What Technicians Want?

We recently completed a study in which we surveyed over 200 technicians from 45 states. We were careful to select technicians from large metro areas as well as smaller markets. Approximately, 10% of the technicians surveyed work for independent service providers.

For many years, our industry has faced a shortage of qualified technicians, while a skilled automotive technician earns considerable “above average” income. So where is the disconnect? In a nutshell, it is a negative opinion of the profession. This is what we wanted to get to the bottom of…

The purpose of this study was to better understand what motivates technicians to change jobs and what causes many technicians to have such a negative opinion of the profession. And, more importantly, what can we do about it.

Because of the magnitude and complexity of this subject, this newsletter will be a three-week, three-part series. Here is how the series will go:

1. Overview of Technician Survey
2. Hiring and retaining Technicians
3. Building new Technicians


Overview of Technician Survey

I will share the responses of a few questions now and a couple more as we move forward. I’m not sure that any of these beliefs and concerns are “earth-shattering”. Most, if not all, of these concerns were present a decade ago. So, what are we going to do about it? Are we going to be “insane” and do things the same way and expect different results? Or, will we be a part of the solution?

Respondent Skills

• 93% had more than 10 years’ experience
• 5% had 5-10 years’ experience

• 94% considered themselves an “A-Level” technician, based on the 9 ASE categories
• 5% considered themselves a “B-Level technician, based on the 9 ASE categories

• 50% have had 5 or more technician jobs
• 46% have had 2-4 technician jobs
• 4% have only worked for one employer

When considering a job change, how important is the following?

• Existing Technician tenure – 64% very important / 36% important (100% total)
• Service Advisor tenure – 65% very important / 31% important (96% total)
• Service Manager tenure – 60% very important / 35% important (95% total)
• Parts Counter tenure – 58% very important / 35% important (93% total)

As you can see from these questions, it important for potential employees to see stability and tenure in the organization.

Preferred method of pay

• 32% preferred flat rate
• 31% preferred hourly or salary
• 25% preferred a combination of salary/flat rate
• 2% preferred a “team” pay plan
• 10% preferred “other” – examples stated were: flat rate with warranty calculator; flat rate with guarantee and; percentage

In comments, the respondents were very vocal about the perceived unfairness of warranty labor times. While manufacturers indicate that most labor times are studied and determined to be fair, other labor time guide sources argue that warranty labor times are solely based on warranty budgets. This debate causes a lack of trust on the technician’s part. My experience is that technicians become more efficient with repetition. It seems that, due to better quality, the frequency of warranty reoccurrences is less than ever, which contributes to the issue.

When asked what would be most important to them when considering a job change. The top 6 responses, in order of importance were:

1. Fair Pay Rate
2. Fairness of Work Distribution
3. Management that is Fair and Communicates
4. Benefits
5. Number of Work Bays
6. Shop Cleanliness and Organization

When asked why most technicians seek other jobs. The top 6 responses, in order of importance, were:

1. Not compensated fairly
2. Unfair work distribution
3. Lack of recognition
4. Hours
5. Not enough work
6. Hostile work environment

While all of the items are extremely important, let’s begin with the compensation and work distribution situation. Production must be managed! In a bakery, an hourly employee is expected to bake “X” amount of cakes in a given period. If they fail on a regular basis, they get trained, replaced or relocated to a position that will help them become more efficient. This would be referred to as an Operational Technique that is overseen by a supervisor. On an assembly line, a product spends “X” amount of time in a workstation, before it is moved. If a particular worker fails to complete their task in a predetermined time, the line gets shut down. This is a Structured Operating Technique. Much like a pendulum slows down over time due to friction and air resistance, a Structured Operating Technique requires intervention. While the results of an assembly line are very predictable for a given period of time, management has to be paying attention to all facets of the work station to assure that the equipment, tools and personnel remain functional.

Flat Rate Pay is a Structured Operating Technique. Essentially, we have shifted the management of production to the technician, without giving the technician any control over the friction points. In most dealerships, the friction points would be: a) work mix and distribution; b) amount of work; c) advisor selling skills; just to name a few. This creates, what I refer to as, the Flat Rate Mentality. Please take the time to read my Flat Rate Mentality article to gain a better understanding. This is critical information to understand why technicians complain about flat rate pay plans and will create a better understanding, for you, as we discuss Technician Retention and Hiring Technicians. To learn more about Structured and Operational Techniques, click Managers - Get control of your time Button.

Recruiting and Retaining Technicians

This subject, without a doubt, is a concern of almost every Service Manager, and it should be. This is a very complicated issue. As mentioned in the previous article, it is really important that we understand why technicians distrust the current systems.

In this article, we will address this complicated situation as;

A) Retaining Technicians 


B) Recruiting Technicians 

Developing Technicians

"I can't hire good Technicians"  - I think that we can all agree that this is an ongoing issue that is only getting worse. Why? Let’s examine two reasons:

1. Negative perception of flat-rate-pay plans. We have found, in most of our studies, that the negative is not really flat-rate-pay, rather, it’s the imbalance between factory times and Chilton or Alldata times. What can you do about this?

    Most states now require the manufacturer to pay the dealership "door rate" for warranty repairs, which results in a substantial higher rate and gross profit for warranty repairs. Why not use a two-level or three-level pay plan? A 15-20% higher rate for warranty repairs might go a long ways in overcoming the imbalance.

    The number two reason technicians dislike flat-rate is unfairness in dispatch. What systems do you have, in place, to prevent this?

2. Technician Development Program. We live in a society of instant-gratification. It just doesn’t make sense for a young person to attend technical school, then change oil in the dealership for $10 per hour, invest in tools, and hope they might learn enough to become a technician over the next few years.
We have to find a way to advance new hires quickly. The goal is to move from an entry-level to a technician, within a year and master technician in less than five years. We have found that the new generation isn’t willing to stick with it for years like their predecessors did. We must have an in-house training curriculum that is focused, specific and keeps the apprentice on-task.

At Fixed Ops Resource we have designed Technician Development Programs that can be tailored to your organization. This is a very structured process to keep everyone on task to recruit, hire and train technicians, quickly.

This process includes:    
         Recruiting system for selection and hiring of prospects
         Development of a formal, written, structure for TDP, based on your dealership or group's needs
         Development of formal checklist and promotion expectations
         Training and implementation of TDP