Attracting and retaining the best talent is an ongoing issue in the collision repair industry, as many shop operators grapple with a lack of qualified staff.
The Collision Vision podcast, driven by Autobody News and hosted by Cole Strandberg, kicked off its “Talent Shortage and Workforce Development” series by talking to Jay Goninen, co-founder and president of WrenchWay.
Goninen provided insights on how operators can increase satisfaction among current technicians so they are more likely to recommend the career to younger people, as well as his thoughts on supporting local collision repair education programs.
Current State of the Technician Shortage
Despite the hard work of many people, Goninen said the collision repair tech shortage is still “more of the same, and it is kind of frustrating.”
Goninen said his company is hearing “that we’re still stuck in this rut where maybe our best and brightest aren't speaking positively about the industry. And to me, it all starts with that.
“Until we can get the narrative changed on how technicians feel about the industry, it's going to be a struggle to catch up on the shortage,” he added.
WrenchWay conducts a “Voice of the Technician” survey. The feedback it got from the most recent one, conducted in the fall of 2024, wasn’t favorable, which Goninen said initially surprised him, because he sees the effort some shop operators are putting in to take care of their employees.
“I think that the sooner we can come to terms with the fact that we're not just going to be able to flip a light switch and have this huge issue changed, the faster we can come up with solutions to fix it,” Goninen said.
“It's not just that immediate satisfaction thing that we're all looking for,” he said. “It takes a vision. It takes some work. You know, I think a lot of times we like to put that on the back burner. But man, we've got an issue on our hands that we have got to fix and it's not going to happen overnight.”
Goninen said about 4,700 technicians responded to the survey, though the percentage that work in collision repair is still small compared to those who work in automotive repair.
“This is something we're working with industry partners to be able to get the word out on more, because we feel like the data is really, really helpful,” he said. “That being said, I think so much of what we saw in the survey is applicable to our industry as a whole.”
The survey asks respondents if they would recommend their industry to a friend or family member and calculates a Net Promoter Score. Goninen said that score was bad in 2023, but it managed to go lower in 2024.
The ‘Toolbelt Generation’
Goninen said the New York Times recently referred to Gen Z as the “toolbelt generation,” meaning they are more open to trades as a career than previous generations, but they need to know collision repair exists.
“I think a lot of it is visibility,” Goninen said. “It's hard for a typical shop out there to say, ‘Yeah, I really want to go talk to a bunch of sophomores in high school right now,’ because you're not going to get that ROI for several years, if you [ever] get that ROI.
“But if you're not doing that, you're not planting any seeds for appealing to those people that would be right for our industry, and maybe we lose them to another trade or some type of white-collar job, because they don't know how attractive this industry is.”
Shop operators should emphasize the positive aspects of the industry -- tools and equipment have gotten more sophisticated and it’s no longer as “dirty” of a job as it once was -- but they should also be honest and not overpromise the industry to young people, Goninen said.
“You can't lie to these young people. You can't go in and say, ‘You're going to make 100 grand a year right off the bat coming into our shop,’” Goninen said. The opportunity to make that much is there, but new technicians would have a lot to learn before getting to that level.
The increasing complexity of new vehicles is creating new career paths in the industry.
“This gives you the opportunity to shine different opportunities to different demographics, or maybe people that have different interests,” Goninen said.
The industry also has to work to change parents’ and teachers’ perception. WrenchWay has a tool on its site that shows technician pay in real time, broken down by what type of work they do and how many years of experience they have.
The tool produces more accurate data than that published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Goninen said.
Existing technicians’ perceptions also need to be addressed. Goninen said some feel like shop operators “use them until their body is broken down, and then [they’re] just going to dispose of them.”
The solution is to show technicians career paths that go beyond when they’re young and more physically capable, but don’t have as much technical knowledge.
“The more that individual shops can create that next path for them, that provides visibility to those younger people, I think it makes those more experienced people happier, so that they can then go tell somebody with confidence, ‘Yeah, I would tell you to come into this career path,’” Goninen said. “We need more of that. We need more visibility to those stories of technicians that have evolved.”
What Technicians Want
Aside from money, which is always important, the top thing “Voice of the Technician” survey respondents said they wanted was proper equipment.
“Eighty-seven percent said [proper equipment] was must have,” Goninen said, who also pointed out 62% of the respondents had 21 or more years of experience.
Second on the list was paid vacation -- 83% said it was a must have. Another 32% said they’d prefer a four-day, 10-hour shift work schedule. “People care about work-life balance,” Goninen said.
On the other hand, 27% of respondents said they would prefer “as many hours as I can work,” which Goninen said surprised him, in light of how many also wanted paid vacation.
“I think that might tell you that technicians are willing to do the work and they're willing to plan out their scheduled days off, but they still value that time off,” he said.
What Shop Operators Want
Goninen said what shops think they want and what they actually want are two different things.
“They think they want max productivity and they want to to be as profitable as humanly possible. Of course they want that, right?” Goninen said. “But in reality, they want a smooth functioning shop where they're not having arguments every day and where their team is fighting and where it's just constant headaches.
“I think where a lot of shops go wrong is that we all end up in this reactive hiring stage, where we get desperate for talent. We don't do anything to be proactive about being able to get talent in the door,” Goninen said.
For instance, a shop operator might only look at an applicant’s years of experience and certifications, while ignoring a bad attitude.
“They overlook a lot of the things that will end up making their life chaotic, because they're so desperate to hire that technically sound person,” Goninen said.
That often leads to a poor work culture for everyone.
“My challenge to industry is to be a little bit more intentional, be a little bit more proactive in your hiring strategy,” Goninen said. “It can't just be because they can fix cars. You have to take it a little deeper. Do they fit our culture? Do they fit who we are? Do I like the person?”
Supporting Local Collision Repair Education Programs
Goninen said there are ways shop operators can help get potential technicians into local high school and post-secondary collision repair programs, before they are shut down due to a lack of interest and funding.
“If we shift our focus to focusing on making sure that these programs are healthy, I think the likelihood of that program going away is cut exponentially,” Goninen said.
Join advisory committees and actively participate in the classroom -- “just going in and occasionally buying the students lunch,” he said. “That doesn't cost that much money to go buy a bunch of pizzas and go in and have conversations with the kids and the instructors that can go a long way.”
Goninen said he is also a proponent of job shadowing, especially for high school students.
“You get multiple kids in your doors, you get a feel for who they are, and then maybe you extend an apprenticeship type of opportunity to the one that really stood out to you as fitting your culture and who you are,” he said.
There is also a growing instructor shortage, which is contributing to some programs ending. Goninen said that could be a good fit for an older tech who is good at mentoring younger techs. As an instructor, that tech could also help the shop establish a relationship with students who might become future employees.
To get involved with a local school, shop operators need to identify the right person to contact, which WrenchWay’s School Assist tool can help with.
Once contact has been made, shop operators shouldn’t open the first conversation by saying they’re just looking for future employees, Goninen said. Instead, they should offer to help the program get the resources it needs to grow.
“If your mentality is to go in and constantly ask for that one student, you're just never going to develop a good relationship there. And I think you're setting yourself up for failure,” he said.
How to Make Your Shop a Good Place to Work
It starts with asking good questions and listening, Goninen said, as well as establishing relationships with employees that make them feel comfortable enough to be able to tell an employer when something isn’t right or their needs aren’t being met.
“I think there have been a lot of technicians over the years that give feedback and get punished for it,” Goninen said. “You can't do that because they're never going to give you feedback again.”
Have “conversations based on reality,” he continued. “What can we do for you currently? And maybe if we can't do it currently, can we do it down the road?”
Shop operators can also help their employees by teaching them about finances.
“That might not seem like that's part of the job description of a leader in our industry, but if you can prevent them from going $20,000 in tool debt that they don't need, or you can help them set up an investment account, and you're truly looking at them as the person and saying, ‘What are we doing to set you up for long term success?’ That resonates,” Goninen said.
Beyond the Wrench
Goninen hosts Beyond the Wrench, a weekly podcast in which he interviews shop owners, technicians, instructors and professionals in the automotive, diesel and collision industries.
“It really is about best practices. I think we can learn from one another,” Goninen said.
Abby Andrews