Recruiting & Retaining in 2025: A Webinar Recap

Hello there, Fullbay friends and family! The first blog post of 2025 has landed, and in our opinion, it centers around one of the most important things in the industry. That’s right, y’all, we’re heading back to technician hiring, retention, and training!

Or rather, the team at Trucknews.com did. Fullbay teamed up with them to sponsor a panel featuring technician-centric experts, two of whom you might recognize as frequent guest stars on the blog:

• Jay Goninen, Co-Founder & President of WrenchWay
• Keith McMaster, President of Fireweed Heavy Truck & Repairs Ltd.
• Jim Pindar, Corporate Fleet Director of Erb Group

The usual disclaimers apply: you should definitely go watch the actual webinar to behold its full glory. It’s insightful, it’s under an hour, and hey, it’s free, so pop in your earbuds and listen while drinking your coffee (yes, that is how this writer managed it). And hey, this is a recap. We aren’t gonna touch on every last thing everyone said, because again…the webinar is right there, and you should watch it. But we will be covering some of the more interesting points, a few of which haven’t popped up on the blog before.

Anyway, let’s set the scene.

It is 2025. You can order something in the morning and have it delivered to you by like, midday (well…sometimes). Some cars can sort of drive themselves. Sonic the Hedgehog now has three movies.

And despite all these crazy futuristic happenings, big rigs are still the kings of the freight industry, moving billions of tons worth of stuff across the country. They are legion. They are necessary. And we are still falling short of the number of people needed to keep said big rigs running.

Repair shops of all stripes are almost always looking to hire new technicians and working out new ways to train and retain them. If you hang out at our blog at all, you know a big reason for that was the younger generations (millennials are still young, right?) being steered away from the trades at an early age; as older techs retire or just leave the field, there hasn’t been an upsurge in younger people looking to fill those roles.

Many in the industry are realizing they need to change things up if they want to attract younger people (and let’s be clear: the young folks are going to end up running things eventually, provided the robots don’t take over). That’s where this discussion really kicked off.

Let’s jump in!

WHAT QUALITIES DOES A DIESEL MECHANIC POSSESS?

So. You want to hire a diesel technician — or someone you can train into a diesel technician — where do you start? What qualities should you seek out aside from the whole “Can work on a turbo” or “Can tell the difference between a zerk and a spark plug”?

A lot of it, Jay said, is attitude and aptitude.

“You’re not really hiring for technical skills [when you’re hiring a young, untried person],” he told the panel. Of course, those skills would be great to have! But so many young people today aren’t growing up on farms tinkering with tractors or their pop’s old Mustang. They may not come to you ready to tear down that Peterbilt.

But there are other traits you can look for!

“Are they gonna come in and work hard?” he asked. “Do they have a good attitude? Are they coachable? Are they going to take our advice and put it into practice?”

You want folks with those qualities because they’re willing to learn. They’ll handle any training you provide, so long as you’re respectful about it. Yeah, it would be amazing if you could pick a young tech off a shelf and have them ready to go overnight, but that’s not the reality of the industry right now.

WHAT ARE SIGNS THAT SOMEONE ISN’T DIESEL MECHANIC MATERIAL?

Here’s a topic we don’t land on too often here at our diesel-centric blog: what attributes work against someone who might be interested in a diesel career?

“Unwillingness to work,” Keith said. “[And] for us, culture is huge … if you don’t fit in, it’s not gonna work.”

“Culture” has been thrown around as a buzzword in heaps of industries, but here’s the bottom line: You can hire a highly skilled technician, but if that tech can’t a) get along with the rest of your employees, and b) doesn’t like the way your shop runs, you’re not gonna have a good time. “We’ve tried [hiring the top tech who didn’t like anyone],” Keith told the panel. “It actually broke everything down in the shop and things [fell] apart. We learned that yes, culture matters, and if they don’t fit, it’s not gonna work.”

Physical ability plays a role, too; while the repair industry has changed from, say, the 1950s, you still need to be able to lift heavy weights. Keith mentioned the type who likes tinkering with cars, thinking trucks are just big cars…except the heaviest car part is still way lighter than the lightest part on a truck. So yes: if you can’t throw around heavy gear, the gig might not be for you.

HOW CAN WE RETAIN OUR TECHNICIANS?

All three of the panelists agreed that culture is key to keeping people aboard.

Yes, pay is important. Benefits too. But diesel repair is one of those jobs that you’ll never really be able to do remotely (aside from paperwork/billing and the like). You have to physically go into the shop and spend time with your coworkers at this job. So ideally, you’ll like where you’re at. You’ve got coworkers you can joke around and laugh with. People you know will have your back.

Flexibility has been a topic of discussion in the industry. For example, Fireweed offers three different shifts, Monday through Friday — no one works over the weekends — and techs can adjust their schedules for events and situations as necessary, including a four on/three off shift.

Jim from Erb Group agreed, adding that being completely clear and upfront in paperwork allows an employee to know exactly what they’re getting into. “We supply a clear contract to the employee outlining the conditions of employment, the expectations and how to move forward, [and] the benefits,” he said. That contract also addresses a boot and tool allowance and lays out other benefits.

Another small thing shop owners and managers can do to improve retention is to express interest in helping an employee grow. That’s especially important with the younger folks, who have grown up thinking about career paths, but offer it to everyone. Where do your techs want to go? Maybe they’re happy with their role and don’t want to move. Maybe they want to run their own shop one day. Find out what drives them, and see what you can do to help them get there.

Honestly, there was so much jammed into this webinar, we definitely think you should watch it instead of just reading our recap. If you do, you’ll get to hear about:

• How shops can improve their relationships with schools
• Keep your culture sharp across multiple locations
• Unusual ways Jim and Keith have recruited potential techs
• Perils and pitfalls around training (both on-the-job and separate)
• How some shops are inadvertently setting new hirees up for failure
• That goldfish story

…and a whole lot of other interesting discussions!

TREAT OTHERS AS YOU’D LIKE TO BE TREATED

We’ll end on a question from an audience member: “At what point does workplace culture have to change if young people will no longer tolerate ‘the old ways’?”

“It should already be changing,” Keith said. “Some shops I’ve worked at [aren’t] here anymore because they didn’t change, and everyone left.”

Young people are perfectly willing to work hard if they’re treated well. If “the old ways” include chucking a wrench at someone or tearing a person apart, then yeah, you’re gonna be hemorrhaging employees for the most part. And with the industry as it is right now, a decent tech will be able to find a new job pretty easily.

Be the change. Treat your employees well. Make your shop a place where people want to work and the rest will follow.