The degree to which your­ ­employees can impact your bottom line hinges on their level of engagement and sense of ownership in the shop’s success.

When engagement is high, performance follows, as does key business-building factors like service excellence and ­outstanding customer service.

But, for many shop owners, tracking employee performance often falls by the wayside until a major problem arises, says Greg Sands, shop owner and CEO of direct mail provider Mudlick Mail in Acworth, GA.

“Yet, when it comes to achieving goals outside of work, we often rely on metrics to determine if we’re reaching our objectives. If you want to run a marathon, you track your time,” he explains. “If you want to lose weight, you measure your body fat. The same concept holds true when it comes to evaluating employees. You must set goals for each position in your shop and then establish a tracking mechanism to measure performance.”

In Sands’ experience, he says that one of the main contributors to lagging performance is that employees don’t know how to do their job, and that’s where training proves to be ­essential.

So, to help boost engagement and performance among your team, ensure that they are properly trained, let them know they are appreciated, and that their daily contributions at the shop are recognized as being a vital part of its success.

That way, you’ll help foster a greater sense of pride in their work, a commitment to repair excellence and a customer service experience that’s second to none.

To learn more about Greg Sands’ perspective on this topic, go to our sister publication, Shop Owner, and read Greg’s column “Improve Auto Repair Employee Performance By Setting, Tracking Goals”