Good shop equipment, paid vacations would help with technician recruiting, retention, survey shows

A good technician can be hard to find and even harder to keep. Investing in good equipment, offering paid vacations and establishing a retirement savings fund are steps employers can take to attract new techs, according to WrenchWay's 2023 Voice of Technician Survey.

"As technology continues to evolve, if [technicians] don't have the right tooling to turn out work very fast, that impacts their paycheck," said Jay Goninen, president of WrenchWay.

In the inaugural survey, 98 percent of respondents rated "proper equipment in the shop" as very important or fairly important when looking for a job.

On the job, respondents felt "shops pay for tools or have adequate tool allowance" was the issue that should be addressed first to have an impact on the industry.

Entry-level technicians can spend up to $10,000 on tools just to get started, Goninen said.

"It has blown my mind that the person who is the lowest paid has by far the greatest investment to make just to be able to do their job," he said.

WrenchWay is a technician recruiting firm that also aims to help the automotive and diesel service industries improve the work environment so more technicians enter and remain in the industry. That includes helping technicians research possible employers.

The online survey was fielded in September and received 649 responses; 46 percent were automotive technicians, and 25 percent were diesel technicians. Other respondents included students and management or owners.

Diesel technicians were markedly happier with their jobs than automotive technicians, though neither gave ringing endorsements.

When asked whether they would recommend the job to a friend, using a Net Promoter Score, diesel technicians ended up with a –11 vs. a –48 for automotive technicians. The job of service technician overall received a –24 score. A Net Promoter Score is a common metric used to gauge customer satisfaction; scores range from –100 to +100.

Possible reasons for the happier diesel techs include decent pay and bigger tool investment, Goninen said. Diesel techs often view their job as a way of life, he said.

He said using productivity as the primary measure of how well technicians do their jobs has made it a less attractive career.

"We have lost our way in the industry for that passion to love fixing things," Goninen said.

Technicians' dislike of productivity as a measure of performance was reflected in their desired pay structure. Only 10 percent chose "flat rate," in which a manufacturer assigns a certain amount of time, and thus hourly pay, to a job regardless of how much time it actually takes to perform. The top choice, at 37 percent, was "hourly w/production bonus."

One survey respondent expressed frustration with the job.

"I feel as though the pay scale will never match the amount of effort you have to put in to be a high-level technician," said the tech, who requested anonymity. "The hours are long and it is hard on the body, and it takes constant learning and growth to stay relevant with all of the new systems that keep coming out."

Goninen recommended the service technician industry look to other fields for ideas on how to make it more enticing. Nursing, for example, has long faced shortages. It has adjusted schedules to make the job more attractive, among other adaptations, he said.

Better communication between shop management and technicians could help with retention. Fewer than half of respondents cited "shop management communicates well" as a reason for job satisfaction.

"We aren't doing a good enough job listening," Goninen said. "This seems like low-hanging fruit."