Good Help is Hard to find..?

[Tom]

As with anything, it depends who you ask and how you pose the question. There are likely more people out there today who have the ability to be (or learn to be) good or great techs. Unfortunately, very few of them are interested in doing so – for a lot of different reasons.

For most shops, I believe that finding techs has become somewhere between difficult and next to impossible – and it is likely to get worse. On the other hand some shops will always be able to find techs without too much trouble.

The difference is typically a combination of pay, benefits, the facility (I would not work in most shops because of this one alone), work schedule, resources, management, and people. Create a list of things you would want as an employee (for what it’s worth, there is one here in the Premium Members area). Be fussy, be demanding. Then score your shop. Then work on improving your score. 

Most of us can become the shop that all the techs want to work at, the one that has techs on a waiting list. But, it is going to take some money and some very different thinking for most of us.

[JoeHenry]

Tom, we are faced with a decline … no, a plummeting decline of Techs leaving us from: retirement AND going to other industries like oil/fracking/mining/defense companies (Don’t be fooled by lower oil and commodes prices, many blue collar veterans of these industries are retiring and their recruiters are pursing auto/truck/collision Techs to fill the void)

I wrote a whole article on this published in some trade magazines of what to do. Here it is is anyone is interested http://www.actautostaffing.com/findgoodtechs.asp  

[Alan Ollie]

Thinking about putting some cards and posters near the dealers .This was just a quickie mock up.So hard to find a super Tech. Yes i know we would put website on poster.

When i look in Import Service mag and Motor mag i see lots of advertisements from the aftermarket parts distributers are building ,starting more schools and training trucks etc.

I think the hugh parts companies have a big interest on pushing more and more training it is in there own interest .They need to sell parts to us shop owners. I think we are going to see a lot more training very soon .We hardly have any classes in south Fl. 

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[Joseph Van syoc]

Tom when you have shops out there who think $12hr (flat rate to boot) is “top dollar” its no wonder talented people are flocking to trades other than auto repair.  Just sayin…

[Alan Ollie]

Tom when you have shops out there who think $12hr (flat rate to boot) is “top dollar” its no wonder talented people are flocking to trades other than auto repair.  Just sayin…

What city is $12 paid to a tech in Fl we have to pay 18-35 per hr 

[andrewtpoe]

My last shop was a Honda dealer in Charleston SC belonging to a large national franchise. They pay their technicians with a variable flat rate system that starts at $10 for a lot of common work like oil changes or tire replacement or repairs… The next level they pay is $12 for things like brake jobs, spark plugs, major services, system flushes, etc… The third level is $14 for work like timing belts. These three rates are standardized across the shop regardless of skill or experience and make up the bulk of the work we performed. They also have an $18 standard rate for diagnosis, but I can count on one hand the number of times I saw it used.

Additionally, each technician has a pay rate that is specific to them and based exclusively on training and ASE’s. This rate ranges from $12 to the mid $20’s. Technicians only get this rate for heavy repairs like major part replacements. 

Yes, their pay system is as confusing as I’m sure it sounds. Nevertheless, we had senior technicians making $10-$14 per flat rate hour. It’s worth pointing out, this system is not why I left the shop. I am merely providing a case where it does exist.

[pbrennan]

I was discussing this issue a while back with a shop owner. Here are a few conclusions we came to:

• The industry needs to pay more as a whole. Technicians are a declining population everywhere.
• If you want the best techs, pay for them. Offer 20% more than your competition, and/or better benefits, and be willing to pay for the talent. This affords you the ability to be very selective.
• Some ideas for getting more techs applying to your company:
• Google Adwords for searches in your area.
• SEO-Optimized Careers page.
• You’ll have to always be recruiting. Run ads 24/7/365 on the top sites, and commit to interview 2 potential techs per week. Then you’ll always have a short-list of potential hires.
• Treat your existing employees fairly and give them the opportunity to make good money & have great benefits – they will talk to other techs.
• Move techs from out-of-state if you have to. There are ways to do this to reduce your risk if you pay for relocation or sign-on bonuses.

[andrewtpoe]

Yes, paying more is great and should be considered, but for me it comes down to treating your technicians well. Our hands get dirty, but good technicians are every bit as professional as your sales staff, hr, or management team and should be treated as such. It amazes me how much some shops demand from and/or mistreat technicians.

Patrick, you are absolutely right, shops get reputations for how they treat their techs. Those reputations will either help you get the best technicians available or keep them from you.