In recent years, the automotive industry has faced a significant challenge in recruiting and retaining technicians. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), the technician shortage has reached a critical level, with many dealerships struggling to fill open positions and keep their current technicians engaged and committed to their jobs. This issue has led Dick Parrish, Dealership Management Consultant with NADA, to author a blog post titled "Build a Career Path to Recruit and Retain Technicians," which highlights the need for dealerships to establish a clear career path for technicians and provide them with the training and support they need to grow and succeed in their roles.

The clear solution to this ongoing problem is DrivingSales Human Capital Management (HCM). Our innovative product was designed from the ground up to help dealerships attract, onboard, retain, and develop their technicians, or any role for that matter, ensuring that they have a strong and competent workforce capable of meeting the demands of the modern automotive industry. Let me elaborate on how DrivingSales HCM can help solve the problems identified in the NADA blog post:

1. Attracting top talent: One of the key challenges in recruiting technicians is attracting top talent to your dealership. With DrivingSales HCM, you can create a compelling employee value proposition that showcases the benefits of working at your dealership and the opportunities for career advancement. This includes things like training and development programs, competitive pay and benefits, and a supportive and inclusive culture, whereby goals and expectations are laid out quantifiably. By highlighting these elements in your recruitment efforts, you can attract the best technicians to your dealership and stand out from the competition.
2. Developing a clear career path: According to NADA, technicians are more likely to stay with a dealership if they have a clear career path and know what they need to do to advance in their roles. DrivingSales HCM can help you establish a career development plan for your technicians, laying out the steps they need to take to progress through the ranks and reach their full potential. This includes things like daily and monthly scorecards, performance reviews, training programs, and regular check-ins with supervisors to ensure that technicians are on track and receiving the support they need.
3. Providing ongoing training and support: To keep technicians engaged and motivated, it's important to provide them with ongoing training and support. With DrivingSales HCM, you can create a comprehensive, personalized training program that covers everything from technical skills to customer service and leadership development. This can include videos, slideshows, PDFs, or any combination of those, as well as opportunities for technicians to learn from more experienced colleagues and participate in cross-functional teams. By investing in your technicians' development, you can keep them engaged and committed to your dealership.
4. Managing performance and retention: Finally, DrivingSales HCM can help you manage the performance and retention of your technicians by providing tools for tracking and measuring their progress. This includes features like daily and monthly scorecards, performance evaluations, goal setting, and feedback mechanisms, which can help you identify areas for improvement and provide support to technicians who may be struggling. By using these tools to monitor your technicians' performance and address any issues that arise, you can improve retention and ensure that your dealership has a strong and committed workforce.

Overall, DrivingSales HCM is a powerful tool for dealerships looking to recruit and retain technicians in today's competitive automotive market. By providing a clear career path, performance management tools, and ongoing training and support we can help you attract and retain top talent, ensuring that your dealership has the skilled and competent technicians it needs to succeed.

When you are ready to learn more about how we can help you, visit us at www.DrivingSales.com or send me an email directly at jd.mixon@drivingsales.com. We look forward to working with you and your team to help you meet and exceed your goals for 2023 and into the future.