Saeli: Preparing Your Team for the New Year

The turn of the calendar year isn’t just symbolic. For shop owners, it’s a reset button—a chance to evaluate what worked, what didn’t, and what needs to change to reach the next level of success. While many owners focus on budgets, marketing, or equipment purchases with a new year approaching, there’s one area that consistently separates top shops from struggling ones: staff training.

Training isn’t a luxury or an afterthought. It’s the fuel that drives performance, customer satisfaction, and profitability. Without it, even the most sophisticated systems or expensive tools will fall flat. Entering a new year without a structured training plan is like rolling into the busiest season with half your bays closed—you’re limiting your potential before you even start.

Why Training Should Lead Your New Year Planning

Every business decision you make as a shop owner comes down to people. The quality of your technicians, advisors, estimators, and managers determines how smoothly your shop runs, how much revenue it generates, and how much time you personally spend putting out fires.

Here are three reasons why training needs to top your priorities for the new year:

1. The industry is evolving fast. EVs, ADAS, and advanced materials are no longer “future trends”—they’re in your bays today. If your staff isn’t trained, you’ll either turn away work or risk costly mistakes.
2. Customer expectations are higher. Speed, transparency, and professionalism define customer loyalty. Training your front office and service advisors is as critical as technician certifications.
3. Growth requires consistency. As your shop grows, you can’t be everywhere at once. Training ensures standards are upheld across every job, no matter who performs it.

Assessing Where You Are

Before you can plan training, you need to know where your shop stands. Start the new year with a team-wide assessment:

• Skill inventory: What certifications and proficiencies do your technicians have? Where are the gaps?
• Performance metrics: Review your KPIs from the past year—ARO, labor efficiency, cycle time, comeback rate. Do they highlight training needs?
• Employee feedback: Ask your team directly. What skills do they want to develop? What do they feel unprepared for?

This assessment creates a roadmap. Instead of generic “training for everyone,” you’ll have targeted priorities that make the most impact.

Building a Training Plan

Once you understand where your staff stands, you can design a training strategy for the year ahead. Here’s how:

1. Set Clear Objectives

• Tie training goals to business outcomes. For example:
• Reduce comebacks by 15% through technician training on diagnostic accuracy.
• Improve customer satisfaction scores by training service advisors in communication.
• Increase ARO by equipping advisors with better sales presentation skills.
  When goals are measurable, training shifts from a “nice-to-have” to an investment with ROI.

     2. Mix Formats

• Not all training looks the same, nor should it. Use a combination:
• Formal certifications (ASE, OEM training) for technical skills.
• In-house training led by senior staff or managers for shop-specific processes.
• Coaching and workshops for leadership, sales, and management development.
• On-the-job mentoring for newer employees paired with experienced technicians.

    3. Make It Ongoing

One of the biggest mistakes shops make is treating training like a one-off event. A single seminar won’t change behavior long-term. Instead, schedule consistent sessions: monthly skills refreshers, quarterly workshops, and annual certification renewals.

     4. Hold Everyone Accountable

Training without accountability becomes wasted time. Track attendance, measure progress and tie results to performance reviews. Recognize and reward employees who apply training successfully in the shop.

The Role of Leadership in Training

Training isn’t just about technical instruction—it’s about culture. As the shop owner, your leadership sets the tone.

• Model the behavior. If you expect your team to embrace training, show them you value learning by participating yourself. Attend workshops, pursue certifications, and share your takeaways.
• Provide the tools. Training requires investment. Budget for courses, set aside time during work hours and avoid scheduling conflicts that undermine learning.
• Encourage growth. Frame training as a pathway to advancement, not punishment for weakness. Employees should feel excited to grow, not afraid of being exposed.

When leadership communicates that training is part of success, not an interruption from “real work,” staff members are more likely to embrace it.

Overcoming Common Excuses

Many shop owners hesitate to commit to training because of familiar concerns:

• “We’re too busy.” But without training, inefficiencies grow, and comebacks increase, costing even more time.
• "It’s too expensive.” Untrained staff are more expensive. Lost customers, wasted parts, and redo jobs eat profit far faster than training investments.
• “What if they leave?” A classic fear. But what if they stay, and you never trained them? Skilled employees are loyal when they see you invest in their future.

Case in Point: The Impact of Training

Consider two shops entering the new year:

• Shop A doesn’t invest in training. They face repeated comebacks on ADAS calibrations, lose a major fleet relationship, and watch their CSI scores drop. The owner spends more time handling customer complaints than building the business.
• Shop B builds a training plan. Their technicians complete OEM certification courses, advisors practice sales scripts, and managers learn time management. Within months, efficiency improves, car count increases and customer referrals rise. The owner can finally step back and focus on strategy instead of firefighting.

The difference isn’t luck. It’s training.

Practical Tips for Launching Training in a New Year

To help you put this into action, here’s a simple step-by-step starting point for the new year. And start this process in advance of January. Planning ahead is always a good thing.

• Week 1: Conduct your skills inventory and review last year’s KPIs.
• Week 2: Meet with your team to discuss goals and training needs.
• Week 3: Draft your annual training plan with budget allocations.
• Week 4: Schedule your first training session—keep it short, practical, and impactful to build momentum.

Training Beyond Skills: Building a Stronger Team

Training shouldn’t only be about tools and technology. Soft skills and leadership development are equally important in a high-performing shop.

• Communication skills help advisors manage customers and technicians collaborate more effectively.
• Leadership training prepares future managers and reduces the burden on owners.
• Customer service training ensures every interaction builds loyalty and referrals.

Shops that train holistically—-in both technical and human skills—see the biggest gains.

Looking Ahead: Training as a Competitive Edge

Training also impacts recruitment. The best technicians and advisors want to work in shops that invest in their growth. Positioning your shop as a place where careers advance helps you attract and retain top talent.

Make Training Non-Negotiable

The new year is a chance to reset priorities and for shop owners, nothing ranks higher than equipping your team to succeed. Training prepares your staff for new technologies, improves customer experience, strengthens shop culture and ultimately drives profitability.

Don’t wait until problems arise to scramble for solutions. Lead with training and you’ll enter the new year not just prepared—but positioned to thrive.