Gears By Caryn Smith • Editor Workplace Diligence or Drama – It’s All on You I
recently took my 2011 Toyota Sienna with 215,000 miles to my service shop to get its regular oil change and some new tires. With used and new car prices rising, along with everything else, my goal is to get 300,000 miles out of this vehicle. I was able to drive my last minivan to 200,000 miles. Ever since I got taken advantage of by a car sales guy in my twenties because I was an inexperienced car buyer, I have always driven my vehicles to at least 200,000 miles. I want to get every ounce of value I can from them. It is my “there, take that” to car dealers. From that situation on, I swore I would never be a dumb car buyer again. In fact, most car sales people don’t like working with me. I have learned to negotiate. (Insert laughing emoji here.) Now, I buy good cars with five star safety reviews and then keep them up with maintenance and parts from my auto recy- cler friends. But I digress.
Here is what I really want to share. I was sitting in the waiting area while they worked on my minivan and, surprisingly, an argument erupted! I pretended I didn’t hear anything. But, listening in, one of the service techs came into the back office and started yelling at the boss (who is a friend of mine), then slammed the door going back out to the garage. He then threw some tools. The boss followed and there was more yelling back and forth. (I peeked to make sure my vehicle was up on the lift, out of the way of the flying tools.) The gist: The worker was feeling over- worked, taken advantage of, and under- appreciated. “You don’t care,” “you don’t understand,” “things are crazy around here,” and other judgments about the insen- sitive boss were thrown around the shop floor like the flying tools. After a few minutes, things calmed down but you could cut the tension with a knife. The boss came back to his desk, and they
8 // May-June 2021
continued to service the cars in the bay. I found this encounter timely, because this issue is about workforce development. I wondered: Did my friend, the boss, know that his employees were feeling stressed? Did he know they felt under- appreciated? What could he have done differently to avoid the confrontation? Furthermore, how many shop owners and managers – and auto recyclers – think their people feel cared for and under- stood, yet are caught off guard by a hostile encounter like the one I witnessed? Or, how many are presented with an employee’s resignation, and then bother to ask, “why” – where the answer to that question, if known and fixed earlier, would have saved that employee from leaving at all. In this issue, we look into all this! On page 38, there is a great article by Maura Keller on Talent Magnetism – what it takes to attract workers. On page 42, you will love the discussion
on The Great [Pay] Debate. Top recyclers share their views on pay for performance pros and cons, which are wildly opposing. On page 48, Phillip Perry delves into the legalities of employee poaching – hey, it happens more than you think! On page 52, I interview Clint Pulver, author of I Love It Here!, a book on why people love or hate their jobs. He spills secrets he found as an “undercover millen- nial,” interviewing over 10,000 workers to uncover why people stay at jobs, why people leave, and why managers and owners are responsible for both outcomes! I know times are very busy and workers are in short supply. Yet I urge you to take care of the employees you have, whether they meet all your expectations or not. We have just lived through the most stressful year and a half in history. It costs you nothing to show some empathy. And, read this issue, it will be worth your time.
ARA Officers PRESIDENT
Scott Robertson Jr. Robertson’s Auto Salvage, Inc. Wareham, MA
jr@robertsonparts.com
1ST VICE PRESIDENT Martin “Marty” Hollingshead Northlake Auto Recyclers Hammond, IN
martyh@narparts.com
2ND VICE PRESIDENT/TREASURER Shan McMillon Cocoa Auto Salvage Cocoa, FL
shan@cocoaautosalvage.com
SECRETARY Nick Daurio Daurio Auto Truck Pueblo, CO
nick@daurioauto.com
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Jonathan Morrow M & M Auto Parts, Inc. Stafford, VA
jonathan@mmauto.com
ARA Executive Staff & Contractors ARA Headquarters • (571) 208-0428
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Sandy Blalock,
Sandy@a-r-a.org
SENIOR DIRECTOR FOR ASSOCIATION OPERATIONS; DIRECTOR OF STATE GOVERNMENT AND GRASSROOTS AFFAIRS
Jessica Andrews,
Jessica@a-r-a.org
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF MEMBER SERVICES & CERTIFICATION PROGRAM Kelly Badillo,
Kelly@a-r-a.org
DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS Emil Nusbaum,
Emil@a-r-a.org
DIRECTOR OF MEMBER RELATIONS VINCE EDIVAN,
VINCE@A-R-A.ORG
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Maria Miller,
Maria@a-r-a.org
MEETING PLANNER
Kimberly Glasscock, (615) 476-4501
kglasscock@awardwinningevents.com
ACCOUNTANT John Caponiti,
John@a-r-a.org
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION Ginny Whelan, (239) 362-1283
vwhelan99@gmail.com
EDITOR, ART DIRECTOR, ADVERTISING SALES AUTOMOTIVE RECYCLING, AUTO RECYCLER’S TOOLBOX® Caryn Smith
& DIGITAL ARA PRODUCTS
Driven By Design LLC (239) 225-6137
ARAEditor@comcast.net
For all ARA print and digital advertising, editorial or production information, e-mail
ARAEditor@comcast.net or call (239) 225-6137.
www.a-r-a.org Automotive Recycling
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64
