2022 was one of our busiest years ever at Rockstar Recruiting and leading the way was Diesel Technician recruiting. We were still very busy hiring Heavy Equipment Mechanics, HVAC Technicians, and Millwrights but Diesel Truck Mechanic jobs, in particular, were what we were called about most often.
I had a good look over the year that was and found 3 major trends that took place in 2022. My guess is these will continue throughout 2023 so if you are in a position to hire Diesel Mechanics this year, these are things to look for.
- Hire Fast, Fire Fast
- Rising Pay Rates
- High Volume Recruiting (RPO)
Hire Fast, Fire Fast
This was the motto of most of our most successful clients. With a huge disparity between the number of Technicians available and the Number of Jobs needed to fill, the companies that had the best success hiring were the ones that could make a decision quickly.
Some companies were still stuck thinking it was an employers market, they took their time hiring, requested multiple interviews, and were often left with positions left open for months on end.
Diesel Mechanics, when they decided to make a change, were rarely available for more than a week. The companies that had the best chance of hiring were the ones that made a job offer within 24 hours of an interview, in many cases making the offer in the interview (conditional on pre-hire checks.)
The rationale was simple, if the candidate does not work out, we can always let them go but if we do not act quickly with an offer, we won’t even have that chance. The crazy thing was that turnover numbers stayed about the same. We had clients telling us that they abandoned their multi-step hiring process and at the year their success rate with new employees was about the same as it had been when they had put candidates through an exhaustive hiring process.
Take Aways
- Move Fast To Have Any Chance at Hiring
- If a Candidate Is Not Working Out, Move Fast To Replace Them
- An Error In Judgement Moving Too Fast is Easier To Fix Than The Error of Taking Too Long and Missing the Candidate All Together
Rising Pay Rates
Pay Rates for Diesel Technicians in 2022 continued to Rise and with the Shortage of experienced technicians only getting worse, you can expect this trend to continue. Over the past 2 years, pay rates have risen by over $5.00/hour in most parts of Canada and the USA.
If you have not adjusted your rates in the last 2 years, I recommend doing so immediately. Retention is equally important to Recruitment and if your Technicians find out they are being underpaid, they will be out the door soon.
When it comes to recruiting new talent if you are not sure where you need to be in terms of wages, feel free to reach out. We are happy to give you up-to-date information on pay rates in your area.
It is important to have a great shop, a good reputation, excellent benefits, good working culture, etc. but all of those things are really more important to keep your people. When it comes to Recruiting, the pay rate is still the first question we are asked by every candidate. If your pay range is not at least on par with your competition, it will be impossible to attract good technicians.
Take Aways
- Pay Rates are Continually Rising
- Average Pay Rates for Diesel Mechanics in the USA are now $30.00 – $40.00/hour
- Average Pay Rates For Journeyman Truck Technicians Throughout Canada are now $40.00 – $50.00/hour
- Not Sure What You Should Be Paying In Your Area? Reach Out, We are Happy to Help with Free Compensation Information
- Make Sure Your Rates are on Par to Keep the Techs you Have and Attract new ones
High Volume Recruitment
The last trend I have seen over the past year is companies that are engaging in high-volume recruitment of Diesel Technicians. This is typically multi-branch shops such as Transportation Companies, Fleet Management Companies, etc. that have repair facilities throughout the country.
We have heard from several that are projecting to hire as many as 100+ Technicians/Mechanics in 2023. This is for both growth as well as attrition (replacing candidates that may quit, be terminated or retire.)
Hiring at that level is both incredibly challenging and also expensive. For any shop that is projecting to hire 10+ technicians in a given year, my recommendation is to utilize an RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing) service. This provides you with a dedicated recruiter from an employment agency (recruitment firm, head hunter …. Whatever you want to call us) that will work specifically on your account.
We have a program called Rockstar On Demand (https://rockstarrecruitinggroup.com/rockstar-on-demand/) that is built specifically for helping companies that need to hire Mechanics in bulk. How it works, you pay a set monthly fee (typically the cost of 1-1.5 placements) and you have a dedicated recruiter working on your account. You assign the searches you want them working on and they will get to work to find you candidates using direct and indirect recruiting methods, this will cast you the largest net to get you the most candidates. They will also help with the entire recruitment process to ensure your team can move quickly and land the big fish.
Take Aways
- Large Competition For Technicians With Several Big Players Looking To Hire 100+ This Year
- If you are Projecting to need 10 or More New Hires This Year, Consider and RPO Staffing Model such as Rockstar On Demand
From our perspective, we hope 2023 will be just as busy as 2022 and all indicators are that it will be. If you need to Hire Technicians this year, do not hesitate to reach out. Rockstar Recruiting is continually growing and is your best resource for filling those hard-to-fill Mechanic positions.
