The Merriam-Webster dictionary of the English Language defines the term culture as the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. So how does this relate to auto repair shops? It does not per se, but when we interpret this definition as a way of conveying what we want our shops to be in a pragmatic manner, we can develop what we can call a shop culture. And again, what makes a shop culture? And why is this important?
It is important because as humans we need to feel a sense of belonging, a sense of understanding that we are in the place that we should be, physically, emotionally, and financially. Large multinational organizations have been talking about their culture for decades now, and those shops that have been successful through time, also have a culture. But let’s get to the nitty gritty, what is shop culture? Well, there’s not one correct or incorrect answer to this, and as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is shop culture. What is easy to tell is what is not shop culture. A pizza party once a month is not shop culture, and neither is making and employee use only their own equipment. Shop culture is creating a work environment that helps employees thrive, that makes them feel comfortable enough to ask questions and not be judged for it, that helps them achieve both personal and professional goals.
Now that we’ve briefly but succinctly defined culture, not shop culture though, let’s move on to culture shock. What exactly is culture shock? This one is a bit more difficult to define, but colloquially used to describe the situation of a person when they arrive in a place that is quite different than where they came from. Seasoned travelers from western countries will usually use this term to describe their arrival into less developed Asian countries, or even African countries. The idea is the understanding that even the most common of things is diametrically different. This is of course, a very broad example, and we could go into a lot of exhaustive detail, but we shall not. Culture shock can happen when a new employee joins your shop. And sometimes it’s not so much about the shop culture that you’ve established, but from the shop culture that the new employee is coming from. Culture shock can be good, or it can be bad. Hopefully every time you hire a new employee, he or she can have good and positive culture shock, they can feel that they have joined a place that inspires them to be better, to grow, and to adapt into what the shop culture that you have created.
