Effective Mentoring in the Automotive Industry

"No one ever explained that to me." "Haven’t we always done it this way?" Or even just “Why?” When young automotive technicians and mentors get together, questions like those can be common. But when those relationships aren’t there, the critical questions may go unanswered — or unasked — and careers can fail to reach their full potential.

Being a mentor starts with years of experience and countless repairs, but it also takes a solid foundation in listening, explaining and shared purpose for young technicians to succeed. To enable valuable relationships, mentors and mentees alike must find continuity across the generations.

No one can be a great mentor without experience and knowledge under his or her belt, but by itself, knowing isn’t enough. To help a younger technician understand that knowledge and benefit from it, a mentor must be able to explain the "why" behind processes. That means being able to break them down, express them clearly, and handle questions with patience.

Without that transfer of awareness, outdated practices may roll on based solely on tradition. When mentoring works right, it can be a growth opportunity for both the mentor and the mentee. No one has all the answers, and the two can learn from each other. In that spirit, let’s break the art of mentoring into its own component parts:

Goals: Knowing what you aim to achieve is essential for measuring success. When the organization has clear goals for all positions, junior and senior alike, it can make informed decisions when it comes to onboarding, upskilling and pairing members of the team for real-time learning. Providing clear direction on the expectations for those mentoring relationships, and explaining the ways progress will be documented and measured can help drive results going forward.

Communication: Whether as part of a policy or on their own initiative, the mentor and the mentee should have a clear plan to review goals and expectations. Leadership should provide the mentor with role-dependent expectations to help shape ongoing communication and development.

Personality: Not all personalities are the same, and two people might react differently to the same message or approach. To increase the chances for compatibility and a productive relationship, the mentor should be involved in the selection of the mentee.

Empowerment: Once goals are set and regular check-ins are scheduled, the mentor should have the authority to lead the process. A good yardstick for evaluating the mentee's work is for the mentor to ask: “Would I trust the mentee to fix my own vehicle?” Because each learning path is unique, each mentor should be the one to guide the timeline according to the mentee’s developing skill and prior experience.

Training and evaluation: Mentorship is a learning process; becoming an effective mentor is a learning process too. When the organization provides additional training for both the mentor and mentee, they can align on processes and procedures. In addition, attending training programs together gives people a natural setting for team building, discussion of what they’re learning, better understanding of content, and ultimately higher quality-repairs. The training plan should also include a third-party evaluation of both parties to ensure work is performed properly.

As an individual, the shop owner may or may not serve as a one-on-one mentor. As a leader, however, the owner can set the stage for those relationships to work. That starts with goal-setting, on two levels: First, what do you want the mentorship program to accomplish for the shop overall? The goals might include increased work quality, a faster path to certifications and competencies for younger team members, or improvements in morale and retention.

The second level applies to each of the mentorship pairings: What is the right pace of progress to expect as a seasoned professional brings a younger one into the fold? It’s possible to push too much or too little. Try to accelerate progress too quickly, and the transfer of knowledge might suffer. Ease off your expectations, for example by letting mistakes slide because of inadequate training, and you may find the standards you want aren’t being maintained across the shop. The goal is for each technician mentee to understand and follow a clear roadmap that will make it possible to earn a well-paying job as a journeyman.

The mentee is the focus of a shop owner’s dedication to in-house mentorship, but mentors need attention too. People who take on the role deserve compensation and recognition just for doing the extra work — and it may be an effective tool to offer them additional rewards based on their mentees’ ability to reach certain benchmarks for skill and independent contribution. If a mentor comes to feel the job is thankless, you might end up with an unhappy veteran and an inadequately trained mentee, which doesn’t help anyone.

A shop owner should also be honest about the capabilities mentorship requires, and who in the shop has them. Not everyone is a born “people person,” communicator or teacher. Not everyone has the time to spare. Even with the basic competencies in place, the best mentors are experienced technicians who understand the “what” and the “why” of the job and embrace the purpose of the teaching relationship. No matter how formalized the mentorship program may be, the best leadership is by example, and shop owners know the right examples on their teams.

It’s one thing for a shop owner to identify a mentor. It’s another for that person to see a successful mentor in the mirror and carry out the responsibility. Any employee who has the chance to take on a mentorship role should reflect honestly and evaluate his or her ability to meet all the criteria we’ve discussed.

Are you an effective communicator? Do you have good organizational skills and an organized workspace that will not only set a good example, but stay “out of the way” of a clear learning experience? And do you have the time management skills — and the time — to commit to the additional responsibility of mentoring someone younger while continuing to do 100% of your own job?

Getting an employee into the swing of things — the “ways we do things” that are sometimes tangible, sometimes more felt than learned — is a significant commitment that can make a shop stronger from top to bottom. But it also requires careful consideration and preparation.

Shop owners should approach the process knowing the mentorship programs they oversee will shape the next generation’s view of their organizations and the industry. Mentors need to remember that they were chosen because of their expertise, and that the responsibility rests on them to demonstrate it. And mentees should appreciate the leg up they’re getting from veteran professionals who could certainly spend the time in other ways if they preferred to. When everyone sees the big picture and their part in it, the shop, its veterans and its newest recruits can reap the benefits.