The backbone of every fleet operation is the shop’s technicians. Without them, the operation is unable to keep up with repairs and maintenance on its fleet. While operations need a certain number of technicians on staff to keep up with the volume of work, they also need quality technicians who can diagnose and repair complex issues quickly.
Get tips on how you can develop and train your technicians to achieve long-term success for themselves and your fleet.
Fleet maintenance is constantly changing. Vehicles are becoming more fuel-efficient and are using new technology to become smarter. This can help technicians when it comes to diagnosing problems, but it can also require new training on how to repair vehicles with newer technology. To keep technicians up-to-date on maintenance and repairs, offer ongoing training on new technology and new types of vehicles. This will help give your fleet more flexibility in the types of vehicles it can purchase, and also ensure your technicians are freshening their skills and adapting to new technology and methods.
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Like in any business and for any employee, it’s crucial for technicians to know what their priorities are in the shop. Identify what’s most important to help guide them on what tasks to focus on to ensure all needs are being met. This will help prevent them and management from getting frustrated when time is spent on the wrong tasks.
To ensure Work Orders are being completed in a timely manner, managers can consider setting productivity goals for technicians. These goals can include using IT tools and technology to help them manage their WOs, clock in and off of jobs, and make repairs more efficiently.
Fleet operations should also set professional goals each year for their technicians to ensure they are continuing to develop in their roles and career. These can include items like completing a certain amount of training courses, increasing leadership skills, improving efficiencies in getting parts and tracking jobs, or any goals the technician and management feel would help improve the employee and the operation.
Offer Competitive Pay, Incentives
To keep technicians interested in developing their skills and continuing to be productive at work, fleet operations need to make sure technicians are compensated appropriately. Technicians’ overall pay should be comparable with market averages in the area. Additional incentives can also be offered if technicians complete suggested training courses and seminars or meet productivity and professional goals.
Offer Career Advancement Training
To keep technicians motivated to develop their skills and participate in on-going training, operations should offer technicians career advancement training. This will help identify what career path a technician wants to pursue and alerts the operation to what skills and training the employee might need to accomplish this. Providing this guidance will help technicians keep striving to improve, and will also help them develop more loyalty and long-term roots within the operation as they continue to strive for promotions and more career opportunities.
To find out how RTA Fleet Management Software can help your operation and technicians improve their efficiencies through Paperless Shop and other tools, contact us today to schedule a free demo.