The technician shortage facing the trucking industry isn’t going away anytime soon. Industry experts believe things will get worse before they get better, and with a large percentage of techs nearing retirement, it’s likely competing for the services of new technicians will become industry standard in the coming years.
With that in mind, the Technology & Maintenance Council (TMC) has started looking for alternative options to keep service bays stocked with capable hands.
One of the those options is ensuring service providers do everything they can to keep the quality technicians they have. A retention and career development plan won’t keep a senior tech from retiring, but it can keep the rest of your staff from following him out the door.
TMC’s Service Provider study group recently completed a recommended practice (RP) offering tips on this topic, and the RP was discussed at length during a mini-technical session at TMC’s annual meeting Thursday in Nashville.
“Your people are your best asset. You should be working to keep them engaged in your business,” says Navistar’s Brian Mulshine, co-author of the upcoming RP.
Along with Service Provider study group Chairman Ken Calhoun, vice president of customer relations at Truck Centers of Arkansas, Mulshine spent a majority of Thursday’s technical session walking attendees through his new RP and the reasons why its worth installing in their businesses.
Mulshine says one of the most common mistakes service facilities make with their staff is communication. They don’t communicate job opportunities, areas for growth and advice for technicians aspiring to move forward in their career. Too often a senior tech or component expert is simply promoted when an open position needs filling, without the position ever being posted within the facility.
