Overheard: Celebrate milestones big and small to bring service shop together

"Every little thing can be celebrated — a good month [or] a troublesome car that finally leaves. Go out and buy some ice cream bars and say, 'Guys that Bronco's out of here, let's take a minute and celebrate.' When an employee goes through training, whether that's just an after-work session put on by a local parts store or they go off to a training center that's out of town — when they come back, celebrate that. When leaders start to learn more about what motivations each of their team members has, they'll know what works. Some are money-motivated, some are time off-motivated, some want public recognition, some want private recognition. Figure out what works best for your individual team members and you'll figure it out. Then find ways to sprinkle that in with the birthday cake and the work anniversaries. I write a little handwritten card — 'Just another year on the team. Love having you here. Can't wait to see what this next year brings for you.' Same with the birthdays. You know, somebody gets engaged or has a baby, find a way to celebrate that. I hate to say it, [but] at funerals. We just had a grandmother of one of our technicians at the downtown Cleveland store die. You send flowers and you make sure that you make an appearance there. Some people will say, 'I didn't think you'd be here; you didn't have to send flowers.' Hey, we're in this together. We're a family. And sometimes that could be overused — you know, you're part of the family. But when you act like that — you celebrate birthdays, you celebrate successes and you mourn the loss together — it brings you together." — Bill Snow, vice president of franchise development and operations at Rad Air Complete Car Care in northeast Ohio, on the "Ratchet + Wrench Radio" podcast.

Overheard: Celebrate milestones big and small to bring service shop together

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