When you hired your current technicians, you likely looked at the skills listed on their resume, checked their ASE certifications, called references to verify their abilities, and maybe even had them perform a skills test during the interview process.
But have you assessed your technicians’ skills since they were hired? To ensure the productivity stays high in your shop it’s important to make sure technicians’ skills are sharp so they can diagnose and repair your vehicles. Assessing their skills regularly can help identify any training needs some technicians may need.
Some of the top skills shops might look for in technicians can include repair skills, deductive reasoning, critical thinking, complex problem solving and active listening. These abilities can allow employees to diagnose issues with a vehicle, listen to driver complaints, and make accurate repairs.
To assess your technicians’ skills, consider using the following methods.
One of the easiest ways to assess your technicians’ skills is to simply watch them while they work. Observe how they diagnose issues, how familiar they are with various tools, how knowledgeable they are with different vehicles, and how well they can complete a repair. Some things to watch for include how long it takes them to diagnose an issue, if they must seek help from other employees to make a diagnosis and repair the problem, and how long the repair takes.
A more formal way of assessing technicians’ abilities is to set up a skills test in your shop. You can set up specific issues you want technicians to be able to diagnose and fix and require them to use specific tools to test their abilities. This is a more controlled environment than observing them during the workday and allows you to test specific skills.
Another option is to give technicians’ a formalized assessment test, like one you might have given them during the interview process. This can include a computerized portion of the test requiring them to identify tools and problem solve based on scenarios they are given. It can also include a hands-on portion where, like the test listed above, you set up a skills test in your shop.
The results of the skills assessments can determine what training employees need. This can help determine if certain employees need to attend formal training classes, or if your operation needs to have veteran staff members train more inexperienced technicians to get everyone’s skills on the same level.
To learn how RTA Fleet Management Software can help your fleet operation, contact us today to schedule a demo or start a free trial!