Recruiting new auto technicians far and wide

A flat tire helped Phil Almas pump up his technician ranks.

Serge Akilimali's Volkswagen had a flat tire in the impound lot across from Ganley Subaru in Wickliffe, Ohio, where Almas has been service director for more than seven years. When Akilimali asked if he could get his flat fixed, Almas learned the Congo immigrant was a service technician at a local Toyota dealership.

Like most service directors, Almas is always on the lookout for new wrench turners. The 12 technicians working in Ganley Subaru's service department handle around 65 repair orders a day, six days a week.

"After talking with him, I had him fill out an application and eventually hired him," Almas said. "His work ethic is out of this world."

Akilimali had attended an Ohio automotive technical college but still had much to learn. He's now working to get his certification as a master tech. But Almas recognized the young man had drive and an eagerness to learn, and Akilimali is grateful to him.

"I can say Phil is the one who has helped me get to be where I am now," he said. "In the past, if you made a mistake at another dealership, you could get fired right there. Here, it's a case of, 'Serge, it goes like this.' It's a total learning experience, not a firing offense."

Akilimali didn't come alone to Ganley Subaru. A fellow technician and several of his kin came, too.

"Over time, I recruited some of Serge's family members for various positions," Almas said. "One started in detailing and has moved to lube tech and will soon be starting as a main shop tech. The recruiting has been by sheer luck that this young man had broken down in front of our dealership in the first place."

Onboarding the Congo native was not much different than a technician born in the U.S., Almas said. Akilimali's transition has been smooth because he appreciates the culture at the Subaru dealership.

"He just needed a place where he would be treated just like a human being rather than a number-producing machine," Almas said.

After being introduced to other job candidates whom Akilimali knew, Almas noticed something — nearly all of the Congolese he hired had a close connection to their church and community. Oscar Kambale was one of the church members Akilimali brought to Ganley. He started more than a year and a half ago and is training to be a technician.

Like many of the others, Kambale grew up in the Congo but fled during the civil wars there. His family were refugees who migrated to Uganda, where they lived for 11 years before meeting with caseworkers from the United Nations International Organization for Migration.

The immigration process, which took around three years, resulted in the family moving to the Cleveland area and its growing Congolese community. Some received assistance from a Congolese church, others from Congolese community groups. These organizations helped get them green cards and Social Security cards for employment. Akilimali and the others told them about Almas and a possible career at Ganley.

Even with the offer of tuition reimbursement, recruiting at local vocational schools proved to be challenging, so Almas came up with the idea of paying a hiring bonus.

His existing technicians could earn $500 for every referral they mentored up to the position of express technician, who handles wipers, filters, batteries and more. Once the new hires complete six months, the referring technicians receive another $500 bonus.

Kambale took Almas up on the offer. He brought in Jonathan Ngendahimana and has been training him since he arrived more than a month ago.

Treating people well is how Allie Peters operates, too — and how she recruits employees.

"I am a huge fan of culture-building by referrals," said Peters, service director at Jaguar-Land Rover of San Antonio. "My philosophy is to create a place where people want to work and then they will want to bring their friends. The last six technicians we have hired here have been referrals from our associates who were already working here."

At her former employer, BMW of San Antonio, Peters had the privilege to work with 13 associates from Puerto Rico who all joined at the same time — nine technicians, a parts associate, a porter, a booker and a foreman. They had left the U.S. territory to work at a dealership in Georgia. One of Peters' service advisers, Emmanuel Colon, had worked with the group on the island, so when the BMW store was looking to expand, he contacted his old friends and set up a meeting.

A team from Peters' dealership group, including the general manager and fixed ops director, took them all to dinner and hired them.

Like Almas, Peters focuses on creating a place where people enjoy working.

"They know what is expected of them, and we're able to hold them accountable to that," she said. "I want this place to be one where people feel valued and heard. We worked on setting a solid foundation for processes so that great people could be plugged in and successful very quickly.

"Now we have a full staff of advisers and valets; we have also grown from 16 to 29 technicians."

Almas said he has developed a close relationship with Akilimali. He even attended his wedding. The groom said that besides his wife and parents, "Boss Phil" was "the most important guest."

Almas jokes he is waiting for Akilimali to start a family. "Maybe he and his wife will have 10 kids," he said. "I will hire every one of them."

Kambale is thankful for his new life in America and the job security that being an auto technician provides.

"Being a service technician is a skill you can take anywhere," he said. "Everyone has cars in the U.S. If you know how to fix them, you'll never go broke."