A question that is as old as the first employee hired is "what motivates employees?" There are a myriad of things that motivate people. Different things motivate different people. With so many possibilities, let's narrow the discussion to specifically what motivates people when they are searching for a job? How do you get people in the door that you want to hire? Once you hire them, how do you keep them? Why do they stay?

The typical lube shop has several different age groups of employees. Depending on the age and needs of the individual, the types of benefits that motivate each group can vary greatly.

The first type of employee is the young lube tech, typically 17 to 25 years old. This group represents the largest number of employees and is largely responsible for the actual production of cars through the shop. A lot of times people in this group are in high school, recently graduated or going to college. Most fast lubes would likely not survive without these young men and women.

The second type of employee is older, typically in management or desiring to get into management. This group is typically over the age of 25. This group may have been hired in as a tech and promoted or hired in as a manager trainee. They act as the barometer of the shop, setting the pace and expectations for all around them.

Third is the transient employee who could be of any age. The important thing is that they consider themselves "temps" who are already looking for a new job as soon as you hire them. They see your lube as a stopover as opposed to a career move. While this type of employee is certainly not the ideal candidate for your shop, he is nonetheless a very commonly seen employee in lube centers all across the nation.

When laid out like this, it becomes even more obvious that not all groups are going to be motivated by the same benefits. So why do these groups answer your ads for employment?

Group 1 (lube techs) typically answered your classified ad because of their affinity to cars and their assumption they would enjoy working on cars. The hourly wage, if advertised, will influence their likelihood for calling on the ad, however, wage tends to take a lesser role in retaining them if they are hired.

Group 2 (older typically in management) very likely was hired in as a lube tech and typically for the same reasons the other techs in Group 1. This employee is still with you because of a need that the lube shop has filled. This can be a very important lesson in keeping those people in Group 1 long enough to move them into Group 2.

Group 3 (who think of themselves as temps) usually answer the ad because of a comfort level. Similar to Group 1, they know a little about cars and feel they can "get "the job because of their level of knowledge on cars or perhaps have had a lube tech job in the past.

Now you have them in the door. What benefits can you afford to offer them that will allow you keep them? Let's list the benefits that you as an owner have to offer employees/future employees.

Paid training/comprehensive training provided - this benefit will generate many extra calls on the average lube tech ad in the paper. It is not just a necessity for the operation of the lube shop, by training new techs they feel like they are contributing and most people want to feel needed. Employees who feel they are an important part of the organization typically will stay. You benefit by training your people to your standards. This also creates a sense of team or belonging to something that young people especially crave.

Free oil changes - As a lube owner, one of the easiest and least expensive things you have to offer is free oil changes! Some owners contend that if you don't give employees a free oil change, they will "liberate" this benefit for themselves. Groups 1, 2 and 3 all appreciate this benefit. More importantly, they all see the value in this benefit. All you are out is cost of goods.

Bonus program - A good incentive-based pay plan is not only possible, but, when used properly, can motivate employees. As with the free oil changes Groups 1, 2, and 3 will all respond to varying degrees to an incentive program. When set up correctly, the techs generate additional revenue with which you pay their bonuses.

401k plan/ Major Medical/ Dental - Matching benefit program and Health/Dental care plans are popular among many companies. Not many companies who offer this type of benefit have such a young and potentially transient workforce. Typically the only group who would want this type of benefits is Group 2. However, it must be said that Group 1 can be influenced by this benefit if they are weighing whether or not to proceed on a career path away from your shop. This influence will not likely affect them until well after they are hired in and established. The same could be said of Group 3 individuals especially in more difficult economic cycles.

For a single operation providing or splitting the cost of 401/medical/dental can be prohibitive. Often times it takes a high producing stores to pay for such benefits. Of course, the offering of this type of benefit allows the owners to retain quality employees that produce good numbers. Some see this as a case of the "Chicken or the Egg," which came first, the benefits or the quality employees?

You don't have to offer all these benefits, but to grow the business and perhaps move on to more locations, you need quality people. By offering some of the above benefits to all employees (free oil changes, paid training, bonus program) you can make great strides. By offering other benefits to those in management (401k, health) you now have the ability to get and retain the kind of people you have always wished for and will certainly reap the benefits.