Having been in the automotive repair, tire and parts worlds for more than 30 years, and having worked with shop owners and service managers as a business consultant and leadership coach for a large chunk of that time, I am well aware of the overwhelming challenges of finding and hiring the right people. With a national shortage of qualified technicians — along with a similar shortage of capable, competent service advisors and service managers in our shops — finding the right people is not just the difference between being good or great. It can often be the difference between success and failure, between prospering and bankruptcy.
On the other side of that is a group of individuals who, by character, motivation and training, are a cut above. They are the type of men and women you could build your business and future around. They have shown their mettle and drive in environments far more challenging than anything in your work-a-day world, staying true to the mission. Quitting is not part of their make-up.
But although these men and women have been highly trained, many of their skills are no longer relevant, and their chosen career paths are no longer a possibility.
The automotive aftermarket, that sector of the industry that exists outside the dealership after a vehicle (car or truck, light duty to heavy duty) leaves the showroom, is a significant component of the U.S. economy, employing millions of people across the country. It accounts for all products and services purchased after the vehicle sale. That includes replacement parts, tires, accessories, performance parts, cleaners and waxes, collision and maintenance services — and even the tools and equipment used by technicians in the thousands of facilities across the country.
The Auto Care Association (formerly the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, or AAIA) knows that with a rapidly changing global economy, customer make-up, technology, legislation, environmental issues, and competition, there is an urgent need for education and training programs. ACA responds to this challenge by providing the industry with resources and opportunities to enhance continuous learning. ACA understands the value of education, training and professional development. An important goal of the association is to create an industry-wide, broad-based initiative to “recruit and retain the best and brightest to grow the industry.” Its purpose is to advance the ability of aftermarket companies and organizations to recruit young people, recent college graduates and returning veterans, among others.
At press time, ACA was planning to launch a career opportunities website that describes the industry and emerging career trends by sector. Visitors to the website will learn ways to advance in an aftermarket career. The site will be hosted by and maintained by ACA education staff. For ACA members or would-be members, there are tool kits and fact sheets that will be available later this year to help you understand the depth of these efforts — and the potential benefits to you and your business.
Taking advantage of these resources promotes business excellence by enabling current and future employees to enrich their lives, and contribute toward business success and extraordinary career opportunities for those who would choose the automotive aftermarket. Veterans are an important part of this effort.
It is significant that ACA’s effort to “recruit and retain the best and the brightest” includes veterans. Our returning veterans, many of whom are severely wounded or injured, are an extraordinary resource that is far too often overlooked. In recent months, ACA and the Wyakin Warriors have reached out to each other, exploring possibilities for partnership.
Case in point
In the late spring of 1979, I went to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs office in Washington to register for my benefits. Although I was there by appointment, I was directed to a long line. I knew it would most likely be a couple of hours before I would be talking to anybody, so I resigned myself to a long wait.
While waiting in line, the gentleman in front of me struck up a conversation. For the next two hours or so, we talked about our various experiences.
Just like me, he was there to register for his benefits. He was an 11B, a grunt, one of those straight-legged infantry guys. He had spent two-and-a-half tours in Vietnam. He was older — maybe 28, as I recall — and was an E7 when he was discharged.
The other thing I remember about him was that he had a great sense of humor. I am naturally cranky and rarely talk to strangers. But he and I talked and talked, and those two hours went by like nothing.
Did I forget to mention that this “old” warrior signing up for his VA benefits was a triple amputee? Did I forget to mention that, as I fidgeted and impatiently waited my turn, he sat in a wheelchair, in a dark, narrow corridor waiting for somebody who didn’t know or care about all that he had been through?
From that day, I began to see the challenge of being a severely wounded or injured veteran.
A hand up, not a handout
Although most of us genuinely care about our veterans, very few of us take the time to know or understand the challenges all veterans face, especially those who come home severely wounded or injured. The Boise, Idaho-based Wyakin Warrior Foundation (www.wyakin.org) is an organization I would like you to know about — not just because of its complete dedication and commitment to severely wounded and injured veterans, but because of what it could potentially do for you and your automotive staffing needs.
We are not talking charity; we are talking highly educated, highly motivated, capable individuals who could transform your business and move it in directions that you had only dreamed of. The Wyakin Warriors’ stated mission, “Enabling severely wounded and injured veterans to achieve personal and professional success as business and community leaders,” doesn’t talk much about charity. It talks about success. Their success is your success.
If I go to the Wyakin Warrior website I see that, according to Native American legend, a wyakin is a spiritual guide that advises and protects a person throughout life. As a rite of passage, a young Native American was taken to an isolated mountain location where the child remained alone until the wyakin (often an animal, such as an eagle, bear or wolf) appeared in a vision or dream.
The Wyakin Warrior Foundation is a nonprofit organization providing mentoring (up to five mentors per warrior), professional development, a full scholarship, networking to facilitate job placement and proactive follow-up with individual warriors to monitor physical, emotional and professional status. They further demonstrate the opportunity and the ability of individual warriors to become servant leaders and role models. The program is built around what the individual warrior wants personally and professionally, facilitating that journey. The Wyakin Warriors not only talk that talk, but they ardently and passionately walk that walk.
‘Battle tested, business ready’
The Wyakin Warrior program specifically targets severely wounded, injured or ill veterans who have the interest and the motivation to contribute as leaders in business, government or in their communities, but lack the education and training to do so. The Wyakin Warrior Foundation provides both.
Those who have served and sacrificed for their country want to get on with life. Like any of us, they want to succeed in their chosen professions. Like any of us, they want to contribute.
The Auto Care Association is an organization with a long history of leadership in the automotive world, working tirelessly to assure the strength and viability of the industry. Part of this effort includes training, education and scholarships to assure the core skills of the industry going forward and recruiting to attract the very best and brightest, including returning veterans.
The Wyakin Warriors work tirelessly to transition their warriors to a life very different from the one they had anticipated and for which they had trained. The organization accomplishes this through training, education and a regimen of mentoring on many levels, focusing on what the warrior wants and how best to get him or her there. The Wyakin Warrior Foundation is not just there for today; it partner with its warriors for life. That’s what I call commitment!
The automotive aftermarket needs quality candidates to fill key leadership and management roles across the many sectors of the industry. The Wyakin Warrior Foundation works 24/7 to prepare its warriors not just to survive, but to excel and thrive in today’s business environment. Returning veterans, particularly those who are severely wounded or severely injured, deserve our support. The Auto Care Association and the Wyakin Warriors getting together to explore each other’s needs and what comes next would seem like a match made in heaven.
In January, a lot of us felt proud when Army Ranger Sgt. First Class Cory Remsburg, a severely wounded soldier, was honored at the State of the Union Address. We saw all of Congress, the President and everyone in attendance give him a long and thunderous standing ovation. A few weeks later, an appropriations bill that would have directly assisted Remsburg and other severely wounded and injured veterans with training, education and other important benefits was voted down as something we could not afford.
We all care about our veterans, but what else are we doing?
The automotive aftermarket needs quality people to grow, compete and prosper. Right this very minute, your shop probably has a key management or leadership position open or needing to be filled by somebody capable of taking you and your business to the next level. The Wyakin Warriors and the Auto Care Association would seem to have answers that most of us don’t, and are exploring things that they can accomplish together. I vote that we join and support their efforts.
If you were to hire somebody on merit and he or she were to work hard, move your business in the right direction and contribute to your success, you wouldn’t call it charity. You would probably call it a great decision and the right thing to do. Like any of us, these warriors want to succeed. Like any of us, these warriors want to contribute.
I’m wondering: What you are waiting for?
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