Regardless of the services you provide, your auto shop is only as effective and reliable as your team of technicians. Finding quality auto technicians with the necessary background and knowledge can feel difficult at times. However, maintaining top talent as part of your team may be additionally challenging.

Are you looking for new strategies to prevent valuable employees from leaving? In the content below, we discuss the top five tips to retain quality auto technicians.

Retain Quality Auto Technicians with These 5 Tips

#1. Make Your Shop a Desirable Company to Work For

Although income drives applicants to certain jobs, that’s not the only considerable factor. Regardless of the industry, every employee wants to be valued and respected in a company.

Some automotive service shops do not offer a desirable level of treatment to their employees. As a result, a shop’s employee retention rate plummets. Instead, make your shop a place where technicians want to work. Give praise, reward their hard work, and create a welcoming culture.

Below are two ways in which you can make your shop more desirable to current staff and future applicants.

Encourage a Welcoming and Efficient Work Environment

We understand that auto shops aren’t always the most aesthetically pleasing facilities. However, you can certainly keep a clean and welcoming shop for your employees and customers.

Not everyone can leave the shop while waiting for their car’s servicing to be completed. Therefore, keep the reception area clean and comfortable. Have multiple seating options, create a snack and coffee area, and maintain a temperature-controlled environment. As a result, your clients will remain satisfied while waiting, and your auto mechanics can grab refreshments between servicing projects.

Regarding the service bay, make the environment welcoming for productivity. Provide as much lighting and organizational storage possible to allow your employees a safe and efficient workspace. Ensure your shop has proper exhaust removal products in place. Additionally, install air conditioning elements so your auto technicians are not inundated by seasonal weather and temperatures.

If your shop currently lacks these essential workspace components, you may see unsatisfied technicians.

Provide Training and Continued Learning Opportunities

Your dealership should embrace training programs and employee education to attract quality employees and applicants. Entry level auto technicians value career training and continued education while on the job. As a result, technicians are more inclined to work for companies that offer both.

Therefore, offer initial job training to help them launch their career and create a budget dedicated to continued education. Not only will supporting continued learning make auto technicians feel valued, but it will also help your dealership offer improved service. Additionally, you can better retain technicians who received certification through your company.

#2. Provide Fair Pay

Auto shops may provide hard-working auto technicians with unfair salaries. As a result, shop owners may notice lower efficiency or a decrease in workplace morale.

Quality auto technicians earned their worth with experience, efficiency, and dedication to the job. Therefore, compensate your employees fairly, according to their value.

Has a mechanic completed their certification through your continued education program? Does your automotive technician prioritize efficiency and productivity over completing a job quickly? If you noticed reliable performance and dedication to furthering their career path, reward your mechanic with pay raises and bonuses. Furthermore, assess your current shop’s budget and see how you can show value to your auto technicians.

#3. Adjust Compensation Rates

Before inspecting under a vehicle’s hood, a job may appear like a simple fix. However, sometimes technicians encounter additional auto repair issues. As a result, a simple, two-hour service could take half a day. Unfortunately, the mechanic only receives two hours’ payment.

Auto technicians often face an unequal ratio of time spent in the shop and compensation received. For example, when mechanics stay all day without any clients or vehicles to service, they do not receive compensation.

Retaining quality auto technicians may be as simple as adjusting how you reimburse their time. Therefore, consider offering your technicians a fair pay rate system where their compensation accrues from time spent at the shop. 

#4. Network Effectively

Waiting for auto technicians to approach your shop is not the most effective way to find true automotive talent. To find quality technicians, put considerable effort into how you network and advertise open positions.

As a shop owner or manager, actively seek new hires by attending job fairs in addition to posting online ads. Distribute fliers at high schools and automotive technician schools, offering free incentives such as paid training or a sign-on bonus.

Support a Simple Hiring Process

Attract potential applicants and keep them excited about the possibility of working for your dealership. Since most job-related research is conducted online, your dealership should support simple online applications directly on your website’s career page.

Once an applicant becomes a candidate, quickly move them through each step of the hiring process. Distribute skills assessments, schedule and conduct interviews, and complete background and reference checks in a timely fashion. If you delay a candidate’s hiring, you risk losing them to a competitor.

When you decide on a candidate, continue with digital onboarding and other HR-related tasks. Both simpler and faster, implement a paperless onboarding process for your auto technicians. For example, digitally send the company’s HR handbook and required tax documents. Help today’s auto technicians confidently navigate digital onboarding to better prepare for a productive first day on the job.

#5. Provide Efficient and Updated Equipment

Most auto shops require their automotive technicians to provide their own hand tools. To offset their investment, proactively seek how you can update your current repair and servicing equipment. Ensure that your shop has reliable auto lifts, tire changer parts, and anything pertinent to your services. Additionally, supply necessary resources such as disposable latex gloves and effective shop towels. As a result, you will keep your mechanics happy and productive, feeling valued.

Retain Quality Auto Technicians with Quality Auto Equipment and Repair Parts

Valuable employees know that repairing an auto with poor-quality parts and equipment is unfair to the customer. That’s why at SVI International, we manufacture reliable and effective auto equipment repair parts, lifting equipment, and complete new lifts. Our team of experts are dedicated to our clients. Therefore, we provide on-time delivery on in-stock parts, from any of our three, “ready ship” warehouses nationwide.

Our team is ready to assist you in your search for the proper repair parts! If you are ready to partner with SVI International, please do not hesitate to contact us at 800-321-8173.