Just ONE Thing
Retention by Design: Why Keeping the Wrong People Will Sink Your Shop
Episode 226
with Rick White, 180BIZ
Good morning, my name is Rick White from 180BIZ. We're a coaching and training company for the independent auto and truck repair shop owners who are tired of working really hard and not getting the results they deserve.
This is my Just One Thing.
What I wanted to do—the key word for today or this week is RETAIN. And I'm not talking about retaining water or fluids or anything like that. What I really want you to understand is you can't build the shop of your dreams with the wrong people on your team.
Do you understand what I'm saying? I think there's a real disconnect with this because there are so many people pushing and pushing and pushing to get their shops better, but they get the wrong people, right?
And here's the thing: when was the last time you made a decision to keep someone out of fear instead of confidence?
You know, everybody talks about hiring, but nobody's talking about retention—and especially not intentional retention. And that's what I really want to go through today, right?
I get it. You're focused on the next unicorn. You’ve got jobs, you want to get new people in there. I love that. But I want you to understand, that's great—but what are you doing to keep the people you have?
Are they engaged? Are you developing them? Are you challenging them?
Here's the thing I really want you to hear—please, this is worth writing down: Retention isn't about keeping people. It's about giving the right people a reason to stay.
So here's the thing I want you to understand. You can either retain by default, or you can retain by design.
Now, by default, you're saying:
“Oh, they've been here forever.”
“You know, I can't afford to lose them.”
“They know how things work.”
“I don't want to have to do the job myself.”
Oh, here's the killer—are you ready for this one? They're better than no one.
Oh, my gosh. I can't stand that one. You know why you have that? It's fear. It's fear because you don't have backups. You don't have a bench. You don't have any time to train. So you have retention by default.
Typically, these are people that are trading time for dollars. That's not what we want.
So what I want you to do is think about retention by design. This is where you actually have a vision, a destination, and values—and they're aligned with them. And not only that, the people that are on your team elevate the team.
That's what we've got to get people to do. They own their role, and they grow in it.
And here's the thing: Retention by design requires courage.
It means that you create and set standards, and you're willing to die on that hill. You're willing to hold your standards higher than any one person.
Because I've said this for years: Your standards aren't what you talk about. Your standards are what you tolerate.
And that's the problem. That's when your retention by default doesn't work—because it's all about comfort. When you're doing it by design, it requires courage because you're stepping outside of your comfort zone. You're having those difficult conversations. You're setting the standards.
And I want you to understand that everything you want in your business—the dream that you want to build—has got to be when you partner with people that believe in what you're doing, believe in where you're going, and believe in why you're doing it. That is the magic sauce.
So my question to you is: what happens when you keep the wrong people? Well, let's think about it.
Number one: if I've got some A players, man, it makes them really unhappy. It demotivates them. It slows down getting stuff through the shop. It creates resentment. And it undermines accountability and trust. They're not going to believe you, right?
Here's what I want you to write down: Retention of the wrong person can cost you the right one.
Think about that. That one made some people uncomfortable. Retention of the wrong person can cost you the right one. I think that is a super, super big deal.
Look at this—I love this: “Fired a low standard this morning. Shop is already running smoother.” Isn't that the truth?
How many of you, when you finally have the courage—or just desperation, you can't take it anymore—and you let someone go that's dragging your shop down… they're not helping move the ship, they're actually an anchor… how many of you have had your team come to you and go, “It's about time. What took you so long?”
So here's the thing I want you to think through: what do you do about it?
Now, this is a long-term play, but I’ve got to tell you—the first part that's got to happen is you’ve got to change up here [points to head]. You’ve got to stop the victim thinking.
So what are you going to do about it?
First thing you’ve got to do up here: you’ve got to say, “No more. I've had enough.”
I'm telling you, if you had five people on your team, two of them were A players—just off the hook—and then you had three that were kind of dragging you down, right? Retention by default. I'm telling you, you get rid of those three, your whole business changes. And it's for the better.
Stop lying to yourself and telling yourself that somebody is better than nobody. That is one of the biggest lies you're going to hear. It's right up there with “I'm from the government and I'm here to help,” and “The check is in the mail.”
This is not it.
So what do you do?
Number one: change up here.
Number two: build a bench. Start to build your bench. Be networking and identifying potential people all the time. It's super important. And if you want some help with that, reach out—we’ll help you with it. But that's what’s got to happen.
And then the other thing—you’ve got to have some real conversations. You've got to have some real conversations with the people that are there.
What I want you to do is step back and use kind of a retention filter. I want you to think of each person—or even better, sit in the shop and look at one person—and ask yourself these questions:
1. Are they engaged?
2. Are they improving?
3. Do they make the team better?
What a great retention filter.
Sit there and look at each one. And don't look at them just right then and there. Give it a longer viewpoint. Look over the last month, two months, so that it's not just a real high or a real low, based on what's going on right now.
But here's the thing: you’ve got to let go of the fear. Because when you let go of the wrong person, you're creating space for the right one. Did you hear that this morning? Letting go of the wrong person creates the space for the right one.
Okay, I just want you to hear that, so say it again.
Okay, I'm guessing retention—I'll do this. I'm running a little late, but I’ve got to talk about this.
Retention filter: look at them.
Are they engaged?
Are they improving?
Do they make the team better?
Go through that.
Okay, so here's my final thought: if your goal is to build something great, then holding on to someone out of fear is a betrayal of that vision. It's a betrayal of your dreams. It's keeping you stuck.
So I'm going to say that one more time: If your goal is to build something great, then holding on to someone out of fear is a betrayal of your dream. That is the best way I can say it.
Okay, so tell you what—I will type that out for you here real quick. So the first one is:
1. Are they engaged?
2. Are they improving?
3. Do they make the team better?
So I just put that in there. You should have it now. And these are great questions to ask and think about.
And then can I ask one more? I'm going to make some of you uncomfortable: how would you answer those questions about yourself?
Think about that. Because you’ve got to remember that whatever you're getting from your team is typically a reflection of what you're bringing. So think this through. And I think this is awesome.
So here's my challenge for you this week: who on your team have you kept because you're afraid of what would happen if they leave?
I think that is the big one, right? And let me ask you a question: what if the bigger risk is them staying? Is that huge?
So everybody, thank you so much. Please, if this resonates with you, share this video. There are a lot of people that need to hear this.
We have friends of ours in this industry that are so frustrated because they're pushing so hard for their dreams—not realizing they're dragging a half a dozen anchors behind them.
Let go of the anchors. Cut them off.
Tameka, play nice. I'd fire you too. I think that's funny.
All right, everybody, thank you so much. God bless. Have a great week this week and go make some money.
So—Shop Owners Roundtable, Brenda's put the link in. Pocket Business Genius, if you want to get some more of this anytime you want, Pocket Business Genius is a great way to do it. You can also go to our blog.
Everybody, thank you so much. Please spread the word. We need some love, and I'll see y'all later. Take care. Bye-bye.
