MCE: Parts Counter & Telephone Sales CSA

With the rapid changes we have experienced in our industry, we have reached the point where the skills and the knowledge of our employees is a critical difference in developing and maintaining our relationships with our customers. The changes we face include machine design, computerization of componentry, telematics, and the use of exotic materials. Additionally, the technology within dealer management systems continues to progress at a rapid pace with VoIP, AI, and “smart” systems to name just a few. And each of the OEM’s has or is in the process of developing electronic catalogues allowing customers to place orders directly to the dealership.

The comprehensive skills assessment covers all of the topics and subject matter required in the course of performing the telephone and counter sales job function. In assessing this job function we have taken all of the classes involved in selling and created a skills assessment questionnaire. We have taken the 900 questions, from the pretest and final assessment, from all of the classes offered for Counter and Telephone Selling. We have taken all of these questions and boiled them down to ninety essential questions. Each question has an answer within a multiple-choice selection.

The results from the CSA, Comprehensive Skills Assessment, categorize the skills and knowledge of the individual being assessed, into one of our four levels of accomplishment: Developing, Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced.

These assessments can be used, in conjunction with background checks and interviews, to screen applicants before they are hired. They should also be used in the annual performance review with each employee. They can even be used as a foundation piece of information related to the wages and salaries paid to the employees. Finally, and this is the genesis of the creation of the comprehensive assessment skills, the assessment has been developed to be used to create a specific employee development program for each employee in the parts and service business teams.

MCE: Parts Inventory CSA

With the rapid changes we have experienced in our industry, we have reached the point where the skills and the knowledge of our employees is a critical difference in developing and maintaining our relationships with our customers. The requirements in inventory management have changed dramatically since the arrival of computers to drive this job function. Additionally, the technology within dealer management systems continues to progress at a rapid pace with cloud computing and “smart” systems to name just a few.

The comprehensive skills assessment covers all of the topics and subject matter required in the course of performing the inventory management job function. In assessing this job function we have taken the classes involved in managing the parts business and created an skills and knowledge assessment questionnaire. We have taken the 900 questions, from the pretest and final assessment, from all of the classes offered for the Part Business. We have taken all of these questions and boiled them down to ninety essential questions. Each question has an answer within a multiple-choice selection.

The results from the CSA, Comprehensive Skills Assessment, categorize the skills and knowledge of the individual being assessed, into one of our four levels of accomplishment: Developing, Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced.

These assessments can be used, in conjunction with background checks and interviews, to screen applicants before they are hired. They should also be used in the annual performance review with each employee. They can even be used as a foundation piece of information related to the wages and salaries paid to the employees. Finally, and this is the genesis of the creation of the comprehensive assessment skills, the assessment has been developed to be used to create a specific employee development program for each employee in the parts and service business teams.

MCE: Parts Management CSA

With the rapid changes we have experienced in our industry, we have reached the point where the skills and the knowledge of our employees is a critical difference in developing and maintaining our relationships with our customers. The changes we face include machine design, computerization of componentry, telematics, and the use of exotic materials. Additionally, the technology within dealer management systems continues to progress at a rapid pace with VoIP, AI, and “smart” systems to name just a few.

The comprehensive skills assessment covers all of the topics and subject matter required in the course of performing the Parts Management job function. In assessing a Parts Manager, we have taken the 750 questions that comprise the final assessment from all of the classes offered for Parts Managers and boiled them down to ninety essential questions. Each question has an answer within a multiple-choice selection.

The results from the CSA, Comprehensive Skills Assessment, categorize the skills and knowledge of the individual being assessed, into one of our four levels of accomplishment: Developing, Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced.

These assessments can be used, in conjunction with background checks and interviews, to screen applicants before they are hired. They should also be used in the annual performance review with each employee. They can even be used as a foundation piece of information related to the wages and salaries paid to the employees. Finally, and this is the genesis of the creation of the CSA, the assessment has been developed to be used to create a specific employee development program for each employee in the parts and service business teams.

HCC: Service Maintenance

Everyone knows about the repair and rebuild business. That is where the excitement is for technical people. In the product support business, we have two major goals: reduce the owning and operating costs for the machine owner, and protect the residual value of the machine. The first step to understanding how to reduce owning and operating costs is to understand the importance of the maintenance service recommended by the OEM. Most customers view maintenance as the necessary evil of changing fluids and filters. There is much more to it than that. How to develop a maintenance program to reduce those operating costs is the theme in this program.

There is a fundamental conflict that has to be dealt with in the labor management group. Maintenance is boring, anyone can do it. In fact the OEM dealer has less than 6.5% of the maintenance market. Nearly 90% of the maintenance is done by a customer mechanic. Yet survey data indicates that nearly 90% of the customers would give the maintenance business to the dealership if their price was less than what the customer currently pays.

This program will discuss the methods and processes to follow in order to be able to meet that price and performance need.

CWI: Service Organization

The organization of a service department is about more than technicians and clerks and management. Designing the structures is about facts and not feelings. The time for shop and field jobs starts the design. The technology, tooling, and processes used take us the rest of the way. Exploring the service department organization from a factual foundation is the goal of this program.

The density of supervision to technician has long been in dispute in this Industry. This program aims to put that dispute to rest by providing definitive measures of labor efficiency and quality at the forefront, and not having “cost” drive decisions about those two fundamental elements of a service department. From Roman times to the current US Army supervision has been a constant and defining attribute of high performance. We discuss the appropriate levels of supervision and provide a model for the participants to use for their business.

The clerical support in a Service Department covers all aspects of record management, as well as labor controls, job controls, job process and work in process, as well as everything to do with warranty and technical documentation, either in printed or electronic format. The dealer business system is critical in supporting this function. This program will be of benefit to everyone in management and supervision of the service function.

CWI: Service Labor Efficiency

Labor efficiency and labor quality are the two most important performance measures for supervision of a service department. The way in which you measure labor efficiency leads you to be able to manage labor efficiency.  Detailed definitions and calculations, as well as tried and true methods to achieve high labor efficiency are the hallmarks of this program.

When employees are given specific direction the results are impressive. Without it, the results can be disastrous.  Billing efficiency, or the amount of time that can be billed versus paid, is not the same as labor efficiency. Labor efficiency is owned by the technician, but is directly influenced by the methods used to schedule work by the first level supervisor. This brings together inspections, job segmentation, standard jobs coding, and standard job times. Fundamentals of scheduling then can be applied and allow the performance of the work by a service department to become predictable.

Finally, the elements that interfere with good labor efficiency are exposed and suggestions developed for each so that they can be overcome. The customer will benefit greatly from predictable completion dates which will be the “intended” consequence of this program for all service management and supervision.

CWI: Service Flat Rate Standard Times

Customers want to know how much the repair work will cost before they approve the job you will perform. We have to provide this important information. In order to do this, we must manage our repairs with job codes. We must determine standard jobs, and then track them every time we perform them. In this way, we can develop a “standard time” which is different than average time. You will learn the secrets of flat rating in this very detailed program.

The job code structure is where this begins. The manufacturers provide a job code for use with warranty jobs. This is the same logic that dealers must use to manage the repair and maintenance jobs. The code needs to be easy to understand and search out in a file or on a system. Once we have the job codes, then the inspections and job structures need to follow the same logic. How to develop the job codes and then utilize them to develop and manage history is a critical element of this program.

The determination of the standard time is also misunderstood by most. It is NOT about the average time to perform the job. Learn the perils of assuming all the risk on jobs, and how to provide for those risks with standard times. This program will be of value to anyone in management who wants to move away from a job shop structure.

CWI: Service Shop Floor Scheduling

Our customers all want predictable, consistent, high quality service work. But, equally important to them is a completion date for the work you are doing for them. You need to be able to provide a completion date, and you need to meet that date. To do that requires very specific activities and deliveries. Parts, labor, supplies, and outside purchases all are involved. This program will help you learn how to establish and manage shop schedules. To date, in most surveys on customer attitudes, customers indicate that they want “honesty” in the top five. That should tell us that completion dates, which are rarely met, is an area that needs a lot of attention.

This program leads to the items that are required in developing a schedule that can be met for all customers and internal departments. The typical rationales used to explain away why completion dates are rarely met are exposed and dealt with in a manner that allows acceptance of the need to change approach.

Each day, each technician needs to be given eight hours of labor, but no more than eight hours of labor. This requires that each job have work elements that are never more than eight hours in length, so that the answer to the question “will you complete everything I gave you to do today?” will be either yes or no. If yes, then the schedule is intact. If the answer is no – that will be dealt with in this program.

CWI: Service Standards of Performance

What does it look like when it is right? Performance in a Service Department must maximize efficiency, maximize quality, and satisfy customers.  The first step to understanding and accepting what needs to be done is to have meaningful, measureable and achievable standards. How to develop your own standards and yet continue to reach for excellence is the theme in this program.

Individual employees want to do a good job, yet many do not know what doing a good job entails. This is a fundamental requirement of good management: communicating performance expectations and measures to the employees. In this program we will cover the fundamentals exposed by Patrick Lencioni in his important book “The Three Signs of a Miserable Job.”  Anonymity, Irrelevance and Immeasureability are the three symptoms of this disease which leads to the “Sunday Blues.”

Each employee can also deliver more than they think they can, yet each is fundamentally lazy. Leadership methods to entice or motivate employees to deliver good performance for coworkers, customers and the Company will be discussed in this extremely important program.

CWI: Service Delivery Systems

In the service business, we communicate with the marketplace in a variety of methods. With the telephone, with people walking into your store, some customers and some use the internet. But the variations of the work don’t stop there: we also have to contend with a variety of “delivery” systems as well. These are not transportation systems. This is a customer service delivery system.

We process work orders for our customers and we all know that not all customers are created equal. Some customers spend a lot of money with you and deserve to get special treatment. Well, we also have some processes that are cost intensive but also some that are very efficient. These are the customer service delivery systems.

From the customer who does not know what is needed, to the customer with their own mechanics, there are wide ranges of differences. Each of the delivery systems has a different cost component, and that can lead us to provide differentiated services dependent on the delivery system that is chosen by the customer. We explore all aspects of the delivery systems we offer to the market in this important program.