While the majority of auto repair shops across the United States continue to struggle to recruit techs there are some who are having success.
The Busy Bays Podcast team recently interviewed Annmarie Aristigue from Arizona Auto – a shop owner who has thrived in her recruiting and hiring efforts. Annmarie shared some of the secrets of her success.
One of the things that has been very helpful for her is to build a thorough hiring process and to consistently follow the process. Her process includes having the Shop Foreman participate in interviews and other team members being involved in checking for cultural fit. She also includes the potential employee’s significant other in the later stages of the recruitment process.
Annmarie takes a proactive approach to recruiting. She doesn’t wait for somebody to apply to an open position, she actively reaches out to those who say they are available on job platforms if they look like good candidates. She reaches out with a friendly introduction and asks them if they are still interested in new opportunities. While not every one of these efforts has been a home run, she has never had a negative response from a candidate.
Arizona Auto’s apprenticeship program has been an excellent way to attract raw talent and coach them up to fit the shop’s culture and the way they do business. Annmarie posts information about the program anywhere that she thinks a potentially good candidate may find it. And when it comes to the most important attribute to look for in a candidate, Annmarie says it is passion for the industry. You can teach the skills, but you can’t teach passion.
With the new year upon us, what is Arizona Auto looking toward to help carry on their successful recruiting efforts? Annmarie says that they are working on creating recruiting videos for Facebook.
If you’d like to listen to The Busy Bays Podcast to hear more about the Arizona Auto hiring process and all of Annmarie’s successes, you can go to https://www.repairshopwebsites.com/resource-center/repair-shop-podcast/#24 or look for it in your favorite podcast platform.
