Rhythm and Flow works like “Magic!”
I travel dealership-to-dealership attempting to put “Rhythm
and Flow” in place in service departments. As we begin our service sessions one of the main concepts I look for and find in the most successful “Service Centers” is what I refer to as, “Rhythm and Flow.”
If you review the most successful sports team from the Coach through the players, you will find when they are at the top of their game they have “Rhythm and Flow.” It is the ability to have all the “Game Plans” and “Game Plays” in motion so everyone is playing on the “Same Team.” All people involved with the team are striving toward the “Same Goals,” and the team leaders have set their standards above the average.
With “Rhythm and Flow” as our guidepost, lets review 14 ways you can get the “Magic” of “Rhythm and Flow” up and running in your Service Center for optimum results.
1. Demand constancy of purpose for improvement in the service area. To earn more money and provide purpose for everyone in the Service Center, leadership must be innovative; strive for constant improvement and continually challenge people for improvement.
2. Adopt the philosophy of “We are The Best.” I find that generally, most service customers accept average workmanship, or average service results. Your policy should never be to accept average; accept only the best from people who assist you perform your job.
3. Do not accept people who constantly have defective results. Quality comes from inspection, however improvement comes from a process that allows the improvements to happen.
4. When consulting a customer to create a price quote, don’t cheapen the “Estimate” by using low quality replacement parts. Quality and Satisfaction can’t be discounted.
5. Improvement is never a one-time event. Management, as well as everyone responsible to Management, is obligated to continually look for ways to reduce waste and find improvement.
6. Training is a job requirement. Too often workers have learned their job from another worker. Unfortunately, the worker they learned their job from wasn’t properly trained in the first place. . Workers need to be told what their job function is and how it should be done, but from management.
7. Supervision is not pushing people to get the job done, but rather leading people to the conclusion it is important to finish the job on time and do it well. The objective here is lead people to success by example.
8. Remove the fear. Many employees are afraid to ask questions or take a position, even when they do not understand what the job is, what is right or wrong. Management must remove the fear of asking. People will continue to do things the wrong way, or not do them at all. For quality and higher productivity it is important that people feel secure and feel that they are part of the team.
9. Department barriers cost you thousands of dollars in productivity each month. The service department; the parts department and the sales department are all on the same team, they just serve different Managers.
10. Numerical quotas only take in account how many, they never take in account how well was the work done or the methods used to accomplish the goals that were set. Quotas are OK if the Quota is part of a measurement with methods and standards to reach the goal or quota.
11. Create reasons for the “Pride Factor.” People are eager to do a good job and usually very let down when they can’t. There are reasons people do not live up to the standards set; Supervision; Faulty Equipment; Defective Materials and they have not been trained properly.
12. Institute a vigorous training and improvement education program. New methods are on going. Management and all members of the staff should go through improvement training. This may include improvement in teamwork and new techniques that improve job skills.
13. Make the commitment to make the change. Braking old habits is not easy. Professionals tell us it takes 21 Days to break and create the new habit, but only if it can be supervised and reinforced.
14. Relax. Yes relax, you need time to yourself, take that needed break, take that needed lunch break. Remember good starts should always have happy conclusions. So when you are leaving to go home at the end of the day make sure you leave happy. Your day tomorrow will have a great beginning.
Follow simple common sense steps and you and your service department will standout.