Situation
As the demand for autonomous vehicle technology increases, automotive technician repair skills must also increase. The development of new technology continues to outpace training provided by traditional trade schools. Lagging technician skills are causing vehicle manufacturers to deal with unnecessary warranty expenses, low “fixed first visit” statistics, and higher levels of customer dissatisfaction.
Changing Automotive Technician Behavior Using Targeted Performance-Based Training.
Challenge
The development process was not well controlled. This resulted in late changes, excess rework, rush to order, poor quality, and delayed delivery. In-house SMEs had an engineering background, not instructional design. Their materials were highly knowledge based and not easily readable. Courses were long and filled with unnecessary content not used on the job. Incentive to learn was low because most dealer technicians were only paid for time spent repairing, not time spent in training.
Solution
GP Strategies fully recognized our primary objective is to change Technician behavior, resulting in accurate diagnoses and efficient repairs. Our solutions involve a high level of hands-on activities in which technicians apply learned processes and use value-added reference materials. Our team continues to train on new automotive technology. Our development processes include key customer and internal quality review points to closely monitor technical accuracy and readability.
Results
- OEMs and suppliers have recorded significant decreases in misdiagnosed components and warranty returns.
- Course development time and cost was reduced through focused behavior-based training processes.
- Technician feedback ratings for the training have improved.
