September 2019

accessing job cards, technical data or communicating with colleagues. Employees are also seeking transparent visibility of personal performance, in order to understand training and development needs or so they can be rewarded through smart and hard work. Showcasing the modern technology and tools you embrace within the business at an interview can help the small pool of candidates to decide joining you over a competitor.” Retention It is very important for a garage owner to understand their return on investment (ROI) on a technician according to Leo: “If you don’t understand this, you may be faced with retention issues over pay, working hours or even conditions. When said technician could be already generating between three and four times ROI, a small investment from the business far outweighs the possibility of losing them and incurring the possibility of lost hours available to sell coupled with recruitment fees. However, and equally importantly, you may be faced with an underperforming member that is pushing for more and it is simply unsustainable based on their current ROI. In this scenario you have to look at whether you persevere and performance coach/monitor or simply decide to let them go. There are options between these poles of course, but the key point is that without the data it is very difficult to make the right decision.” Adjustments Leo concludes: “In answer to our question ‘necessity’ or ‘nice to have’, we believe that in order to grow and nurture an independent garage regardless if your goal is to increase profits or simply take more time out of the business to enjoy life that choosing the correct garage management system is a necessity in today’s market. Yes, there are plenty of older technologies that will get a business through day to day tasks but will never provide the insights on offer from a good GMS to enable them to make adjustments for the better.” Working smarter From fuel efficiency gauges in our cars to smart meters in our homes, we’re constantly being reminded that small efficiency improvements can lead to significant net gains. Running your workshop is no different. By accurately tracking technicians’ performance and tweaking your workflow accordingly, you could make sizable improvements to your bottom line. Nathan Fothergill, Sales Manager at MAM Software, says the company is helping garage owners achieve this by offering their own equivalent of a smart meter. “Workshops should embrace real- time technology to reduce costs and downtime. TeamView is MAM's new electronic job card and technician tracking module, designed to benefit garages of all sizes. Providing real- time communication between work that’s being undertaken and scheduled jobs, the software enables workshop managers to overcome bottlenecks and ensure jobs flow smoothly. “The solution features a mobile/paperless job card that can be used on a phone, tablet or PC, and a workshop manager view that incorporates drag and drop work assignment and real-time status updates. Whether a technician is waiting for a part, or for work to be authorised, with TeamView you have complete visibility, allowing for the quick and simple reallocation of work. “As well as providing a real-time view of current activity, TeamView’s reporting suite allows you to analyse historical performance and identify areas for improvement. By accurately 38 AFTERMARKET SEPTEMBER 2019 ONLINE TOOLS AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS www.aftermarketonline.net