BUSI 338 Week 6 New Venture Project Phase 3 Presentation Example

Phase 3: Hiring, Paying and Keeping the First Mechanic

Slide 1: Phase 3: Hiring, Paying and Keeping the First Mechanic

• One hire, from job description to second season
• Factor covered: people
• New Venture Project, Phase 3

Speaker notes: The first two phases dealt with the legal setup and with operations inside the van. This phase deals with people. The business plans one hire in its first year, a part-time mechanic for the spring and summer peak, and in a two-person company that hire affects nearly everything: quality, customer experience, cost and the owner's own hours. The slides follow that one employee from the job description to a second season.

Slide 2: The Job Before the Ad

• Tune-ups and repairs on scheduled repair days
• Works alone at partner sites, represents the business
• 20 to 25 hours a week, March through October

Speaker notes: Byrd and Megginson (2018) advise small employers to define the job before recruiting, so that the right person is hired for the work that actually needs doing. This job is more than repairs. On many repair days, the mechanic will work alone at an apartment complex or office, talking with customers, writing quotes and taking payment. That means the job description lists customer communication and honesty alongside mechanical skill, and the interview tests both.

Slide 3: What Local Shops Pay

• Four area shops: posted mechanic pay about $15 to $20 an hour
• Experienced mechanics scarce outside peak season
• Our offer: $22 an hour, no commission

Speaker notes: Job postings and conversations at the four storefront shops suggest mechanics in the area earn roughly fifteen to twenty dollars an hour, with the best mechanics often busy at those shops during the spring. To attract a skilled mechanic for part-time work, the venture will lead the market at twenty-two dollars an hour. At about 900 hours over the season, that is roughly $19,800 in wages plus payroll taxes, which is within the $31,200 the summary report budgeted for the role.

Slide 4: Where to Find Candidates

• Local group rides and the cycling club
• College students with shop experience
• Referrals from the owner's contacts at the shops

Speaker notes: Small firms often hire through personal networks, and in a niche trade the network is where the candidates are. The owner rides with the local club and knows mechanics at two of the shops, who may know someone looking for extra hours. Students at the area colleges with summer shop experience are another source. A short post on the business's own social media page will reach riders who already follow the van.

Slide 5: Selecting the Right Person

• Paid trial: one tune-up done while observed
• Customer role-play: explaining a repair and a quote
• Reference check with a former shop manager

Speaker notes: A conversation alone cannot show whether someone can true a wheel or explain a quote to a nervous customer. Each finalist will complete one paid tune-up while the owner watches and will then explain to the owner, playing a customer, why a chain needs replacing. A reference from a former shop manager will confirm reliability. The paid trial respects the candidate's time and gives the owner evidence rather than impressions.

Slide 6: Pay and Pay Day

• $22 an hour, paid weekly by direct deposit
• No commission on parts or extra repairs
• Tips kept entirely by the mechanic

Speaker notes: Pay is hourly, with no commission on parts, which supports the ethics code from Phase 1: no one gains by selling a rider something the bike does not need. James warns that the wages withheld from laborers cry out against those who keep them back (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016, James 5:4). The business will therefore pay every Friday, on time, by direct deposit, even in a slow week. A worker who never has to ask about a paycheck is free to think about the customer instead.

Slide 7: Training the First Two Weeks

• Days 1 to 3: ride along with the owner
• Days 4 to 10: mechanic leads, owner checks the checklist
• Day 10: first solo repair day at a partner site

Speaker notes: Training is a checklist, not a hope. For the first three days, the new mechanic works beside the owner and learns the van's layout, the booking system and the five-step quality check from Phase 2. For the next week, the mechanic leads and the owner signs off each checklist. The first solo repair day comes only after ten days without a missed step.

Slide 8: Why Invest in One Employee

• Small firms gain from human resource practices that build commitment
• Employee judgment matters when the owner is not present
• Training and participation as investments

Speaker notes: Hayton (2003) studied small and medium-sized firms and found that human resource practices encouraging employees' discretionary effort and participation were associated with stronger entrepreneurial performance. A mechanic working alone at a partner site will make judgment calls the owner cannot supervise, such as whether to recommend a repair or advise a rider to wait. Practices that build commitment and judgment, such as including the mechanic in decisions about the stock list, are investments in those calls.

Slide 9: The Cost of Losing the Mechanic

• Turnover linked to lower workforce performance
• The first departures do the most harm
• Replacing a mechanic mid-season means lost repair days

Speaker notes: Shaw et al. (2005) studied turnover across organizations and found that voluntary turnover was associated with lower workforce performance, and that the harm was greatest at low levels of turnover, meaning the first people to leave cost the most. For a business with one employee, any departure is the first one. Losing the mechanic in May would mean canceled repair days at the busiest point of the year and weeks spent recruiting and training again.

Slide 10: Keeping the Mechanic for Next Season

• Guaranteed minimum of 20 hours a week in season
• Paid off-season hours for winter tune-up events
• Season-end bonus and first offer for next March

Speaker notes: Byrd and Megginson (2018) note that good employee relations rest on fair treatment and clear communication. Seasonal work creates a gap that could push a good mechanic elsewhere, so the plan narrows it: a guaranteed minimum of hours in season, a few paid winter events, a modest bonus at the end of October and a first offer of the job for the next spring. A short monthly meeting gives the mechanic a voice in the stock list and the route.

Slide 11: References

Speaker notes: Sources for this phase are the course text, studies of human capital in small firms and of what turnover costs, and the Bible, with full references below.

References

Byrd, M. J., & Megginson, L. C. (2018). Small business management: An entrepreneur's guidebook (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)

Hayton, J. C. (2003). Strategic human capital management in SMEs: An empirical study of entrepreneurial performance. Human Resource Management, 42(4), 375-391. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.10096

Shaw, J. D., Gupta, N., & Delery, J. E. (2005). Alternative conceptualizations of the relationship between voluntary turnover and organizational performance. Academy of Management Journal, 48(1), 50-68. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2005.15993112