Strong communication, clear expectations, and flexibility are fundamental for quick lube operators to attract—and retain—top employees.
At the recent FullSpeed Automotive Joint Conference in Grapevine, Texas, Brian Michel, vice president of operations for Grease Monkey, presented a session on best practices around employee recruitment, onboarding, and retention. The wisdom he shared came in large part from personal experience in his career. In June, Michel will reach 40 years in the automotive industry—a run that nearly ended almost as quickly as it began.
Shortly after the FullSpeed event, NOLN caught up with Michel. The longtime Grease Monkey executive shared his tale of how a rough first day on the job four decades ago nearly convinced him to try something else, and he also offered some practical advice for attracting good candidates and successfully integrating them into the team. Michel also explained why being flexible with employees’ availability can go a long way toward keeping them with your shop.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
NOLN: What should quick lube operators be doing to attract the best candidates for open positions on their team?
Brian Michel: A lot of it's word of mouth. … We've gotten a lot of good employees through other good employees. To attract good employees right now, we also need to make sure that we have a thorough job description of what's going to be involved. (As a candidate), you want to know the job description and the benefits up front, as well as what the job is going to entail so you don't get there and say, “Oh, I didn't know I was going to be doing this. I didn’t know I would have to work the pit. I just thought I'd be taking care of customers.”
NOLN: How has the hiring process changed in recent years?
Brian Michel: Nowadays, you have to be more open to schedules and availabilities. Franchisees that tell me all the time, “I'd love to hire these (applicants), but they only want to work two or three days a week.” And I said, “Well, then hire four or five of them. You’re not paying overtime because they're not getting a 40-hour workweek. They may or may not have benefits.
I would take what we can get at this point as far as scheduling. If you work around an employee’s schedule more, they're going to be more loyal on the days that they are there. And sometimes, they want to start at two or three days a week and then all of a sudden they're up to working full time, five days a week. So, please, get them in there, and give them a chance.
NOLN: Onboarding is an issue near and dear to you. Is there a reason for that?
Brian Michel: Yes, I go back to my first day on the job when I was 18 and going to work for a competitor. I showed up 15 minutes early, and there's a group of employees standing over there at the bays. I said, “Hey guys, I'm Brian. I'm the new guy.” And they're like, “Yeah, we already heard all about you.” And that was my welcome.
So, I stood there and said, “Is Bill (the manager) here yet?” “No.” “OK.” I'm standing there by myself and they're in their little group, and a car pulls up. One of the guys says, “Well, guide him in.” I didn't know what that means, but I knew enough to try to guide the car into the bay. I probably got it off center a little bit, and the guy down in the pit says, “Who the heck guided this car in?” And I said I did. And he said, “You better work on that, boy.” I thought, you know maybe this isn't the place for me, and I almost went back into my car and back home.
That first day for that employee on the job is very, very important. We try to train in a way that shows we want to make (new employees) feel welcomed. The manager is there to greet them. He or she introduces the new team member to the rest of the employees, shakes their hands, and makes sure they know we’re glad they’re here. If you're hiring people, it’s usually because you need somebody. So, the rest of the staff should be thankful that somebody's here to help them.
I suggest assigning a senior leader or manager to that employee for the day to guide them and tell them what's going to be expected. Take them on a tour through the shop. Show them where everything's at. Let them know where the restroom is, where the schedule is, and where the cleaning list is, so when it's slow, you don't have to say find something to do. Also make sure they have the handbook, and they know your policies, procedures, and benefits.
We will make sure that they show up with the right clothes. You should have a uniform for them or at least a no-name shirt or something so they feel more part of the team, not in a T-shirt and jeans for their first day.
When I go into stores now, I can always pick out the new person because they're not in a uniform or they're off in the corner like I was. I try to go up to that person and ask them, “Hey, how’s it going? When did you start? How have you been treated?” Hopefully, they say, “Oh, this is great. I’m learning all kinds of stuff,” instead of “I don't really know what I'm doing, and I'm just kind of here.”
We should treat the employee like we treat our customers every day, right? When that customer leaves, we want them to leave satisfied. We want them to go home, (and when a family member asks), “Hey, how'd the oil change go to?”, we want them to say, “Oh, it was awesome. They’re fast. They're professional. They did everything they said they were going to do. They didn't try to oversell me.” We want that employee to go home at the end of the night on his or her first day and say, “Oh, it was awesome. The employees were cool, they all treated me with respect. They even bought me lunch. They have a great training program. I can't wait to go back tomorrow.”
NOLN: You recently spoke at the Full Speed Automotive Joint Conference. What were some of the most common questions that you received from attendees when you were there?
Brian Michel: How do we keep employees? We have a lot of our stores that hire somebody, and then they go to lunch or don't come back, or they don't come back the next day. Sometimes, it may just not have been the right fit for them, but usually there's something else that happened during the day that made that person (want to leave).
I think recognition is s huge, especially in this day and age with employees that need more pats on the back and to be told more often that they're doing a great job. They may need to be given direction more. Sometimes, they want to do more, but they don't want to overstep their bounds.
Retention of employees is a big thing. We have to do what we can to keep employees because it’s expensive to hire new people. If you have a revolving door, it's tough.
Recognition is good. If you see somebody doing something great, give them a pat on the back. Some operators give recognition by maybe giving employees gift cards for lunch or something like that. If an employee goes out of his or her way to take care of something for the customer that we usually don't do, those are things that we want to recognize.
Also, give reviews. That doesn't have to mean a quarterly review that comes with a raise every time. I’d just sit that employee down at the end of the week or month, and just say, “Here's what you’re doing well, and we appreciate that. These are some things I'd like you to work on.” Then, recognize the team too. It’s huge to create teamwork among employees. A store that has a great culture is going to keep their employees longer than one that doesn't, and that's up to the manager or franchise owner to keep that culture positive.
NOLN: Was there anything else that you wanted to discuss that we have not yet covered?
Brian Michel: It’s very important to attract the right people. Sometimes, the right person may not look like they're going to be the right person, or they may not act like it. But maybe they’re just nervous or scared. Give them a chance. I've seen some good employees that I didn't think would make it turn into great managers and leaders.
