4 tips for car dealers when onboarding new auto technicians

During a WrenchWay Roundtable broadcast, a statistic was shared showing that 42% of today’s auto technicians leave the workplace during the first two years. Why are so many auto technicians leaving, and how can this be fixed? The answer starts with proper onboarding procedures. With our tips for dealers to onboard technicians, we can help your workers feel like a part of the dealership, ensuring they stick around longer.

We will share with you our four best tips, but there could be many more. From these ideas, brainstorm some other ways to onboard auto technicians.

1. Prepare paperwork

Before your technician reports to the fixed ops department, you should get all of the paperwork ready. You don’t want the technician waiting around while you get this paperwork together. If you can send the technician the paperwork through email, they can fill it out ahead of time, allowing for more time on their first day. 

With this paperwork, make sure all of the benefits, salary information, and company policies are also sent. If they have any questions, they can email you back or discuss them with you on the first day. 

2. Map out procedures

On the first day of work, you should show your auto technicians the map of processes and procedures. If you don’t have this mapped out yet, now is the time. It’s essential for the technician to know everything that’s involved with their job and what’s expected of them. 

We recommend getting with your experienced auto technicians to help map this out. After all, no one knows the procedures better than they do. 

3. Get the new hire familiar with the Shop

Your technician should be allowed to look around the shop, exploring where everything is. However, the navigation must go beyond what’s in the shop to show them everywhere else they will be. 

Allow the technician to see the breakroom, parts counter, bathroom, and dealership showroom. They’ll need to know where keys are located and how to access them. During the guided tour, you want to point out any areas that are listed explicitly in the process mapping. 

4. Give Them a Mentor

Over the first few days and weeks, the new technician is going to need help figuring things out. Even when there’s a shortage of auto technicians at the dealership, you can’t skimp on this step. You don’t want the technician to feel as if you threw them into the deep end without a way to swim.

Choose an enthusiastic mentor, someone who is going to participate with the new tech actively. You should also make sure this mentor has everything they need to succeed in this position. With the proper connection made upfront, your new technician will be more likely to stick around. After all, it’s all about fostering an environment that shows the techs have each other’s backs. 

Always invest in training

These are great pointers to get you moving in the right direction. However, the training and guidance of your auto technicians should always be a top priority. It would help if you always were looking for ways to motivate and encourage your team to do better. Gather together regularly and outline ways you can continue growing as a team.

Further Reading

Is there a disconnect between your service managers and technicians? Here’s how to fix it

Time: your most precious, most perishable, and most profitable product

Auditing your dealership’s service scheduling processes