May 2020

educational aids we use to teach. Matt repeated the tasks he’d learned with ourselves and then set about teaching his team. It was a great move. Enter Scope Dog I love a good nickname and Scope Dog is as good as any. You see, Adam (or Scope Dog to his friends) works for Matt and it shouldn’t have come as any surprise (nickname was a giveaway really) that he loved diag as well. The in-house sessions Matt had done with Adam prior to our training had set Adam in good stead, he followed the same path as Matt and on every course always asked incisive questions and was constantly thirsty for new techniques to use at work. Upon his return to the workshop Adam would use our diagnostic process and new-found knowledge, systematically applying this to problem vehicles. The consistent application of this along with Adam’s tenacity was a powerful combination, which bore fruit and had the desired effect of lifting the weight from Matt’s shoulders. Was Matt onto something? Was Adam’s success a fluke, or did Matt have the makings of a system for creating diagnostic techs? Let’s find out. I next had the pleasure of meeting Rob, Rick and Jake. While they didn’t have diag based nicknames, they clearly shared some common ground with Scope Dog. Namely their love for fault finding and an eagerness for diagnostic lock-ins after a training session. Clearly the time that Matt was spending with his team at Cedar Garage as well as his blended approach to training was having a positive effect across a large number of his technical team. But did Matt achieve his goal? Yes. Matt’s approach to technician development has been a resounding success. His team following the same program of training and being well supported by Matt in the workplace has seen Matt’s job role change dramatically. No longer is Matt on the tools full time as the fault-finding work is now undertaken by his diag guys. Matt’s time is now spent supporting his larger team of eleven techs which will no doubt see him improve their skills as well. The impact on the business could well be exponential. It doesn’t stop there. Not only has the technical skill set improved but the team are truly committed to the business and the positive culture is there for all to see. It’s a win-win all round. So… Could the next few weeks be used to complete the most important work your business needs? Well if you want to be like Abe and Matt, use some leverage to maximise your throughput, then setting some time aside for strategic thinking is a great place to start. It can make a dramatic difference to your garage when implemented, and it’s certainly better than watching Netflix. As always, I’m here to answer your questions. If you’d like to find out how Auto iQ can help your garage with our training and consultation programs then feel free to call on 01604 328 500. MAY 2020 AFTERMARKET 21 EYEBROW www.aftermarketonline.net If you’d like to learn how to improve your diagnosis skills then call John on 01604 328500. Auto iQ have a complete technician development programme designed to help your technicians be the best they can be. _____________ To join AutoiQ’s online forum go to: autoiq.co.uk/ garageowners