T O O L B OX / C A S E S T U DY
Hiring From Outside the Industry Find your all-star outsider BY PAUL HODOWANIC
For many repair shop owners in the industry, finding quality technicians isn’t their only hiring struggle. While the technician shortage has been well-documented, an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic has emerged: The Great Resignation. Businesses in industries across the country are seeing a dramatic increase in employees leaving their jobs, and a decrease in applications for new jobs. For the auto industry, finding qualified candidates can be difficult. Matt and Judy Curry, co-owners of Matt Curry’s Craftsman Auto Care, like to bring on employees with five, 10 or even 20 years of experience in the industry, especially for highly-technical positions like a technician. However even before the pandemic, the Currys had begun to adapt and have seen dividends on that decision.
The Currys currently own five locations in Virginia. But back in 2019 when the couple operated just three, they recognized they needed someone to handle the back-end work such as HR work, bookkeeping and other financial work. “We were growing and once we hit that third location, there was no way we could keep going without someone,” Judy says. Ideally, they wanted someone who had experience in the auto industry. But above all else, for this specific hire, they wanted someone they could trust. That led them to a lifelong friend, Susan Boone. Boone had worked for private developers in the area doing much of the same work: bookkeeping and project management. They knew Boone could be trusted and knew she was a hard worker so they pulled the trigger. The couple have also brought on several young workers, including their niece, 2 8 / R + W / 12 . 21
who have little to no experience in the industry to attend to the register and sell basic services like air filters.
The Problem
It’s always easiest in the hiring process to fall back on someone with experience. But in today’s world, those people can be hard to come by, Matt says. So hiring outside of the industry has become more important. And while it may never be realistic to find a technician from outside the industry, the same can’t be said for other positions like a service advisor or a customer service representative. Still, that idea can be daunting. What skills and traits should shop owners look for? Are there specific industries they should be looking to? How should they train them once they’ve brought them aboard? Those are the challenges that shop owners face when hiring outside the industry.
The Solution
Along with Boone, the Currys have hired several cashiers and a cleaner, all of whom had no experience in the industry. Both cashiers, however, worked at a local Sunglasses Hut. To Matt, it was clear they both possessed strong customer service capabilities. They knew how to interact and help customers with empathy, and they were self-sufficient. When working at Sunglass Hut, both worked as the only employee at a given time, meaning they were good at problem solving. For a simple cashier role that could one day expand to a service advisor, that’s all they needed. Whether it’s retail workers or restaurant employees, looking to an industry that also puts a priority on customer service is the key. When you go into one of those places, keep business cards on you, Matt says. You never know
GET T Y
The Backstory
