Amid the technician shortage, your existing technicians have become more valuable than ever. The ongoing challenge of recruiting and retaining auto technicians makes it essential to address workforce stability and plan for the future. However, your service department operates best at full capacity so it’s important to have a strategy in place to recruit and retain the best talent. Today’s auto mechanics are skilled technicians with benefits and pay that can be tremendous. The first step is attracting the right technicians. From there, you should have a framework established to keep them happy with their careers.
Dealerships must be proactive in their efforts to attract technicians. This means deliberate effort into recruiting and retention to bridge the skilled labor gap. It is also crucial to be actively involved in recruitment and retention strategies, such as building relationships with schools and participating in training programs, to ensure long-term success.
Understanding the Need for Recruitment
The automotive industry is currently grappling with a widespread technician shortage, making it more challenging than ever for shops and dealerships across the country to hire and retain good technicians. As demand for skilled automotive technicians continues to rise, the pool of qualified candidates simply isn’t keeping pace. This gap is putting pressure on service departments to find creative ways to recruit and retain top talent, ensuring their business remains competitive and their customers receive the best possible service.
Recognizing the challenges posed by the technician shortage is the first step toward building a successful recruitment strategy. Shops and dealerships must be proactive in their efforts to attract technicians, understanding that talent competition is fierce throughout the industry. By prioritizing recruitment and retention, businesses can strengthen their service department, maintain high standards of repair quality, and secure their place in a rapidly evolving market. Ultimately, investing in recruitment is not just about filling open positions—it’s about building a team of technicians who will drive the long-term success of your organization.
Identifying What Technicians Want
To recruit and retain the best technicians, it’s essential to understand what today’s automotive professionals are looking for in a workplace. While competitive pay and benefits remain important, many technicians seek more than just a paycheck—they want to feel valued, supported, and part of a team that invests in their future. Millennials, who are becoming a dominant part of the workforce, are looking for employers who genuinely understand and meet their day-to-day needs, which can include clear communication, access to resources, and a supportive work environment.
A positive work environment and a strong shop culture are key factors in retaining technicians and attracting new talent. Technicians appreciate opportunities for career growth, ongoing training, and access to the latest tools and technology. They want to know that their employer is committed to their professional development and is willing to invest in their skills. Flexible scheduling, recognition programs, and clear paths for advancement can make your service department stand out to both current technicians and potential hires. Dedicated employee comfort spaces, such as clean break rooms, rest areas, and even a nice place to change clothes or shower, also play a significant role in improving job satisfaction.
By focusing on these elements, shops and dealerships can create a culture that not only attracts good techs, but also keeps them engaged and motivated for the long haul. When technicians feel like they belong and see a future with your organization, employee retention naturally improves, and your business becomes a destination for top talent in the industry.
Top 5 Automotive Technician Recruiting Tips
Getting the right candidate through the door is the first step in building and maintaining a high-performing team of technicians. However, many shops still rely on outdated or ineffective hiring practices, making it essential to adopt modern, targeted recruitment strategies like the tips that follow.
1. Identify Your Ideal Candidate
Before you post a job ad, you want to think about who your ideal candidate is. As the industry changes, the candidate you may have been looking for 3 years ago can look vastly different now. Mapping out your “must have” qualifications going into the hiring process saves you time when combing through applications and avoids getting the wrong candidate through the door. Here are some questions to ask yourself about the ideal candidate:
- What is their background?
- What skills do they currently possess?
- What talents are missing in your service drive?
- What kind of personality will work well with customers and fit in with the technicians you already have?
Additionally, consider candidates from other jobs who have relevant technical or mechanical skills, as they may bring valuable transferable experience to your team.
2. Do Your Research
Once you have an idea of your ideal candidate, it is time to research the job market. Take a look at what other dealerships’ job listings include to give you an idea of what verbiage may or may not be useful when drafting yours. Expand your search from just local dealerships to really get a solid idea of what other service departments are looking for!
3. Develop an Optimized Job Lead
An optimized job lead clearly explains the expectation of the role, qualifications, benefits, and compensation. Using a mixture of short paragraphs and bullet points allows for increased readability for humans and websites alike.
If you have a formal application on your dealership’s website, be sure to include instructions for candidates to go there and apply on your job lead.
4. Select the Proper Channels to Advertise
Once your job lead is written, you’ll want to list your job description across multiple platforms. This increases the chances of having the most amount of job seekers see your ad. Popular free platforms include LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter. Depending on your budget, you can post on industry specific websites including:
- Autojobs.com from $175.00 per post
- Automotive News from $399.00 per post
- Auto Job Central from $149.00 per post
A general rule of thumb for posting your job leads is to consider what times of day applicants will most likely be looking. According to data insights from Indeed, searches are highest from Monday through Wednesday, typically in the late morning and afternoon and waning off until around after dinnertime in the evenings. Job seekers tend to take weekends off. Keep this in mind when choosing to post your lead to get the most traction possible.
5. Monitor Applicants & Follow Up
After strategically posting your job lead, you’ll want to give candidates a few days to apply before combing through the first batch of applicants. For example, if you post on a Monday morning, waiting until Thursday to check out the applications will optimize the use of your time. Here are some tips you’ll want to consider:
- Prompt follow up with candidates will not only help to move along your hiring process, but it will also prevent losing out on their interest and potentially getting hired elsewhere.
- Follow up with qualified applicants within 3-4 days from your first posting to schedule interviews.
- Repeat the process until you’ve found viable candidates you want to hire.
- Most sites allow you to “pause” your job lead to allow you to stop receiving more applications while you conduct interviews.
- Celebrating wins and giving public recognition boosts morale and retention, ensuring that your team feels valued and motivated throughout the hiring process.
Building Partnerships with Local Schools
One of the most effective ways to address the technician shortage is by building strong partnerships with local schools, technical schools, and community colleges. These relationships provide a direct link to students who are considering a career path as an automotive technician, giving your shop early access to new talent and future employees. It is essential to communicate with high school guidance counselors to help promote career opportunities in automotive technology, ensuring that students are aware of the potential and benefits of this career path.
By collaborating with educational institutions, shops and dealerships can offer training programs, internships, and apprenticeships that give students valuable hands-on experience. These opportunities not only help students develop the skills needed for the job but also introduce them to your shop’s unique culture and work environment. Hosting job shadowing days or participating in classroom presentations can further strengthen these connections and position your business as a top choice for new hires.
Investing in these partnerships benefits both the industry and your organization. It helps promote the automotive technician career path, ensures a steady pipeline of new technicians, and supports your efforts in recruiting and retaining skilled employees for years to come.
Attracting Technicians through Career Fairs
Career fairs are a powerful tool for shops and dealerships looking to attract more technicians and stand out in a competitive market. By participating in local and regional career fairs, you can connect directly with students, recent graduates, and experienced technicians who are actively seeking new job opportunities.
These events provide a platform to showcase your shop’s culture, highlight available training programs, and share the benefits of working with your team. Engaging with attendees at career fairs allows you to build relationships with potential hires and demonstrate what makes your shop unique in the industry. Don’t forget to leverage social media to promote your participation—sharing photos, videos, and updates can help you reach a wider audience and generate more interest in your open positions.
By making a strong impression at career fairs and through online channels, you can attract top talent, fill open roles more quickly, and help address the technician shortage facing the industry.
Streamlining the Hiring Process
In today’s fast-paced job market, streamlining your hiring process is essential to attract and retain top talent. A lengthy or complicated interview process can cause you to lose out on good technicians to other shops that move more quickly. Review your current interview process to ensure it’s efficient, candidate-friendly, and effective at identifying the best fit for your team.
Consider incorporating technology, such as online applications and virtual interviews, to make it easier for potential hires to apply and for your team to evaluate candidates. Utilizing automated systems for efficient scheduling of interviews and tracking applications can further streamline the hiring process. During interviews, provide a clear overview of the job, expectations, and shop environment, and offer a tour so candidates can see where they’ll be working. Ask targeted questions that assess both technical skills and cultural fit, ensuring you’re bringing in technicians who will thrive in your service department.
By making your hiring process as smooth and transparent as possible, you’ll improve your chances of attracting and retaining good technicians, helping your shop stay ahead in the ongoing technician shortage.
Top 5 Automotive Technician Retention Tips
Once you’ve recruited qualified new technicians to join your Fixed Ops department, you want to keep those new hires around long term! It’s crucial to make new technicians feel that your company is invested in their growth and success from the very beginning. These 5 tips will help you to retain new hires and increase the longevity of their tenure at your dealership.
1. Implement an Onboarding & Training Process
Regardless of the experience and skill level your new hire has, you want to make sure you are setting them up for success from day one. Having an onboarding and training process will help integrate them into your workplace culture.
Use this time to set the groundwork for the expectations you have for performance, customer interactions, scheduling, and more. While you likely discussed higher level details during the interview process, now is the time to confirm their understanding of what is expected. A well-rounded and educated technician will ultimately contribute to your Fixed Ops profitability!
2. Schedule 30, 60, & 90 Day Performance Reviews
Within the first 90 days of employment, you want to keep a close eye on the progress of your new staff. Scheduling reviews at the 30, 60, and 90 day mark will give both you and your staff the ability to keep a pulse on their progress and job satisfaction.
3. Provide Opportunities for Recognition & Growth
A large part of keeping your staff satisfied with their job is by providing opportunities for them to grow their careers. If you don’t already have a formal reward system to incentivize your staff, consider implementing one even with a small budget. Here are some ideas to think about:
- Celebrate employee milestones and work anniversaries
- Create a point system to earn things like gift cards or awards
- Implement an “Employee of the Month” program
- Develop a mentorship program to promote from within and grow new team members
- Provide a compelling package that includes competitive wages, paid time off, and performance bonuses to further enhance employee satisfaction and loyalty.
4. Maintain Competitive Compensation
Offering competitive compensation for your employees requires you to regularly evaluate and adjust salaries. Even if your dealership can’t increase pay immediately, there are other ways to compensate your staff with bonuses and better benefits. All these elements can maximize your employees satisfaction and increase their longevity with your dealership.
5. Offer Perks
Fun perks during the workday can make your workplace stand out to new hires and re-engage current staff while also boosting morale. Poll your employees to see what kind of perks they want, such as bi-monthly team lunches or flexible scheduling.
Companies that invest in modern equipment and prioritize timely repairs to their facilities create a more attractive and efficient work environment for every tech. A company’s commitment to equipment upgrades and facility improvements can set it apart from other companies, helping retain skilled techs and improve operational efficiency. Creating a comfortable and well-lit shop environment further enhances technician satisfaction, as proper lighting reduces the risk of accidents and promotes a safer, more productive workspace. Well-lit workspaces also enhance productivity and safety by reducing the risk of slip and fall injuries.
Implementing these tips into your service department will help you not only work through the technician shortage, but also build and improve the performance of your technicians for the future. Dynatron Software has the expert Coaches who have been on-the-drive training service technicians across thousands of dealerships across the country.
Every team benefits from a Coach and while you know your Service Department best, having outside expertise to assist always ends in better results. Through their experience, we have helped countless service departments improve the consistency of their technicians. Managing your Service Department is hard enough. You don’t need another vendor, you need a partner.
Dynatron makes running your Fixed Operations easier and more profitable, get in touch with us to learn more!