Technician recruiting is no easy task. The days of “post and pray” on the job boards are over. Shops need to take a more strategic approach to recruiting technicians.
We asked 34 experts in the automotive, diesel, and collision industries: What is the one thing shops can do to improve how they’re recruiting technicians?
Below is a compilation of their advice. Enjoy!
Table of Contents
I. Make Your People a Priority
- Jay Goninen, WrenchWay
- Joseph Clementi, MobilityWorks
- Dan Beakey, 24 Auto Group
- Tyler Robertson, Diesel Laptops
- Joe Chambers, International Autos Group
II. Diversify Your Workforce & Stay Open-Minded
- Robert Hamer, Ron Marhofer Auto Family
- Fredrick Lennartz III, Certified Solutionaries
- Morgan Dolan, U.S. Xpress, Inc.
III. Build a Long-Term Strategy With Schools & Invest in Young Techs
- Larry Arnold, J-Tech Institute
- Tracey Hicks, Frederick County Public Schools
- Jody DeVere, AskPatty.com
- Tom Wozniak, Madison Area Technical College
IV. Focus on Shop Culture
- Sara Berteling, Checkered Flag
- Owen Moon, Fixed Ops Digital
- Ed Roberts, Bozard Ford Lincoln
V. Move Quickly
- Klara-Sophia Hill, Advantage Truck Group
- Samantha Gleason, Lithia Motors, Inc.
VI. Pave a Career Path & Offer Great Benefits
- Ron Overs, Fixed Ops Magazine
- Corey Smith, National Auto Care
- Sean Reyes, Recall Masters
- Scott Trainor, USA Motor Jobs
- Matt Fanslow, Riverside Automotive
- Dan Shine, Automotive News
VII. Sell Your Shop & What Makes You Unique
- Rob Merwin, Aftermarket Matters
- Tanner Brandt, Autodiag Clinic LLC
- Damon Agostino, Sixth Street Automotive
VIII. Embrace Transparency
- Tim Winkeler, VIP Tires & Service
- Lucas Underwood, L&N Performance Auto Repair
IX. Social Media, Breaking the Mold, & More
- Amanda Silliker, Endeavor Business Media
- Kim Hickey, Automotive Training Institute
- Darin Damron, JASPER Engines & Transmission
- Chryssa Hunlock, California Truck Centers
- Joshua A. Taylor, Just Work Hard Consulting Co.
- Russell Wickham, Country II
Make People Your Priority
“Shops say that people are their biggest asset, yet they don’t prioritize it amongst all of their other responsibilities. It’s often their number one priority, but number 100 on their to-do list. In order for shops to improve, they need their actions to reflect their words and consistently execute on a good recruiting and retention plan.”
Jay Goninen
Co-Founder & President, WrenchWay
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“Empower technicians to use their skills and training to fulfill the mission of the organization.
Invest in your technicians. Give them a clearly paved pathway for career development and advancement. Reward their growth and recognize their contributions.
Be open and honest about the challenges. Engage the team to solve complicated problems. Communicate the more complex and serious issues plaguing the organization. Treat everyone as if they are a stakeholder because they are.”
Joseph Clementi
Vice President of Service Operations, MobilityWorks
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“If you’re looking to recruit technicians, it all begins with ensuring the happiness of the staff you already have. News travels fast in this business. If you’re already a great place to work, word will eventually spread. But, if you find yourself disconnected from your team and the overall culture of your shop is dismal and bleak, most prospective new hires will have already heard enough to steer clear.
You can type out the fanciest Indeed post of all time, but the reality of your day-to-day operations is bound to be discovered by a great deal of the potentially perfect candidates you are attempting to reach. The more you focus on being the go-to shop for technicians, the more valuable your recruitment methods will be in return.”
Dan Beakey
Service Manager, 24 Auto Group
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“The best advice I can give is to focus on making your shop the best work place possible for diesel technicians. If your current employees love working for you, you’ll not only retain them, but word of mouth goes a long way. You need to have rock solid performance incentive plans, planned skills training, be flexible as possible on hours, and plenty of fun team building events. Make them feel valued, as happy employees typically don’t look for other jobs!”
Tyler Robertson
CEO, Diesel Laptops
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“Everyone talks about how a great culture is integral to recruiting and retaining excellent technicians. What isn’t discussed as much is the key component to a positive, work friendly culture—respect. Respect is the foundation of sustainable culture and employees need to respect each other and each other’s talents—especially those of the technicians.
Advisors need to be taught to respect the tech’s ability to do something most can’t—expertly perform repairs on vehicles that literally and directly affect the safety of everyone on the road. This respect needs to translate into guarding their time and valuing the technician’s knowledge. Managers need to respect the techs as well. They are the engine that makes the machine called the service department go. They are to be valued.
Respect your technicians. Listen to them, help them, and be there for them. They will return the favor and this will get around. People, especially techs, want to work in an environment that respects them as people and their expert abilities for what they are—essential.”
Joe Chambers
Fixed Ops Director, International Autos Group
Connect on LinkedIn
Diversify Your Workforce & Stay Open-Minded
“The biggest thing that shops can do is to reimagine what they think of regarding who an automotive technician is, where to look, and what they want.
Women make up a rapidly growing segment of tech school students, yet are drastically underrepresented in the workforce. Create a mentorship program for new female technicians, revisit your dress code to accommodate a more diverse workforce, add female locker rooms, invest in new technology and tools to overcome lifting limitations.
Also, take advantage of the electric vehicle growth. Electric vehicles are bringing on a new breed of technicians that offer a tremendous complement to your workforce, and afford opportunities to a completely new segment of the workforce, including individuals with physical impairments who often felt excluded from traditional mechanic roles.“
Robert Hamer
Human Resources Director, Ron Marhofer Auto Family
Connect on LinkedIn
“Shops need to start marketing themselves to different demographics and be open to hiring people from a diverse talent pool.”
Fredrick Lennartz III
Co-Founder/President of Consistency, Certified Solutionaries
Connect on LinkedIn
“Shops need to be open-minded when it comings to recruiting technicians. The perfect candidate does not exist. Focus on the skills and attributes you can’t train—attitude, effort, and culture fit. If you find someone with the soft skills, invest in training the technical skills. Investing in your people cultivates loyalty and longevity, and you will see a positive impact on your retention.”
Morgan Dolan
Sr. Maintenance Recruiting Manager at U.S. Xpress, Inc.
Connect on LinkedIn
Build a Long-Term Strategy With Schools & Invest in Young Techs
“Shops need to commit to the long-term strategy of partnering with career/technical schools by continually visiting and talking to students who are planning to become technicians. They can also partner with local schools to attend high school presentations/career fairs. This helps promote their shop to students who plan on going into the workforce after graduation, and also gives them an opportunity to express the importance of continuing their education.”
Larry Arnold
Outreach Coordinator, J-Tech Institute
Connect on LinkedIn
“Make time. Instructors receive hundreds of emails throughout the year from companies who need technicians. They receive less than a dozen phone calls, and the number of shops who actually come and recruit students face-to-face is even smaller. If you think you are going to solve your technician shortage by sending a two sentence email or by dropping a post on Facebook, you are mistaken. Set up a mentorship system in your shop and take time to find the right apprentice.”
Tracey Hicks
Automotive Instructor, Frederick County Public Schools
Connect on LinkedIn
“Implement paid internships for lube techs and/or basic maintenance techs to hire and train for future full-time positions with students from local high schools, two-year junior college certificates, or tech school certificate programs.
For all newly hired techs: Create a 90-day formal onboarding process to include training, job shadowing, mentoring with weekly goals to improve new technician performance, satisfaction and long-term employee retention. Offer a written career path to include ongoing certifications, training, earned tool acquisition programs, pay increases offered by completing additional certifications or levels of experience.”
Jody DeVere
CEO, AskPatty.com
Connect on LinkedIn
“As an industry, we need to have the foresight and the patience to make the long-term investment in recruiting students in grades 5-10. This won’t help in the current timeframe, but will build a pool of technicians that we can pull from for generations. This will get your business’ name in front of very young and impressionable students.
Shops need to partner with vocational and technical schools in their area. Be an active in advisory committees and guide them in developing a current curriculum that schools should teach. Also, offer on-the-job education or internships for students while he or she attends school.
Lastly, in today’s economy, entry-level technicians are smothered in debt. Shops can help by purchasing entry-level technicians’ tools. Purchasing tools for the technicians who work in the service department is a capital investment that can be amortized for years.”
Tom Wozniak
Instructor, Madison Area Technical College
Connect on LinkedIn
Focus on Shop Culture
“Improving technician recruiting starts with improving your shop’s culture. In a market where everyone is competing with one another, money will only take you so far. An employee stays if they feel valued and appreciated and enjoys coming to work every day. Setting a positive tone for the technician from the beginning will make your shop stand out.”
Sara Berteling
Talent Development Specialist, Checkered Flag
Connect on LinkedIn
“While earning potential, benefits, and overall working conditions are still the driving factors for hiring, dealerships also need to focus on company culture and community highlights to help set themselves apart. Doing this will attract more out of market technicians—expanding your opportunity to find and hire great talent!”
Owen Moon
CEO, Fixed Ops Digital
Connect on LinkedIn
“Culture trumps strategy! Your current technicians are your best recruiters! It starts with an atmosphere where people want to work—where they feel supported and secure. People flock together with like-minded people. Therefore, technicians are often connected with other technicians. When you have a shop of advocates at your store, recruiting happens naturally. They will even do the vetting for you and only recommend the people they know will perform. Long story short, show your current technicians all the appreciation and let them help you!”
Ed Roberts
COO, Bozard Ford Lincoln
Connect on LinkedIn
Move Quickly
“When it comes to recruiting technicians, move fast. In our current hiring market, good technicians don’t stay on the market long. Keeping communication clear and concise helps both candidates and hiring managers stay in the loop and get that tech from interview to onboarding quicker.”
Klara-Sophia Hill
Human Resources, Advantage Truck Group
Connect on LinkedIn
“Shops and dealerships need to be more responsive. In technician recruiting, follow-up and communication is key. If you let a technician sit for too long, another employer will scoop them up. Responding to calls, texts, and emails as quickly as possible is incredibly important. Most technicians are already working in the field and can’t communicate during the day while they are at work. This means being open to calls after hours, within reason, is critical.”
Samantha Gleason
Automotive Technician Recruiter, Lithia Motors, Inc.,
Connect on LinkedIn
Pave a Career Path & Offer Great Benefits
“Show technicians you care about them beyond how many billable hours they can crank out each day. Talk about your dealerships culture and your long-term dreams and aspirations for each technician. Show them examples of successful advancement within your organization. Ask them for a 90-day commitment to come aboard and try out being a part of the team. Offer them an incentive to achieve that goal.”
Ron Overs
Publisher, Fixed Ops Magazine
Connect on LinkedIn
“When employees are hired to do a specific job within a dedicated department, they lose sight of the bigger picture and how their job impacts the business as a whole. Because of this, animosity can develop between departments.
When you bring a new employee on board, invest some extra time training them. Allow new employees to spend their first four to six weeks learning all the details of how the dealership operates in every department. This will give them a great understanding of how all the departments work together for the good of the entire organization.
This concept doesn’t only apply to new hires; implement a program that allows your current employees the same opportunity to learn from each department head. It’s a vital step in getting your dealership operating as one aligned entity capable of providing a consistent and positive customer experience that will result in higher retention and sales.”
Corey Smith
National Fixed Operations Training Manager, National Auto Care
Connect on LinkedIn
“Create an inviting environment for entry-level personnel by explaining to them you will provide all the skills to excel, as well as have the room to grow. Be inclusive of all races, genders, and identities. Reward performance and discourage bad behavior. Lastly, show them that today’s cars are high-tech machines, and the rate of growth and pay will largely benefit those most attracted to technology, software, and electronics. Technicians are not just covered in grease and oil—they’re engineers helping to safeguard all of us who share the road.”
Sean Reyes
Chief Marketing Officer, Recall Masters
Connect on LinkedIn
“For a shop to be successful in recruiting technicians, they need to not only provide an attractive salary but also offer other key benefits. A quality of life, benefits, and also a clear career path with the possibility of advancement are strong points to attract top talent.”
Scott Trainor
COO, USA Motor Jobs
Connect on LinkedIn
“The greatest thing a shop can provide its current employees, as well as prospective new ones, is the ability to make a plan.
People want, and in many cases need, to feel a part of something, and to do so they need to understand their part in it. Not just, “I pay you to do this and that,” but where they fit in both in the short-term and long-term of your shop and how that will affect them. Can they make a plan for their life? Are you providing them with this ability? Are you sure?”
Matt Fanslow
Diagnostic Technician/Shop Manager, Riverside Automotive
Connect on LinkedIn
“To successfully recruit technicians, a few things we have consistently heard from service leadership, techs, and recruiters are:
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Spell out a good career path for young technicians.
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Institute a retention bonus program.
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When recruiting techs, ask about their families and what accommodations they might need during onboarding.”
Dan Shine
Senior Editor, Automotive News
Connect on LinkedIn
Sell Your Shop & What Makes You Unique
“Top shops need to showcase what they are and how they invest in growing new talent. Among others, this includes having a well-established apprenticeship program with strong ASE master technician mentors; a defined career path within their shop that maps how a newly minted tech can start in an entry-level position and grow into being a C, B, and A technician (and compensation increases); and a tool and equipment program that assists new techs with acquiring the array of T&E they’ll need. Shops need to sell themselves during the interview process as much as potential candidates. The end result is a true win-win, which is reflective of a great shop culture.”
Rob Merwin
Owner & Publisher, Aftermarket Matters
Connect on LinkedIn
“I get to see every type of repair shop, collision shop, dealership, or other business that is employing technicians. Owners of these businesses need to remember they are all competing for the same small pool of applicants.
These businesses need to stand out from the crowd in order to have success recruiting talent. What makes your business better than the rest for employees? What sets you apart from the large corporations? Is it pay, benefits, culture, work/life balance? Only you can decide what that is. Once you figure that out, then you MUST capitalize on it!”
Tanner Brandt
President, Autodiag Clinic LLC
Connect on LinkedIn
“Shops need to stand out from the many other shops begging for techs. Offer something that the others don’t. Advertising for a lube tech? Provide them with new tools that they will own after 90 days of employment.”
Damon Agostino
Automotive Technician, Sixth Street Automotive
Connect on LinkedIn
Embrace Transparency
“Improve transparency. Shops can and should be fully transparent about the details of the job. Not just pay, but details on the benefits, career growth opportunities, and management are just as important. Have the technician meet the service manager and the rest of the team so they know what they are signing up for.”
Tim Winkeler
President & CEO, VIP Tires & Service
Connect on LinkedIn
“Do some serious internal reflection first. Our internal and external reputation is an integral part of the relationships we build in the business.
We’re seeing more technicians who have one perspective, and owners who are oblivious to their growing bitterness. This needs to be addressed prior to bringing on new employees, even if it’s not fixed instantly!
This solves two issues: It curbs toxicity in the shop, and it gives us the opportunity to be organic and vulnerable with potential hires. Any employee you hire is fully aware there are issues in your shop. When we’re honest with our current challenges, it helps those around us see us as problem-solvers—not painting an “imposter” picture.
Being real not only sets us apart from our competitors, but it gives us a culture and mindset of improvement.”
Lucas Underwood
President, L&N Performance Auto Repair
Connect on LinkedIn
Social Media, Breaking the Mold, & More
“Get on social media. This is where a lot of young techs are coming across your shop. Get a Facebook page, ask techs to snap a few photos of repairs they are doing, post the benefits of coming to work at your shop, and talk about how you care about providing quality work to members of your community. This will resonate with young techs, and they will be excited about joining such a great company!”
Amanda Silliker
Editorial Director, Endeavor Business Media
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“Shops need to stop doing things the way they always have. Traditional ads and one size fits all benefit packages and schedules are no longer working. It is time to break the mold and start from scratch. Throw out your old, tired ads, and let it be known in your new ones that you understand each person is an individual.”
Kim Hickey
Management Consultant & Coach, Automotive Training Institute
Connect on LinkedIn
“The one thing the vast majority have in common when recruiting technicians is it’s purely a transactional event. Meaning when they lose one, they panic and rush to replace them instead of actually having recruiting as a part of their everyday business.
What this actually looks like varies by shop, and the shop owner or fleet manager should lean towards their strengths. Maybe that’s building relationships with local tech colleges and actively engaging their students and alumni. Maybe they have a skill to entertain as well as repair, so they should hit YouTube, Facebook Live, TikTok, or live networking training opportunities to get their story out and attract technicians/customers to them. Or, if they are a tad introverted, they should lean on their team by implementing referral programs.
By making recruiting a daily process that’s reviewed weekly, it will naturally transform how you do everything else. You will hire better, build better benefits packages, make facility improvements, and repair vehicles better. The list goes on and on. Develop a process, stick to it, measure it, and change it as needed.”
Darin Damron
SE Regional Vice President, JASPER Engines & Transmission
Connect on LinkedIn
“The days of thinking we are just fighting for techs to come to us instead of the competitor are long gone. As an industry, we need to come together to increase children’s and teens’ interest in automotive repair. Design a system that grows the talent and fiercely protects the talent from leaving. Shops need to recognize how integral technicians are to success and treat them with the respect they deserve as essential workers. This seems simple, but the historic shop culture has not supported technician retention. Similarly, dealership owners need to recognize that service is not an afterthought—how quickly and efficiently a car or truck is repaired is often the deciding factor in future vehicle purchases and customer loyalty. The service department has a greater impact on customer retention than sales; no matter WHAT a salesperson tries to tell you!”
Chryssa Hunlock
Service Manager, California Truck Centers
Connect on LinkedIn
“1. Improve the employee experience dramatically. The public needs to see you make big changes to the work environment, so they start to talk positively about our trade again.
2. Pay, way more. The inbound generation needs to know the investment of their time, energy, and body is going to be worth it.
3. Rejoin the community. Fifty years ago, everyone had a “mechanic.” The whole town knew him and his business. They saw him at church on Sunday, and at 7am on Monday. He was elbows deep in an engine, but still waved to everyone as they drove by.”
Joshua A. Taylor
Founder & CEO, Just Work Hard Consulting Co.
Connect on LinkedIn
“There are three things shops can do to improve recruiting:
1. Take care of the people you already have—they are your best recruiters.
2. Be active on social media with posts, videos, and photographs that help you catch the attention of techs.
3. Take care of your customers because the techs you want to attract will be impressed by the quality of work you already do.”
Russell Wickham
Technician, Country II
Connect on LinkedIn
