What Technicians Want: The Survey Data and What It Means for Your Shop
You are competing for technicians against every other shop, dealership, fleet operation, and non-automotive employer in your market. You already know pay matters. But if you think a bigger paycheck is the only answer to what technicians want, you are losing people to shops that figured out the rest of the equation.
We are Auto Lift Services. We build, equip, and maintain dealership service departments across the country. We work inside hundreds of shops, and we see which ones keep their technicians and which ones are perpetually hiring. The difference is rarely just compensation. It is the daily experience of working in the shop.
The WrenchWay surveys and TechForce Foundation data tell us exactly what technicians care about. Here is what the numbers say and what you can do about it.
43% Say Pay Is the Top Factor
No surprise. Almost half of technicians say compensation is their primary concern. But this number is misleading if you read it as “just pay more.”
Flat-rate technicians do not earn an hourly wage. They earn based on how many hours they can flag. A technician’s effective hourly rate is directly tied to how efficiently the shop lets them work. A tech who could flag 45 hours per week at a well-equipped shop with good workflow might only flag 30 hours at a shop where equipment breaks down, parts take forever, and the layout wastes 20 minutes per job walking back and forth.
That is a 33% pay cut caused by the facility, not the pay plan.
When technicians say they want more pay, many of them really mean they want to flag more hours. They want the shop to stop preventing them from earning. A Rotary SmartLift that cycles in 30 seconds instead of a worn-out lift that takes 90 seconds saves a minute per vehicle. Over 15 vehicles per day, that is 15 minutes of recovered wrench time. Over a year, that is 60+ additional billable hours.
What technicians want from pay is the ability to earn. The shop either enables that or prevents it.
32% Want Tool Support
Technicians invest $25,000 to $75,000 in personal tools over their careers. They finance Snap-on and Matco truck purchases at high interest rates. They replace broken and worn tools out of pocket. A $200 to $300 per month tool allowance is one of the highest-impact, lowest-cost retention investments a shop can make.
But tool support goes beyond a monthly stipend. It includes:
Shop-provided specialty tools. OEM diagnostic equipment, ADAS calibration fixtures, EV-specific high-voltage tools — these should not come out of a technician’s pocket. They cost thousands of dollars, they are required for specific manufacturer work, and they belong to the shop.
Tool storage built into bay design. When we design service departments, we plan tool storage at arm’s reach within each bay. Overhead cabinets, side-bay tool carts, and integrated storage reduce the time technicians spend retrieving tools and protect the investment they have made in their personal toolboxes.
Manufacturer tool programs. GM, Ford, Toyota, and most other OEMs offer tool programs that subsidize the purchase of required diagnostic and specialty tools. Not every shop takes full advantage of these. A service manager who helps technicians navigate manufacturer tool programs demonstrates that the shop supports their investment.
What technicians want in tool support is recognition that their personal tool investment matters and a shop that does not make them bear the entire cost alone.
86% Want Flexible Scheduling
This number should reframe how you think about staffing. 86% of technicians say schedule flexibility is important to them. That is not a minority preference. That is nearly every technician in your shop.
The traditional dealership service schedule — 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM, Monday through Saturday, with alternating Saturdays — has not changed in decades. Meanwhile, every other industry competing for the same workers offers 4-day weeks, flexible start times, and remote diagnostics.
Shops that offer scheduling flexibility are seeing real retention results:
Four 10-hour days. A 4/10 schedule gives technicians a 3-day weekend every week. Shops running two staggered 4/10 crews maintain 5 or 6 days of coverage while giving every technician an extra day off.
Rotating Saturdays. Instead of mandatory Saturday shifts, rotate Saturday coverage so each technician works one or two Saturdays per month. The revenue impact is minimal if managed properly. The retention impact is significant.
Flexible start times. A technician who drops kids at school at 8:00 AM and starts at 8:30 instead of 7:30 is not less productive. They are more loyal because you accommodated their life.
88% Have Considered Leaving the Industry
This is the number that should alarm every shop owner. 88% of technicians have considered leaving automotive service entirely. Not leaving for the shop across town. Leaving the profession.
They look at HVAC, industrial maintenance, data center technician roles, elevator repair, and other skilled trades that pay comparable wages without the daily frustrations of automotive service. These competing industries are actively recruiting your technicians with signing bonuses, benefits packages, and — critically — modern, safe working environments.
What technicians want is a reason to stay. The shops that provide that reason are the ones investing in the physical work environment.
What You Can Control: The Physical Shop
Pay, scheduling, and tool programs are management decisions. The physical shop is a construction and equipment decision that affects every technician every day for 15 to 20 years. Here is what matters:
Maintained lifts and equipment. A lift that drifts, shudders, or does not lock reliably is a daily frustration and a safety concern. Technicians talk about which shops maintain their equipment and which ones run it until failure. We spec Rotary, Challenger, and PKS lifts for commercial applications because they are built for 15 to 20 years of daily use, and we provide the inspection and maintenance programs that keep them safe and operational.
Proper lighting. The Illuminating Engineering Society recommends 100+ foot-candles for automotive repair work. Many shops operate at 30 to 50 foot-candles. Technicians working in dim conditions strain their eyes, miss details, and fatigue faster. LED high-bay lighting at proper levels costs $8,000 to $15,000 for a 12-bay shop and lasts 10+ years.
Climate control. A shop without heating and cooling in extreme climates is asking technicians to be productive in conditions that would shut down an office. HVAC systems designed for automotive service bays with high ceilings and open doors cost $30,000 to $60,000 for a full shop. Compare that to the $35,000 to $100,000 cost of replacing a single technician who leaves because working in a 100-degree shop is not worth it.
Ventilation and exhaust extraction. Source-capture exhaust extraction at every bay eliminates the fumes that cause headaches, fatigue, and long-term health concerns. Technicians who cannot smell exhaust fumes at the end of their shift know the shop invested in their health.
Shop floor quality. Epoxy-coated floors are easier to clean, reduce fatigue (compared to bare concrete), and look professional. Anti-fatigue matting at each bay station adds another layer of comfort for technicians standing 8+ hours per day.
Efficient Layout: Stop Paying Techs to Walk
Industry data shows the average technician’s wrench time is only 25% to 35%. That means 65% to 75% of their day is spent not turning wrenches. A significant portion of that non-productive time is walking: to parts, to the write-up desk, to shared equipment, to the tool room, and back.
The deeper need — even if technicians do not articulate it this way — is a shop that does not waste their time. A properly designed service department puts parts staging near high-volume bays, positions alignment equipment to eliminate cross-traffic, places fluid management systems within each bay cluster, and creates dedicated express service lanes that do not bottleneck the main shop.
These layout decisions get made during construction or remodel. Once the concrete is poured, you live with them for decades. Getting it right on the front end means technicians flag more hours, earn more money, and have fewer reasons to look elsewhere.
Build What They Want
The answer is not a mystery. The data is clear. They want to earn well, work with good tools, have some schedule flexibility, and work in a shop that does not fight them every day. You cannot control the labor market, but you can control the environment your technicians work in.
We handle the full scope: architecture and design coordination, construction management through our general contracting partners, all equipment specification and installation, and service after the sale. We back the building and everything in it with a 2-year warranty — the structure and every piece of equipment.
If you are building a new shop, expanding, or remodeling, the decisions you make about equipment, layout, lighting, climate, and ventilation will determine whether technicians choose your shop over every other option in town.
Auto Lift Services — (800) 674-9302 — info@autoliftserv.com
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Josiah Ragsdale
Founder, Automotive Lift Services
Josiah has been installing, repairing, and inspecting automotive lifts since he was 18 years old. He founded Automotive Lift Services in 2019 after years of seeing lifts installed wrong, never inspected, and putting technicians at risk. His team now services all 50 states from their Iowa headquarters. Read more
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