VIEW FROM THE REPAIR BENCH I BY STEVE FRANCE Compensation Plan Principles
W hen you train someone from your commu- nity who has family and lo- cal connections to be a repair technician, you’re not just filling a position, you’re investing in long-term loyalty. In a previous article discussing the need for instrument repair apprentice- ships, I suggested that every store with at least one skilled technician has the ability to offer an apprenticeship as long as it has a vision for the business that includes setting a compensation plan, establishing training goals, executing hands-on projects, teaching the principles of repair work and creating a supportive learning culture. When offering an apprentice- ship, the focus of your skilled technician will be spread across their standard workload and train- ing the newbie. As a result, their commission-based compensation will be reduced. The solution to this inhibiting factor will not only encourage your tech to take on a trainee; it’s a guiding principle for a productive repair staff that will pay dividends for years to come as your business grows. THE SHOP’S SUCCESS IS THEIR SUCCESS Every employee needs to know their position on your team and what they should be doing to help you win. KPIs offer this clarity while giving you leading (not lag- ging) indicators for your business success. In the shop, these KPIs are time at the bench/work, bill rate per hour, timely repairs and quality of finished work. When every tech owns these numbers
on a daily basis, you’ll see increased production. Part of your lead tech’s job is to ensure the performance of the entire team, including your apprentice. This needs to be built into their KPIs. They must invest time to help everyone succeed by training advanced skills, ensuring supplies are available, helping to increase the bill rate, scheduling the workflow and doing final QC checks. This needed investment distracts them from their bench and possible commission unless their compensation is tied to the success of the entire team. Demanding this managerial work simply gets done as part of the job is an option. However, tying the com-
pensation of the lead to the success of everyone on their team, and to everyone hitting their KPIs, will produce better and lasting results. The easiest way to accomplish this is to offer a small percentage of every repair your team accomplishes to the lead tech. In this way, they are still earning a commis- sion while managing the department, and as the team’s output and quality increase, so does their compensation. To demonstrate, let’s start with the basics: If the ap- prentice or anyone spends time wondering what they should work on next, this is wasted, unprofitable time. As soon as you link the lead’s compensation to the overall output, they are motivated to keep each tech at their bench, earning. As the lead invests time developing the shop’s SOPs so every tech knows exactly what success looks like, the time spent on final QC inspections is
reduced, allowing more repairs to be ac- complished. As advanced skills are learned, everyone becomes faster and better at the craft, allowing the overall bill rate to increase. When you financially motivate the lead by linking their compensation to the success of everyone in the shop, everyone wins. The commission amount does not need to be large. Typically, 2–5% is sufficient to provide a noticeable incentive to the
“Every employee needs to know their position on your team and what they should be doing to help you win.”
right person. Any more than this and you run a potential risk of the lead relying on others for their pay rather than producing repairs themselves. This amount has a small effect on the shop’s profitability at first, but is quickly offset by increased overall pro- duction and income. When your apprentice is learning on profit-producing repairs, they not only contribute to your operation from day one, they contribute to the lead tech’s compensation. This mutually beneficial arrangement helps you solve the repair tech shortage and is a lasting principle to build a successful repair shop on. MI Steve France is a veteran instrument repair technician and educator based in St. George, Utah. He operates Premium Music Products, where he develops Tech-Oil Lubricants and provides ad- vanced training through Repair Masterclass for band and orchestra repair professionals.
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