Service advisors are the backbone of any automotive dealership or repair shop. They are responsible for communicating with customers, diagnosing issues, and recommending the appropriate services to ensure their satisfaction. However, providing service advisors with proper training to perform their duties effectively is an often overlooked aspect of running a Fixed Ops department.   
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  A well-crafted playbook can serve as an essential training tool to provide service advisors with the necessary skills and knowledge to excel in their roles. Here are some steps to create your playbook for service advisor training.     WATCH: Les Silver’s Segment on Fixed Ops Roundtable: Building a Winning Service and Parts Team    

1. Recruit the Right Personnel

  The foundation of any willing team are its people. The right people for your team require skill, the ability to learn, a “do what it takes” attitude, and a willingness to be a team player. Skill is arguably the least important because you can always coach the right person to do the job.    Your recruiting process will be the key factor in getting the right people in the door to join your team.    

2. Develop the Right Playbook 

If you think about successful sports teams, they each have their own playbook containing “plays” or step-by-step instructions to success. In your Fixed Ops department, your playbook should consist of your processes.    The content of your playbook should be modified to incorporate improvements in your personnel and your tools. This ongoing process will ensure your playbook is always up to date and relevant to your business processes.     

3. Teach the Playbook 

The best way to teach your playbook is to utilize the Wooden Method. This method includes the following steps:   
  • Explanation 
  • Demonstration 
  • Imitation 
  • Repetition 
  Following these steps helps to create good habits that can be executed reflexively and without hesitation. The teaching is most successful when it is done outside of “game conditions”, so setting aside meeting times when technicians are not with clients to review the playbook will set them up for success.    It is extremely important to dedicate practice time. Typically, most service departments don’t dedicate enough time to practicing and training. When the proper amount of time is invested, you’ll see better performance in the long run.       

4. Coach the Playbook 

Sports teams spend a significant amount of time, effort, and expense associated with enhancing the performance of their teams through coaching. Successful teams even spend time doing specialized training to fix specific problems. Going along with the analogy in your Fixed Ops department, you should be constantly training using these methods:   
  • Real time “game management”
  • Reviewing “game films” for positive and negative reinforcement 
  • Updating the playbook 
  • Identifying and executing “trades” by recognizing when it is time to identify alternatives
 

5. Understand the Key Performance Indicators that Lead to Winning 

Data is a key asset to developing winning teams. The use of data and data analytics as a decision enhancement tool has become standard practice in sports across areas like recruiting, play calling, and more. When it comes to Fixed Ops management, the same idea applies for performance enhancement opportunities.     

6. Repeat 

Persistence is key. In this case, remember the “Seven Times Rule”: People will not truly understand what you are saying until you explain it seven times. Before fully implementing the playbook, review and revise it to ensure it is comprehensive and effective. Get feedback from your service advisors and make necessary adjustments to improve its quality.     Creating a playbook for service advisor training can significantly enhance the performance and customer satisfaction of your service department. Remember to dedicate time for training, incorporate feedback, and revise it regularly to ensure its relevance and effectiveness. Dynatron Software can help your Fixed Ops department turn goals into action and action into results! Reach out to us to learn how.