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I don't know what's worse: the tech shortage, the lower than needed rate of young people becoming techs, or the fact that there are many technicians leaving our industry. I guess all three topics are serious issues, but techs leaving the industry has to move to the top, in my opinion. What can we do as Shop Owners to provide a healthy work environment and career that tells techs we care and we want you to stay?

With the difficulty auto repair shops have these days finding quality techs, I thought it would be a good idea to share our ideas on what ways have worked for you. Please post what has worked for you in the past when looking to hire a technician.

Perhaps the worst time to look to hire a technician, is when we lose one. At that point we go into “Crisis Hire” mode. We most often settle for anyone, rather than taking our time to find the right person. We need to take a lesson from large organizations and sports teams. Their strategy? They continually recruit. I did not say continually hire, I said continually recruit. You need to be on the look out for the talent in your community. Find where the best of the best are working now. Reach out to these people, get to know them. Make is part of your overall business plan to stay in touch with trade schools, the military for returning vets, and any other employee agencies. Identify key people in your local auto community and ask questions; where are the best technicians? How can I contact this person? Who knows this superstar tech? In other words, allocate a significant portion of your time in the area of recruiting. Your goal is to have people in the pipe line. So when you lose an employee you have a list of contacts to reach out to. In the book “Work Rules”, a book about Google and its employee strategies, the author states that Google follows this rule: “Hiring is the single most important activity in any organization"

I was speaking with a friend of mine the other day. He's a high school math teacher. He asked me if the Hi-Tech cars of today and tomorrow will attract more young people to the automotive trade? I never gave it a thought, but it just might. What are your thoughts, will technology help to bring more talented people to our industry?

I have been a believer in hiring entry level techs. We have a balance of seasoned veterans and newbies. Years back (and I am talking decades here) I would hire a young kid out of trade school and although he did not have the years behind him, he had a great foundation. They worked on the family cars, in gas stations or tire shops after schools and on weekends and gained valuable experience by the time they entered the work force. These days, many of the techs that graduate tech schools don't have the basics. Many of them are technically-potential. By that I mean many of them have an understanding about how to approach a diagnostic issue. But, basic skills are lacking. I think the biggest problem is that when asked where did they worked, many of them tell us: Camp counselor, the local deli, pizza shop. Some have done internships. I think many programs require this. But I just don't see that well-rounded background in mechanics that we had years back. I think that if a young person is interested in this trade, he or she should work in as early on as possible.