Automotive Repair 
Introduction
The economic world faces an increasing growth of small business enterprises. Small businesses must recognize the importance of training and development in shaping the high-performance operations. In essence, employees are the most valuable resource of a business. It means that the business owners must train their employees and improve their skills to enable them maximize their full potential. On the contrary, with the failure to train the employees properly, there is the risk that the employees will fail to deliver. Automotive repair shops are among small businesses that increase their number dramatically in the economic world. Their operations involve performing all types of repairs on a large variety of vehicles. Therefore, it is important to understand the importance of training and development to improve the performance of automotive repair shops.
Key Elements of Training and Development Geared toward Improving the Performance of Automotive Repair Shop
Most of small business owners and managers perceive training and development programs as a waste of resources. However, training and development of employees’ careers are ingredients that enhance the competitive advantage of small business. However, the manner, in which training sessions is conducted for employees working in an automotive repair shop, will determine their performance in that business. This means that there are key elements that should be considered to facilitate productivity of training and development of employees’ careers. The first element is creating a good training plan. Fundamentally, the right training program helps the employers in addressing various issues. These include a particular training session needed by the employees, the mode of training, and effects of a specific session on the performance of the business. On the other hand, the failure to create a good training plan could be a waste of time and resources. For instance, the employees will lack the ability to transfer the skills learned in a particular session to meeting their goals.
Secondly, beginning training and development session as soon as the employees are hired is crucial. For one, training new employees at an automotive repair shop will help to create a sense of belonging and to bond with other team members. Secondly, when training is incorporated early, the employees are given the chance to understand the culture within that business and build an environment of professional growth. Furthermore, to facilitate continuous development, the trainer should divide the program into smaller training sessions. It is a way to ease the learning process of the employees and assist them in building a strong skill base that will be transferred into their work.
In addition, adhering strongly to the objectives of training program is another key element to ensure that the program does not become a drag. The trainer must ensure that the training session is as interactive as possible. He or she must introduce new learning methods such as quizzes, humor, and puzzles to prevent boredom of employees during the session. In this way, the employees will be energized and stimulated even after the session is over. Instead of being bored, the employees will be stimulated to looking forward for another training session, which is important to facilitate continuous development.
Potential Challenges that the Managers or Owners of the Business could Face in Addressing Organizational Performance
As small businesses continue to emerge, there are potential challenges that could hinder their organizational performance. The managers in these businesses face challenges that are related to either employee issues of organization itself. For instance, individual employees can cause problems within the company, which could lead to personality conflicts and supervisory issues. Employees that have numerous personality conflicts have problems in facilitating open communication thus leading to poor performance. Similarly, a manager that uses coercive methods of leadership facilitates an ineffective chain of command within the automotive repair shop.
Secondly, a cohesive team is important in working towards achieving the goals. However, maintaining a high performing team within the automotive repair shop can be challenging. For instance, when team leaders fails to offer constant feedback to foster team cohesiveness, then the team will become non-functional. Moreover, when team issues arise and the managers fails to diagnose those issues and resort to corrective actions, there will be serious performance breakdowns. Consequently, dealing with underperforming employees also poses a challenge to business owners and managers. Some employees have personal issues that interfere with their productivity. As a result, it becomes the concern of the manager to help such employees to cope with personal issues. For instance, the manager may be required to look for appropriate methods such as motivation and counseling that are not within the organization.
In some extremities, the manager may be forced to fire these employees in order to create a balance between the needs of the business and those of the workers. Similarly, dealing with outstanding performers is also challenging in small businesses. It should be emphasized that high-performing workers need special treatment for their exceptional job. They also need encouragement, recognition, and training, which requires some kind of rewards. However, as these individuals continue to perform exceptionally, their career path will also grow. Usually, the employer will be tempted to keep them from moving to other organizations. For instance, the employer may be forced to increase their salaries and allowances, which may not match the financial performance of the company.
Additionally, the organizational structure adopted at the automotive repair shop can create challenges in organizational performance. For example, employees in a decentralized organization may feel demotivated to answer to more one manager, which might lead to a barrier in communication. Similarly, an unclear organizational structure will hinder processes such as problem solving and conflict resolution. Therefore, it becomes difficult to maintain a high-performing organization. The managers should become part of the solution by identifying the root cause of specific problems.
Effects of Detecting Organizational Gaps in Automotive Repair Shops
Organizational gaps in a small business mean that it has reached a point where its growth does not increase. The situation occurs due to lack of necessary skills required to drive and support the strategies and goals of the business. Therefore, detecting organizational gaps provides a good benchmark to assess the performance of the employees. For instance, the employer at the automotive shop can test the performance of the employees after training and development sessions have been completed. In this way, the employer will be able to identify the employees who can learn quickly.
Secondly, detecting organizational gaps is crucial in identifying and investing in specific programs. For instance, once the employer has provided training opportunities for the employees, the next step involves creating a strategy for recognizing their accomplishments. The employer will focus on establishing initiatives and rewards that will improve the productivity of automotive repair shop employees. As such, when the employees perform beyond the professional targets, they are rewarded by their employers. Consequently, this will come in handy in creating a strong workforce that is needed to reduce organizational gaps. The company will also have the ability to adapt to the changing work dynamics and eliminating deficiencies.
Furthermore, detecting organizational gaps alerts of both internal and external problems that hinder the increasing of productivity. This alert facilitates creating a strategy that will eliminate the problems and maximize the performance. On the one hand, internal gaps that arise within the organization are delays in implementing projects, lack of competency, and poor communication between the employees. Therefore, detecting internal gaps will help in developing a strategy that will aim at changing the internal operations to maximize productivity. On the other hand, external gaps arise from the inadequate response to external environments. For example, range of products that may hinder the business from meeting the needs of a particular market segment. Therefore, detecting the presence of these gaps will help the business owner to streamline its operations to face the realities of external environment. These may include forming an alliance with a similar enterprise to fill the market gap rather than investing on going it alone entry.
Competitive Training Strategy for an Automotive Repair Shop
A competitive training strategy is required for the success of small businesses. Therefore, developing a strategy for training will give the company a competitive advantage. A competitive training strategy should include an agenda of training activities, rationale for instructional used, and return on investment. For appropriate training, the agenda of training activities involves meeting with organizational members to determine the mission of the business. This will help in identifying the training needs relevant to the automotive repair shop.
Secondly, the rationale for instructions to be used should be identified by comparing the goals of the business with the needs of human resource. It is a way to ensure that the training strategy will help in eliminating performance gaps. The instructions used for training should be aligned with other performance issues. A competitive training strategy should be created to meet specific objectives. On the other hand, it is vital to formulate a training strategy that will increase the return on investments. Therefore, the employer at the automotive shop should develop a training program that will help in narrowing the performance gaps. The employer should also identify all resource required for training in order to reduce wastage of time and resources.
In addition, for a training strategy to improve the position of an automotive repair shop on the market, it needs to be comprehensive to facilitate appropriate training. The employer must meet with the leaders of all departments to establish and discuss the developmental and training need of the employees. In this way, it will become easier to establish the objectives of each program and evaluate its impact on the performance of the business. In addition, the employer must implement a particular training program after obtaining managerial support; this will ensure that there are no underlying issues with a particular program.
Conclusion
In conclusion, some of small business owners overlook the importance of training and development programs. However, these are crucial aspects on improving the position and productivity of the business on the market. Secondly, when key elements are integrated to these programs, it becomes easier to detect organizational gaps that hinder the productivity of small businesses. On the other hand, business owners and managers face some potential problems in facilitating effective training and development sessions. These issues are related to dealing with underperforming and outstanding employees, poor communication, and failure to formulate corrective actions to solving conflicts. However, formulating programs that focus on agenda of training activities, rationale for instructional used, and return on investment will come in handy in improving the competitive advantage of small business.
