Today, I want to introduce a concept that can significantly enhance the performance and career growth within your auto repair shop: the Career Best Effort (CBE) program. This idea, while originally conceived in a different context, holds immense potential for revolutionizing how we approach performance and development in the automotive service industry.
My recent work has been focused on leveraging data to empower auto repair shops to make informed decisions, particularly through tools like Production Tracker. In seeking inspiration for innovative approaches to performance management, I revisited James Clear’s “Atomic Habits,” a book I find consistently insightful.
Within its pages, the story of Pat Riley and the Los Angeles Lakers resonated deeply, sparking the idea of adapting the CBE concept for the auto repair world.
CBE & The Lakers: A Winning Formula
In the mid-1980s, the Los Angeles Lakers, brimming with talent, faced a challenge: consistently performing at their peak. Despite a phenomenal start to the 1985-86 season, they faltered in the playoffs, failing to reach the NBA championship. Coach Pat Riley, frustrated with inconsistent brilliance, sought a system to ensure his team played to their full potential every game. His solution was the Career Best Effort Program, or CBE.
Riley’s approach began by “Taking Their Number,” meticulously tracking each player’s statistics back to their high school days. This established a baseline, a data-driven understanding of individual capabilities. The core of CBE was then introduced: a challenge for each player to improve their performance by just 1% over the season. This incremental improvement, focused on consistent effort, became the cornerstone of the program.
Crucially, CBE wasn’t solely about statistics like points or rebounds. Riley emphasized a holistic “best effort spiritually and mentally and physically.” The program recognized and rewarded “unsung hero” actions: taking a foul for the team, diving for loose balls, battling for rebounds, and supporting teammates.
To quantify this, Riley developed a unique scoring system. For example, a player’s positive contributions (points, rebounds, assists, steals, etc.) were tallied, turnovers subtracted, and the result divided by minutes played. This CBE number provided a comprehensive performance metric.
Players’ CBE scores were constantly compared, not only against their own past performance but also against league rivals in similar roles. Elite players consistently scored above 800, while solid players hovered around the 600s. Magic Johnson, a superstar, often exceeded 1,000. This competitive transparency drove continuous improvement and set a high performance standard.
Applying CBE to Auto Repair: Measuring What Matters
Imagine if the auto repair industry had its own CBE number. While basketball uses readily available stats, our industry needs to define its own metrics. We already utilize Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) like repair orders completed, labor hours, parts costs, and customer satisfaction. But what about the “unsung hero” moments in auto repair? Consider these examples:
- Consistently arriving on time and prepared.
- Assisting colleagues with complex diagnoses or repairs.
- Staying late to ensure a customer’s vehicle is ready.
- Identifying a potential issue before it escalates into a major problem.
- Proposing solutions to improve shop efficiency or customer service.
- Continuously learning new vehicle technologies and repair techniques.
Envisioning the Possibilities in Auto Repair
What if we could quantify and standardize performance across the auto repair industry? Think about the possibilities:
When hiring, imagine knowing if a technician is a “645” or an “879” type of performer. This data-driven insight would be invaluable in making informed hiring decisions and setting appropriate compensation based on proven capability.
Consider a junior technician who starts with a CBE of 430, and through training and experience, progresses to a 725. A CBE program could clearly demonstrate career growth and provide a framework for professional development.
CBE could also facilitate performance comparisons across different roles within a shop – from service advisors to master technicians. The rating system could be designed to value contributions across all departments, focusing on overall shop success.
Building Your Auto Repair CBE Rating System
The Career Best Effort concept offers a powerful framework for continuous improvement in auto repair. Like Coach Riley, we want our technicians and staff to strive for daily improvement. A well-designed CBE system can provide the structure and motivation to achieve this.
The crucial questions are: what do we measure, and how do we collect the data efficiently? The system needs to be straightforward, unbiased, and applicable across all roles within the shop. Ideally, a standardized CBE system for the auto repair industry would allow shops to benchmark their performance against others, fostering healthy competition and driving overall industry excellence.
CBE Data: The Diagnostic Key
Identifying the right metrics for an auto repair CBE is paramount. How do we compare a diagnostician to a transmission specialist, or a service advisor to a parts specialist? While Magic Johnson had readily quantifiable basketball statistics, we need to define relevant metrics for each role in auto repair.
Here are some potential metrics for different areas within an auto repair shop:
Technicians:
- Number of repairs completed per day/week
- Diagnostic accuracy rate (first-time fix rate)
- Repair time efficiency (actual vs. estimated labor hours)
- Customer satisfaction scores related to repair quality
- Comeback rate (repairs needing rework)
- Successful completion of training modules/certifications
- Proactive identification of additional maintenance needs
Service Advisors:
- Customer satisfaction scores
- Average repair order value
- Appointment scheduling efficiency
- Up-selling success rate (recommended services accepted)
- Customer retention rate
- Timeliness of customer communication
Parts Specialists:
- Parts order accuracy rate
- Parts procurement time efficiency
- Inventory management efficiency
- Cost savings through efficient sourcing
Shop Overall:
- Overall customer satisfaction
- Revenue per technician
- Shop efficiency rate (billable hours vs. total hours)
- Net profit margin
- Employee retention rate
- Safety record
Taking a First Pass at an Auto Repair CBE Formula
Let’s attempt to create a sample CBE formula for a fictional auto repair technician team. We’ll focus on measurable outputs and incorporate both positive and negative factors to reflect overall performance.
Technician Team – Monday
On Monday, here’s what a technician team achieved:
- Completed 8 repair orders out of 10 scheduled.
- Billed 45 labor hours.
- Achieved a customer satisfaction score of 4.8 out of 5 (average across completed jobs).
- Had a parts error rate of 2% (incorrect parts ordered).
- Experienced 30 minutes of downtime due to equipment maintenance.
- Worked a total of 480 minutes (8 hours).
Let’s analyze these data points to formulate a CBE score.
On-Time Completion Rate
The team completed 80% of scheduled repairs. Focusing on completed work is crucial. While aiming for 100% is ideal, recognizing the reality of complex repairs, we’ll use the 80% completion rate.
Let’s use 80%.
Billed Labor Hours
Labor hours are a direct measure of productivity. 45 billed hours represent significant output.
Let’s use 45.
Customer Satisfaction
High customer satisfaction is paramount. A score of 4.8/5 indicates excellent service quality.
Let’s use 4.8.
Parts Error Rate
Errors impact efficiency and customer satisfaction. A 2% error rate, while seemingly small, should be factored negatively.
Let’s use 2% (or 0.02 as a decimal).
Downtime
Downtime reduces productivity. 30 minutes of downtime in 480 minutes is a factor.
Downtime ratio: 30/480 = 0.0625
Let’s incorporate these into a CBE calculation, drawing inspiration from Riley’s formula:
Initial Formula Attempt:
(Billed Labor Hours) + (Customer Satisfaction Score 10) = Base Score
(45) + (4.8 10) = 93
(Base Score) – (Parts Error Rate % 100) = Adjusted Score
(93) – (0.02 100) = 91
(Adjusted Score) (1 – Downtime Ratio) = CBE Score
(91) (1 – 0.0625) = 85.31
Therefore, the Technician Team’s CBE score for Monday would be approximately 85.
Comparing to Another Day
Let’s apply the same formula to another day with different performance metrics.
Technician Team – Tuesday
- Completed 12 repair orders out of 12 scheduled.
- Billed 55 labor hours.
- Customer satisfaction score of 4.5 out of 5.
- Parts error rate of 1%.
- Downtime of 15 minutes.
- Worked 480 minutes.
CBE Calculation for Tuesday:
Completion Rate: 100%
Billed Labor Hours: 55
Customer Satisfaction: 4.5
Parts Error Rate: 0.01
Downtime Ratio: 15/480 = 0.03125
(55) + (4.5 10) = 100
(100) – (0.01 100) = 99
(99) * (1 – 0.03125) = 95.9
Tuesday’s CBE score is approximately 96, significantly higher than Monday’s 85.
Compare and Contrast: Initial CBE Insights
This rudimentary CBE model, while needing refinement, provides a comparative performance metric. The technician team on Tuesday, completing all scheduled jobs, billing more hours, and with lower error and downtime, achieved a higher CBE score than on Monday.
The score difference reflects the improved output and efficiency. While this is a simplified example, it illustrates the potential of a CBE system to differentiate performance levels and highlight areas for improvement.
Further refinement is needed to:
- Weight metrics appropriately.
- Incorporate “unsung hero” contributions – perhaps through peer or manager feedback.
- Standardize the formula for industry-wide applicability.
- Develop role-specific CBE metrics.
However, this initial exploration demonstrates the viability of adapting the Career Best Effort program to the auto repair industry. It offers a data-driven approach to performance management, career development, and ultimately, elevating the standard of automotive service.
What modifications would you suggest to this CBE model? How can we effectively integrate “unsung hero” elements? Is a standardized CBE for the auto repair industry a worthwhile pursuit?
Let’s discuss CBE and how we can drive performance excellence in auto repair! Let’s talk CBE!
“Don’t let other people tell you what you want.” – Pat Riley
“Excellence is the result of always striving to do better.” – Pat Riley
“Giving yourself permission to lose guarantees a loss.” – Pat Riley
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