The best Service Managers:
- Know their workshop’s performance indicators
- Focus on improving the dealership’s Absorption Rate
- Constantly analyze and correct business processes
What can a Service Manager do to improve their performance?
Measure indicators and apply improvements
There are workshop indicators that should be closely monitored because they reflect the current state of the department and highlight errors that need solutions:
Productivity and Efficiency:
- Productivity: Determined by comparing assigned hours vs available workshop hours
- Efficiency: Calculated by comparing billed hours vs hours assigned to each technician
Workshop Capacity:
Determined by:
- Quantity of mechanical lifts
- Available space to receive and repair vehicles
- Parts inventory
- Number of Service Advisors
With this information, the Service Manager can know the actual performance of the department and can implement strategies to improve the workshop’s indicators, such as training, incentives policies, relocating staff, etc.
Improve the Absorption of Costs Rate
The Absorption Rate shows how the dealership’s fixed costs are covered by the earnings of the Aftersales Department. In order to improve this indicator, the Aftersales Manager can increase sales in his area by having Service Advisors to include more jobs per Repair Order, suggest products and special offers to each customer that arrives to the workshop, etc.
A high Absorption Rate allows the dealership to survive and even thrive in times of low vehicle sales.
Correct processes and optimize tasks
Erros that concern the Service Manager, as well as those that have not been detected, can be corrected by better business processes. The Service Manager can work together with a specialized consultant to:
- Determine unnecessary, unproductive, and improvable tasks
- Define specific objectives and redesign processes based on them
- Verify that employees are following the new processes
“Tasks that are done well can always be done better. It is possible to reach the maximum potential of each department if Department Managers have access to useful reports, new technologies and clear business processes”. Jose Sanchez – Autologica Senior Consultant.
The best Service Managers have the capability to diagnose their department, the responsibility to make corrections, and the initiative to improve.
Learn more about Business Process Reengineering.
