Collision technicians are happy overall, but issues remain, study shows

Collision repair technicians are happier with their jobs than their service technician counterparts but not thrilled overall with the industry.

A new report by Ducker Carlisle provides insight into collision repair techs' thinking and offers ideas on how collision repair shops can attract and retain technicians.

"Even though [collision repair techs] are happier, they are still hesitant to recommend the career path to someone," Eliza Johnson, managing principal at Ducker Carlisle, told Automotive News. "That leads us to the same problem of not having a strong pipeline for new techs."

In late 2023, Ducker Carlisle surveyed nearly 840 collision repair technicians. Of those surveyed, 47 percent were from independent shops, 30 percent were from multi-shop organizations such as collision repair chains and 20 percent were from dealerships.

The survey found 74 percent of techs were "very or somewhat satisfied overall" with their job compared with only 63 percent of dealership service techs.

Compensation was the top reason for staying in the job, chosen by 18 percent of respondents. The top reason for leaving was not to search for better pay, however. It was dislike of the workplace culture, including not feeling valued.

"Culture is the competitive advantage today," said Mike Anderson, president of consulting firm Collision Advice. "It is your No. 1 commodity. People that work for you don't just love the job, they love the organization."

Creating an appealing work culture takes many forms, said Anderson, who grew up doing collision repair in his dad's shop and then owned it himself before going into consulting.

Among his recommendations: have a professional facility with nice bathrooms, a comfortable break room and clean uniforms.

Show appreciation with special perks, he said. For example, one of his clients pays to have a high-performing employee's house cleaned for a month.

Rhonda Jensen, general manager of Bowman Chevrolet in Clarkston, Mich., agrees that culture is one of the most important factors in attracting and retaining technicians.

At Bowman, that means a well-organized office, a strong parts department, a remodeled and clean workplace and providing the necessary tools. A competitive benefits package and employee appreciation lunches also are important, Jensen said. Fellow employees also are key.

"It takes every person, from a porter to the owner, to make the dealership and its culture a place where people want to work," she said.

The Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repair, or I-CAR, a technical educational programming provider to the collision repair industry, and the Society of Collision Repair Specialists commissioned Ducker Carlisle to produce the report.

They wanted an accurate picture of the salary and career growth opportunities in order to more effectively attract new talent and understand how to retain talent, said Dara Goroff, I-CAR's vice president, planning & industry talent programming.

There are 80,000 job openings in collision repair with an annual salary potential of up to $100,000, according to "Collision Careers," a website created by I-CAR and the Collision Repair Education Foundation to promote the industry.

Shops see from 30 to 40 percent attrition and have three to nine openings at any given time, depending on size, Goroff said.

Career advancement opportunities are important for attracting and retaining collision repair techs, the report said. Yet 43 percent of techs surveyed were either dissatisfied or neutral about their ability to advance in their current job.

"This is a problem for the industry," the report said.

One area that offers both career advancement opportunities and excites technicians is training in new technologies such as advanced driver assistance systems — ADAS for short — and electric vehicles. Indeed, ADAS techs were the most satisfied with their collision repair jobs, at around 90 percent. Refinish techs, who prepare and paint repaired vehicles, were the least satisfied at around 70 percent.

Technicians find working on vehicles with new technologies exciting, with 29 percent thinking "it will help my career progression" and 27 percent saying "it's fun to learn new skills."

"You are still doing external body repairs but there is a lot more complexity in the systems that are involved," said Aaron Schulenburg, executive director of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists.

Shops don't seem to be focused enough on training, however. Only 49 percent of collision repair techs are "very or somewhat satisfied" with the training they receive compared with 68 percent of dealership service techs.

Highlighting new technologies such as EVs also is a draw for younger people, Ducker Carlisle's Johnson said.

"This is a very exciting shift in the industry, especially for younger people," she said. "They think being a tech is a groovy job."

Bowman Chevrolet believes in continuous education, Jensen said.

General Motors "offers courses for collision technicians and painters, and we also host I-CAR classes that technicians in the area can attend as well as our own staff," she said.

Survey respondents were overwhelmingly white, male and middle-aged, "consistent with service technicians," the report said. But respondents with less than five years total experience were younger and "significantly more diverse."

The report recommended continuing to engage with underrepresented populations "to help fill the gap in the technician population."

Some salary reform may be needed to attract the younger, more diverse crowd, however.

Techs with less than five years of experience earn under $40,000 annually. Considering the required upfront investment in education and tools, that low number may be scaring away potential collision repair techs, the report said.

While compensation was the top reason collision techs stayed in their job, how that pay is structured has a big impact on the job's Net Promoter Score measuring whether a tech would recommend the job to friend.

The majority of collision repair techs are paid on a flat-rate system in which they are paid on hours turned not hours worked, the report said. That pay structure received a score of -25.

A team-based structure, on the other hand, received a score of 40. That involves "collaboration and relies on the whole shop doing strong work," Johnson said.

Offering better benefits is another area where collision shops can improve, Schulenburg said. The study found that only 16 percent of employers offered health benefits, for example. But the Society of Collision Repair Specialists has "world-class" benefits and group health care programs to help small business compete, he said.

The Society of Collision Repair Specialists program is great for smaller shops — one of his clients saved $20,000 a year on the group health plan, Anderson said.

Collision repair shops need to think differently about pay and benefits, Goroff said.

"Remember, you are competing with the grocery store down the street or the Starbucks next door," she said, "not just others in the collision repair space."