(Below is an expert from PartsTech’s 2025 State of General Auto Repair Shops in the U.S. report.) PartsTech surveyed 752 shops and spoke with industry experts to bring you a report with key trends, benchmarks, and free resources to help you uplevel your shop in 2025. Download the report to get insights you can use right away to improve your shop, increase revenue, and stay ahead of common industry challenges.

Retention: Building loyalty and reducing turnover

Attracting skilled technicians is only half the battle — retaining them also requires a strategic approach. Owners and managers identified the most effective strategies for retaining technicians, such as creating a positive work environment (69%), offering competitive pay and benefits (57%), and promoting work-life balance (49%).

Takeaway: A positive work environment goes beyond competitive wages and surface-level perks. It’s about fostering a culture where technicians feel valued, supported, and motivated to stay long-term.

Retention opportunity: Providing a career path for your technicians

One of the most significant opportunities for retaining technicians lies in providing clear career paths. According to Wrench Way, one of the biggest complaints they hear from technicians is that “they are often frustrated with their employers because they don’t provide a clear path for career growth.”

69% of the shop owners and managers who responded to our survey agree that career pathing is moderately to extremely important to retaining technicians. Yet only 10% of respondents have a clear, formal career path for technicians within their shop. 50% provide career opportunities for their technicians, but they are informally based on individual discussions. 40% of shops do not have career pathing opportunities for their technicians at all.

Takeaway: Shops prioritizing structured career pathing and regular discussions with their technicians stand to gain a competitive edge in retaining top talent.

Career advancement conversations are a critical piece of retaining and developing technicians, yet this chart highlights a significant gap. 44% have career-advancement discussions at least annually, with 18% holding discussions at least quarterly. Unfortunately, a quarter (25%) of respondents rarely have these discussions, and 13% never do.

Takeaway: These numbers suggest that while some shops are making professional development a consistent priority, many others may risk losing talent by not engaging in these important conversations.

Industry insight: Increasing technician engagement and motivation with career pathing

“When technicians in your shop, both new and existing, see a clear path to career advancement, their engagement and motivation increase. By offering a structured career pathway and tools for tracking progress, you’re fostering growth and showing your technicians that you care about their future. This approach can be a powerful differentiator in recruiting and retaining top talent.”

– Marc Brune, Business Development Manager, Mentor Mentee

Free Resource: Click here for 3 Tips for Launching an Auto Technician Mentoring or Apprenticeship Program

What career development opportunities are shops offering their technicians?

Here are examples of career development opportunities the participating shop owners and managers offer technicians. The top three responses were advancement training and certification (48%), specialization in specific repair or diagnostics (46%), and cross-training in different roles (42%).

Takeaway: The top career development opportunities shops offer are centered on building technician skills through education, credentials, and training. This suggests shop owners and managers see continued learning as the most effective way to grow and retain their teams.

Industry Insight: Building a culture of education and growth

“Education was the biggest thing being asked for in the interviews I held in 2024. It seems everyone is hungry for more knowledge, and that’s exciting because we offer an education plan at our shop. We really like to hone in on specific niches and individual strengths as the platform for our team’s education. Tip: From great onboarding to advanced technologies and repair education, your shop needs to cover all ends of education for the future of auto technicians to continue to grow. But, technician training doesn’t matter if the team is not backed by a great company culture and solid leadership. To truly support your team’s growth, both you as a shop owner and your managers must prioritize ongoing education and leadership development, as these form the foundation of a thriving workplace culture.”

– Lauralee Schmidt, COO, Schmidt Auto Care

The role of financial transparency in technician engagement

Financial transparency is an often underutilized strategy for increasing technician engagement and fostering a stronger sense of ownership. By openly sharing financial data and performance metrics, shop owners can help their teams see how daily efforts contribute to overall profitability. This approach builds trust and strengthens team alignment, ensuring that everyone is working toward shared business goals.

Takeaway: While many shops already embrace this practice, 37% of survey participants have the opportunity to start sharing financial information with their teams.

Shop coach insight: Why you should share your shop’s financials with your staff

“I always encourage shop owners to share their finances with their entire team. When you create clarity around the numbers, it helps demystify business operations. Your technicians will start to understand where the money from their labor goes and develop an appreciation for the shop’s pricing strategies. Financial transparency also increases accountability and fosters a sense of ownership; when employees see the financial impact of their actions, they take greater responsibility and are more motivated to follow best practices and optimize their performance. Ultimately, it cultivates a profit-driven culture where everyone works toward the same goal: profitability and efficiency.”

– Dave Kusa, Coach, The Automotive Coaching and Training (ACT) Group

Free resource: Learn more about getting started with financial transparency with your team.

For more benchmark data, free resources, and tips, download PartsTech’s full report: 2025 State of General Auto Repair Shops in the U.S.

Topics covered in the report include:

📍 Shop demographics, size, and location

🚙 Daily car count per bay

💲 Average repair order value, labor rates, and parts profit

👥 Technician & service advisor staffing numbers per bay

⚡ EV servicing trends

⚠️ Industry challenges & solutions

🤝 Technician hiring & retention strategies

🖥️ Shop software usage and trends