By now, we have all thought about or perhaps even read the doom-and-gloom articles describing the coming technician shortage in the collision repair industry. This article, the first of which will be followed by a series of articles over the next several months, strives to offer realistic solutions that can be applied in any collision center to foster the growth of new people interested in the collision repair trade. As with any complex problem, the solution will require some effort, a commitment of leaders’ and mentors’ time and financial support. This article provides an overview of the solutions that I will delve into in more detail in the coming months.
A technician and office staff shortage problem
The problem we face now, and will need to address in the future, is the shortage of people interested in becoming body, prep, paint, mechanical and detail technicians, as well as a lack of people interested in becoming estimators, customer service representatives, repair planners and production and general managers. At this time, there are more people retiring or leaving the trade than there are new entrants.
This problem is not unique to collision repair – Mike Rowe from the famed TV series “Dirty Jobs” has picked up on the North American lack of interest in following the path to become a “tradesperson.” His mikeroweWORKS Foundation reaches out to teens to encourage them to evaluate the trades as a viable career option. The focus is to get an education, but it doesn’t necessarily mean in college – a trade education can be a fit for people looking to earn a great living. A later article in this series will feature ways we as an industry can revitalize interest in the trades.
Current solutions are not working
The majority of collision repairers have tried to hire an entry-level person into the trade, and the learning curve has been long and hard. Some have had success, but many gave up, preferring to fill openings by soliciting vendors and others to find them a painter or body technician. The result is a game of musical chairs where someone loses – usually the consumer.
Role of collision center manager
With nearly 50 percent of collision center sales being body, frame, mechanical or paint labor, and another 15 percent to 19 percent of sales invested in overhead wages and benefits, the collision center manager should invest nearly 70 percent of their time leading and managing people. Instead, we find they spend the bulk of their time on other issues, and the proactive growth and retention of people is merely an afterthought. This needs to change! Retaining quality staff members by becoming the “employer of choice” should be a primary role for the manager. They need to ensure retention by focusing on the development of their people.
Overview of a solution
The solutions we will be reviewing solve some of the dilemmas we face, and have three areas of focus:
- Recruit quality people to the collision repair trade.
- We face an uphill battle with consumers and technical schools who are hearing talk about autonomous vehicles and accident avoidance, making them hesitant to participate in or expand programs. The industry does have a bright future with plenty of opportunity!
- Funding for technical school auto body programs has declined along with enrollment in recent years. We need to get the word out on the opportunities available!
- Millennials have grown up with video games and computers and have been told by their parents to go to college and make money working in an office behind a desk. We need to show them a positive alternative.
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Develop the quality people we have recruited and provide incentive to stay in the trade and with your company.
- Once we attract entry-level or technical school or college graduates, we need to convince them they are on a long but guided six-to-ten-year path to the role in which they are interested, and then guide and coach them throughout their journey.
- Provide an incentive for mentors to assist the new hires.
- Provide a path for the new hires to earn the tools and get the training they need and provide the guidance to get them through the process.
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Retain your current quality staff members.
- Perhaps most frustrating is seeing poor leadership squander opportunities that exist with entry-level staff and technical school or college graduates who “try” the trade by failing to provide them with enough training and direction. They become frustrated and leave. That’s a problem we can change immediately with our industry leadership’s renewed focus.
Hopefully, this article has inspired you to review how you allocate your time, and to focus your efforts to recruit and retain staff in the future. I look forward to sharing more details in this series over the coming months.
