A car is an expensive toy and most owners take it very seriously. After all, we all want to feel safe and sound when driving, which is why everyone is trying to find the right mechanic to check and repair their vehicles.
However, only one negative experience is enough to convince a customer to start searching for a new car technician. This is exactly why almost 90% of clients are willing to pay more for great customer experience.
If you are running a car repair service, you should know that skilled and professional mechanics are critical to the success of your company. A single bad link in the chain can slow down the entire team, so you better do the homework properly and find the best car technicians. In this post, we will show you seven ways to evaluate mechanic skills during the hiring process.
Mechanic Skills You Are Looking For
Before we discuss how to hire the right candidate, we need to analyze the traits of a professional car mechanic. Technical abilities are the first thing to look for here. A mechanic is supposed to be a skilled technician who can quickly identify a problem and offer the corresponding solution.
Secondly, he must have an eye for details to spot even the smallest problems. This doesn’t only make drivers safer but also helps your company to earn more by fixing more issues. Of course, you also need a mechanic who is capable of completing work on time. You don’t need a bodybuilder in the shop, but a fair share of physical strength is a must here.
Another important thing is to find a person who works well under pressure and delivers in a timely manner. And here’s an extra tip for you – try to find a mechanic with solid communication skills because it will help your team to function easily. Besides that, you don’t want to hire a person who is not able to explain the problem to the client.
7 Tactics to Hire the Right Mechanic
Now that you understand the traits of an ideal car repair employee, you need to start digging and identify the right candidates. Without further ado, let’s check out seven tips that can help you in the hiring process.
- Make it official
When initiating a recruiting procedure, the first task is always to make it official. What does it mean? Well, it means you need to ask for official diplomas or certificates that prove a candidate has formal education in the field of car mechanics. It’s a logical step that precedes every other.
The same goes for every field of work and life. For instance, students who buy essays want to know that the author is well-educated because it guarantees quality delivery. This is exactly your objective, too, so begin by asking a certificate from the school or course of mechanics.
- Check employment history
The theory is one thing, but the practice is something completely different. This is exactly why you have to check a candidate’s employment history and see who you are dealing with. You should explore various details:
- Learn about previous employers and their professional reputation.
- Read possible recommendations from senior mechanics or supervisors.
- Think about the time spent there: Is your candidate a problematic person who cannot stay anywhere for a long time?
These are the main features related to work experience, but feel free to pose more questions if needed.
- Conduct interviews for detailed explanations
An interview is probably where you can find out almost everything about your job applicants. It’s a chance to ask for detailed explanations about every aspect of the work. For instance, you can learn whether your new mechanic specializes in a specific car type or acts as an all-around player. The list of questions is almost endless, so it’s up to you to come up with a list of inquiries that suit your style and business personality.
- Let them do the aptitude test
We’ve come to the tricky part. When you identify the most promising candidates, you should let them do the aptitude test to evaluate part of their skills. There are many possible procedures to launch here, but we recommend you to use the Mechanical Aptitude Test. The test consists of four parts:
- Mechanical Comprehension
- Mechanical Knowledge
- Electronics Knowledge
- Mechanical Tools
Of course, you can’t expect a candidate to answer all questions perfectly, but this is an excellent filter that can help you distinguish knowledgeable mechanics from their less proficient peers.
- Make them solve a practical problem
The next thing you want to do is make the candidates solve a practical problem. The way they respond will likely reveal the best applicants, so you don’t have to worry about making the final call. For instance, you can ask candidates to name the common causes of the sputtering engine, squeaking breaks, or alternator failure. These are all very frequent car issues, so you’ll need someone who can deal with it properly.
- Mind the soft skills
If you still can’t make a decision, perhaps you could analyze additional criteria such as soft skills. You should certainly look for someone who is talkative enough to explain the problem and convince customers that they’ve come to the right place. Besides that, as one of the main NSBroker recruiters insists, “you need a person who doesn’t mind working in a team, following the schedule of work, and respecting authorities”.
- Analyze their fitness
The last advice on our list is definitely not the most important, but you do have to make sure that the selected candidate is physically able to play the role of a mechanic. Jake Gardner, the HR consultant at Brill Assignment, says this is particularly important if you expect your employees to work overtime: “Therefore, you should try to hire a mechanic who is healthy and capable of doing some hard work from time to time.”
Conclusion
Hiring the right employees is the most important job for every car repair shop. After all, you want to create a wide base of loyal customers who trust your services and keep coming back year after year. This is, however, everything but simple.
Finding quality mechanics is a demanding process that requires a series of tests and challenges. In this article, we showed you seven ways to evaluate mechanic skills during the hiring process. These are not the only tactics you can try, but they are definitely the best, so make sure to use them next time you recruit a mechanic.
Michael Gorman is a blogger at paperwritingpro.com and a part-time content creator at the Best Essays agency. He is a digital marketing expert, but as a passionate driver, Michael loves to write about the automotive industry as well. Michael is a father of two lovely kids and an amateur long-distance runner. Feel free to contact Michael on Twitter and Facebook.
