January 02, 2019

How to Hire the Best Employees for Your Auto Repair Business

In this post, we’re sharing five ways to find excellent employees for your auto repair business.

5 Ways to Recruit Auto Shop Employees

1. Post on Auto Industry Job Boards

Industry specific job boards make it easy to reach people with the exact skill set you’re looking for. When you’re posting your job opening online, it’s important to focus on boards that focus on the auto industry to ensure that the right people are seeing your posts. You’ll have a better chance of finding qualified employees than if you were to post on general websites. This list includes some of the most popular auto industry job boards that you can use to get started:

2. Use Social Media

When recruiting employees for your auto repair business, you should publish social media posts that announces that you’re hiring, along with the basic information about the position and your contact information. Share the post on your personal social media accounts and encourage your network to share it with anyone who might be a good fit. We also suggest sharing your job opening post on your company’s official social media pages, along with auto industry pages and groups. 83 percent of job candidates are active on Facebook, so make sure to publish the opening on your company’s page. When you’re sharing your post in groups where these candidates are active, you’ll reach a large audience of people who might be interested in the job, or who know someone that could be your ideal candidate.

3. Ask for Employee Referrals

If you already have a great group of employees, ask them for their help in growing the team. Your employees most likely know others in the auto industry from their previous jobs, workshops,  trade school, just to name a few examples. Create a simple form that’ll make it easy for employees to fill in the information you’ll need to reach out to the potential employee. When you ask your employees for referrals, be sure to offer an incentive to make it worth their time and effort. Cash bonuses and gift cards are popular incentives that will inspire employees to recruit new hires.

4. Partner with Local Trade Schools

To find new hires, many auto repair business owners recruit from local trade schools in their area. This is a great hiring method, as you can reach out to auto repair specialists before they finish their training to secure them as an employee once they graduate. Students will be glad to have a job lined up, and you’ll be hiring an employee with the auto repair skills and training necessary to be an asset to your team. If you hire frequently, it can be beneficial to have a relationship with local schools. For instance, you can get involved in job fairs and other events that the school hosts. This is a great way to meet students who might be interested in working for you in the future, in addition to auto industry professionals who are using trade school as a resource.

5. Host a Workshop on Auto Skills

Rather than trying to find potential employees, let them come to you. Host workshops to help auto professionals learn a new skill, master the skills they already have, and to be introduced to your business. You could plan a class that you teach yourself or hire a certified instructor from your trade school partner for an afternoon. Workshop attendees who are interested in learning more specialized skills could be a great candidate for a job opening at your company, and it’ll set your company apart from nearby competitors.

Conclusion: Try Different Hiring Methods to Find the Best Candidates

Working in the auto industry requires a unique set of skills and experience. If you use multiple recruiting sources that are industry-focused, you’ll be more likely to find a group of strong candidates. If you have any other auto repair employee recruiting ideas, share them with us in the comment section below!