what else is new? This has been going on for a while. But here's the thing - challenges create opportunities for those willing to innovate. And that's exactly what we're doing. We've been developing a game-changing tool: the Technician Salary Survey. Here's how it works: We run Facebook ads in various cities, offering techs a summary of salaries in their area. The response has been phenomenal because techs LOVE this information. Now, we're taking it a step further. We're building an automated follow-up system that will pull this data from Facebook and nurture these leads until they're ready to have a conversation with you. It's like having a dedicated recruitment assistant working 24/7. While we're still ironing out some kinks, I believe this will revolutionize how we attract top talent in our industry. If you’d like to see what the salary survey looks like, reply to this post with your city name, and we'll create a personalized Technician Salary Survey for your area. You'll get a firsthand look at what techs in your region are earning and what they're looking for. Remember, in times like these, patience and innovation are key. We might be experiencing a temporary slowdown, but with the right tools and mindset, we can turn this challenge into an opportunity to build stronger, more resilient teams.

I had a call with a good childhood/lifelong friend last night. After we got caught up on business stuff, the conversation shifted to family. He was excited that his Gen Z son finally got a job until his son came home one day after four months on the job and said, “I’m going to call in sick for two days to play my new video game.” If you’re Gen X or a boomer you are shaking your head right now. If you’re younger than Gen X you probably don’t see any problem with this statement. Let’s face facts, everything is a game for the younger generations. We can search for the exceptions, curse youngsters for their lack of dedication or work ethic or simply embrace the facts. So what can you do about it? Here are 3 things you need to engage younger workers: -A firm grasp on how the numbers work in your business. -A team that understands how their actions affect those numbers. -A game to play around the key numbers that moves the needle and makes it fun to win. -(BONUS) make everyone feel like they are on a mission to do good and be part of something bigger than themselves. If this list looks familiar it's because these are the same things that are needed to install a profit sharing plan inside of your shop. This is one way that you can keep younger generations engaged in your workplace and it's also how you can get them to stay.

Many Service Advisor social media groups are buzzing with how much of a pain this cyber attack has been for them over at the dealers. Let's use it as a benefit to attract them to your shops! Quick shout out to @Shane Marler for bringing this to my attention. If you are looking for SA's, reply to this post ASAP and I'll reach out about how we can benefit from this opportunity.