Hiring techs? Takes a lot more than a job posting

PHOENIX – Establishing a positive workplace culture is key to attracting and retaining vehicle repair technicians during a time when good technicians are hard to come by.

The vehicle repair technician shortage has been an industry concern for years. It's not a situation that happened overnight but rather over decades.

"We slowly started losing people in the trades. We slowly saw these (technician) programs go away and high school programs go away and nobody really did much about it," said Jay Goninen, co-founder and president of Wrenchway, which works with technicians, shops, and schools by highlighting top shops to work at, educating shops on how to become better employers, and helping schools attract the next generation of technicians.

Some of the reasons for the shortage include societal stigma, poor compensation and working conditions, and lack of professional development, according to Chris O'Brien, COO of Fullbay, a heavy-duty repair shop software firm, who hosted a webinar with Goninen on the subject Sept. 13.

Goninen said the industry needs to work together to solve the shortage problem.

"One of the biggest issues we face is maybe not being realistic about where we stand as an industry. I think there have been times where the job hasn't been what we've sold the job to be," he said.

According to the ASE Education Foundation, 42% of techs leave the field after two years.

"Not only are we having trouble keeping techs in the industry, but also the experienced techs, whose bodies are starting to wear down. What we're seeing is when we do get them in the door, they go through their training, they go through maybe a tech school and they come in and work in our shops. And they leave. And it's because we don't have good mentorship programs. We don't have good onboarding programs," he said.

The key is establishing a positive workplace culture, he said, and that entails good leadership and treating employees as humans.

"At the end of the day, if all you do is go out and scream at your entire crew every single day, they're just going to leave. There are so many opportunities out there right now that they can go to other places that aren't going to treat them like that," Goninen said.

O'Brien said the younger generation relies on encouragement and positive feedback. Acknowledging an employee's good work and saying "thank you," even when they are fulfilling their job requirements, goes a long way to building a better work culture.

Shops tend to take for granted the hard physical work involved in truck repair, he added, especially when it comes to working under a hot truck for several hours.

"It's hard," Goninen agreed, "and I think just going out of your way on these hot days to bring a cold water and ice cream or whatever it is to help them cool down. It's little things like that that go such a long way with mechanics and techs. …

"If you can be constantly on the lookout for ways to improve their life, I think not only your recruiting is going to be better, your retention is going to be better because you're going to make the lives of the people in your shop already significantly better," Goninen said.

Most shops use the strategy of "post and pray" to recruit new technicians, Goninen said.

"It's not the way you should do it to be successful. It's a piece of it, but when it's your entire strategy, I think you're setting yourself up for failure."

Both men encouraged shops to not rely on one approach for recruiting but to use a variety of formats: post on job boards, actively post on social media, ask for referrals and develop a pipeline with local high schools and tech colleges.

Shops should market themselves and publicize why the shop is a great place to work and what sets them apart from other employers.

"I think one of the major issues we've got is being able to take a step back and look at how we compare to other industries, other shops and really, truly being able to see what it is that we are. Why are we unique as a shop? What's different about us?" Goninen suggested.

Determining what is unique and different about a shop, compared with another shop down the road, involves more than offering free uniforms or being a family-based business. Those are things found in many a job ad, he said.

"It's growing a pipeline of people who know who you are and think that you are a pretty cool place to work. That's how you're going to change the perception of who you are," Goninen said.

Unfortunately the only social media content many shops post online is "We're hiring."

"It becomes redundant. Of course, you're hiring. So is every other shop in the nation," Goninen said.

He suggested the rule of 10-to-1 for social media posts: Make 10 different types of posts for every one hiring post. Social media posts should market the shop's brand to technicians and build an audience.

O'Brien and Goninen encouraged businesses the post social media videos to promote the workplace and the profession, noting that video content on social media gets 1,200% more shares than text and image content.

Tell your story of why you're unique and be proactive, Goninen suggested. After building an online audience, when the shop needs to hire, it can put a call out to that audience.

About 75% of job candidates are passive job seekers, they said, which means those technicians are currently employed and not actively looking for a new job, but are open to a good career opportunity. They're not looking for a new job but they're available.

Those are the candidates a shop wants to market to, Goninen said. They're not going to be browsing job boards, "but they would be willing to listen should something come across to them."

Goninen said one of the biggest frustrations of tech schools is not hearing from local repair shops until graduation, and then every shop in their community calls for the school's best students. And usually the best students already have a job waiting for them, he said.

"Rather than going in and doing what everyone else is doing, get truly involved with that school," he said. "Build relationships so you actually know the people that are in those schools, both at the high school and post-secondary level, because that's going to help you become a favorite of that school."

The tech schools and high school programs are capital-intensive programs and if they are struggling, there is the risk such programs could be shut down, he said.

"Be there for them," he said, adding, "We as an industry need to get better at building these programs and helping these schools out. Otherwise, we're at risk of losing them altogether."

He said that when someone is involved in the industry at a young age, there is a higher chance they will stay in the industry.

"We need the industry to get involved with these schools. We need to build stronger programs so they don't go away, so they continue to put out better students," he said.

"Get out there and help these schools out whether it's through Wrenchway or through anything else. Build relationships with these schools. It is so important."

He said shops can build a pipeline of new techs by: working with local schools and talking with teachers; opening up the shop for classes, tours and other events; talking with tech schools about requirements for students; and working with other shops to build a program.

Retaining technicians involves creating a positive work culture, developing communication, setting goals and offering positive reinforcement, Goninen and O'Brien said.

O'Brien encouraged employers to listen to what their employees want and consider adopting and modifying the work culture and conditions. Offering incentives encourages employees to overachieve.

Having conversations about employee goals and aspirations shows the employee the shop cares about them as a person.

"Don't underestimate the pathway to advancement and growth," Goninen said, adding "Understand what the goals and aspirations of the people on your team are and help them get there. Lay out a plan."

He also encouraged owners and managers to get to know their employees and how to communicate with them, because not everyone is the same. They have families and they have different interests, so get to know them on a personal level so as to communicate with them in the most effective way.