So, your car wash business is up and running and now you need to recruit your staff. If you want to get this right, don’t go taking any shortcuts. Proper recruitment does not come cheaply, and you don’t want to be repeating the process too often. Below are a number of tips to help you recruit and retain the best of employees and ensure your business goes from strength to strength.
Tip 1 – Hire for the Long Term
Be clear from the outset what qualities and skills you are looking for in your workforce. Advertise well, making it apparent in the job specification what the job entails and the skillset required to perform it well. That should prevent any potential time wasters from applying. Vet applications carefully and then prepare scrutinising questions for interview: applicants may think operating a car wash is simple, but you know it isn’t and you want to recruit and retain the best. Check out their technical knowledge at interview and consider their people skills. Show them the workplace, introduce them to potential colleagues and see how they interact. Discover as much as you can about them at interview and give them an opportunity to ask questions and be interested in you, your business and their job prospects. Chase up references and ascertain that they are from trusted sources. Then decide who you think is a best match for the job on offer. Each of these steps will help ensure you get the right team behind you to help your business grow.
Tip 2 – Hire Technical Staff
With car washes becoming increasingly technical and using car wash systems, it is important that you recruit staff with expertise in this area and with a willingness and ability to continue to develop those skills. Employees who already have experience with certain equipment and machinery will be quick to train and well placed to identify and resolve any technical issues as they arise. They can also be employed to train up other less experienced newcomers to your business.
Tip 3 – Offer Competitive Wages and Salaries
Car washes can sometimes suffer from huge turnover of staff which prevents customers from having a personalised tailor-made experience with staff that know them at a carwash. You want your customers to return and your staff to stay, so invest in them with competitive wages, great packages and achievable progression pathways for all your employees.
Tip 4 – Experience with Technology
Car washes are utilising technology more and more to augment the customer journey and experience. PSD Codax is one of the frontrunners in forecourt developments in this area. With the resources, experience and skills to supply reliable technological systems to any forecourt, PSD Codax systems will reduce losses in revenue for operators whilst giving the customer quick and easy access to carwash services. Employing staff who have prior knowledge in this area and who are excited rather than phased by such technological advances is also a consideration when employing new staff.
Tip 5 – Employee Onboarding
So, you’ve invested in the recruitment process and you have employed your staff. Don’t now let them down. Provide a quality onboarding experience to welcome and nurture new staff and make them feel valued from the start. Build their confidence and develop those skills demonstrated at interview so that they feel well prepared to perform their tasks well and to meet and exceed your expectations. Develop on site resources to make them feel “looked after” in the work place: Is there a shelter where they can take refuge from downpours? Do you have a restroom where they can take a break, make a hot drink or use the toilet facilities? Think about protective clothing and be sure to purchase only top end, safe cleansing products to ensure you are regarded by both your staff and customers alike as a responsible employer who cares about the health and wellbeing of their workforce.
Tip 6 – Understand What Your Business Needs
In the initial flush of excitement about your new business venture, it can be all too easy rush into things. Take your time, develop a business plan and employment contracts, have a code of conduct for the workplace and consider what it is that your business really needs. Be sure of your budget and don’t rush into hiring just for the sake of it or because someone, friend or other, asks for a job. Hire purely on the basis of the specific needs and requirements of your business. Understanding your business from the outset will help secure its future.
Growing Your Car Wash with PSD Codax
You now have your workforce and you’re good to go. But don’t forget to look after your staff and treat them well: in so doing, you will reap rewards not just in terms of retaining your staff but also in terms of their commitment to you and the success of your business. A workforce that feels valued will be a happy workforce. Your customers will recognise and appreciate this in the experience they receive and will be sure to return and promote your business to others.
At PSD Codax, we are experts in the field of car wash access technology. Our focus is constantly to develop and adapt new forecourt technologies to keep ahead of the market and to improve the flexibility, security and profitability of car wash and valeting services. For an informal chat on how we can help revolutionise your car wash, please don’t hesitate to contact us today.
