Inside the Technician Mindset: What the 2026 Voice of Technician Survey Reveals
About this episode
The hosts sit down with Jay Goninen to unpack what the 2026 Voice of Technician Survey reveals about technician shortages, dissatisfaction, and disengagement. With feedback from “more than 5,500 technician students and educators,” the conversation turns into practical guidance for independent shops: treat retention as a culture and management issue, protect profitability so you can “take care of your people,” and respond to what techs say they want—clear career paths, better training, and schedule flexibility like weekends off. The episode ends by urging teams to read the report and act on it continuously.
Technicians are speaking up—and the message is clear. From pay and career paths to culture and communication, this episode dives into what shop owners must understand (and do differently) to compete for talent in 2026.
insurance broker
"What I would do in a lot of those cases is make sure that you're regularly meeting with your insurance broker and making sure that you're getting the most competitive thing, making sure it's the right coverage for your team in the first place."
An insurance broker is a person or company that helps you find the right insurance. They compare different insurance plans and help the business pick coverage that makes sense.
An insurance broker is a middleman who helps a business shop for and choose insurance policies. In practice, they compare options from insurers and help set up coverage terms that fit the employer’s needs and budget.
employer employee split
"And then ultimately, it comes down to the employer employee split of what they're paying. And for those technicians that might be listening out there, that's one thing when you're evaluating another job as well, you really want to look at..."
This means how much of the health insurance cost the company pays versus how much you pay. If you pay most of it, you’ll see less money in your paycheck.
The employer-employee split is how the cost of benefits (like health insurance premiums) is divided between the company and the worker. If the employee pays a larger share, it reduces take-home pay even if the employer “offers” insurance.
out of pocket
"Because if somebody goes and says, well, I thought my insurance covered this, but I just had to pay $1,200 out of pocket, that's not the greatest feeling when they don't expect that."
Out of pocket means you have to pay the bill yourself. So even if you have insurance, you might still end up paying a lot directly.
“Out of pocket” refers to money a person must pay themselves for medical costs rather than having the insurance cover them. Even with insurance, high out-of-pocket spending can make the coverage feel worse than expected.
dealers
"start to have almost not only be face to face with dealers... breaks down between the dealers and the independent... versus the dealer side where they are almost all flat rate."
“Dealers” means car dealerships that also run repair and maintenance services. The hosts are comparing how dealership service departments differ from independent repair shops.
“Dealers” here means franchised car dealerships with their own service departments. The segment contrasts dealer service departments with independent shops, focusing on technician pay models and training coverage.
independent
"breaks down between the dealers and the independent... mostly favored... a little bit more on the independent side versus the dealer side where they are almost all flat rate."
In this discussion, “independent” means a repair shop that isn’t run by a car dealership. The episode compares how these shops differ from dealerships in how they treat and pay technicians.
“Independent” refers to an automotive repair shop that isn’t a dealership. In technician surveys, independent shops are often contrasted with dealership service departments because they may use different pay structures and training approaches.
preferred pay plan
"independence as you look are offering a preferred pay plan. And really, when we look at preferred pay plan, it was pretty clear hourly or hourly with incentive were what was mostly favored."
A preferred pay plan is just the pay setup technicians say they like best. Here, the hosts are comparing what pay structures independent shops and dealerships use.
A preferred pay plan is the compensation arrangement technicians say they favor when choosing or staying with a shop. In this context, it’s being used to compare what independent shops versus dealerships offer and what technicians respond to most.
hourly with incentive
"preferred pay plan... pretty clear hourly or hourly with incentive were what was mostly favored."
This is when a mechanic gets paid by the hour, plus they can earn extra money if they hit certain goals. The “incentive” part is the bonus tied to performance.
“Hourly with incentive” is a compensation structure where technicians earn an hourly wage and can also receive extra pay tied to performance goals. In shop discussions, incentives often relate to productivity, quality, upsell targets, or meeting certain service metrics.
flat rate
"So I think a lot of it comes down to pay... versus the dealer side where they are almost all flat rate. What I'll say... there is a fair number of technicians... that absolutely love flat rate."
Flat rate means a mechanic gets paid a fixed amount for each repair, based on an estimate of how long the job should take. If the job takes longer than expected, the mechanic may earn less per hour than they’d like.
In auto repair, flat rate is a pay system where technicians are paid a set amount per job based on a published time allowance, not the actual hours worked. It can reward speed and efficiency, but it also means the technician’s earnings depend on how well the job matches the time guide.
paid training
"page 18 has a really good breakdown... but the shop provides adequate paid training. Dealerships had 65% of dealer techs responded"
Paid training means technicians get paid while they’re learning new skills or taking training courses. The idea is that training shouldn’t be something they have to do for free.
Paid training refers to compensating technicians for training time rather than requiring them to train unpaid. In service-industry discussions, it’s often treated as a key factor in technician retention and skill development.
Voice of Technician Survey
"fair compensation. Only 51% of dealerships do dealership technicians... Print out this report and actually read it... And then once you do that, have a conversation with your team."
This is a survey that asks technicians what they think and what they need. The point is to read the results closely and then talk about them with your team at the shop.
The “Voice of Technician Survey” is an industry research effort that collects what technicians say they need from their workplace and support systems. The hosts emphasize reading the full report carefully and using the data to drive internal conversations at shops.
wrenchway.com
"Yeah, if you just go out to wrenchway.com, there's a resources tab and you'll see a link to the survey."
They say you can download the survey report from wrenchway.com. It’s presented as a free resource for shop owners to read and use.
wrenchway.com is given as the place to find the full technician survey report. The segment frames it as a free resource via a “resources” tab, aimed at helping shop owners understand technician feedback.
ASC
"We don't charge for the survey. It's part of what we do, ASC in partnership with us. They've been an absolutely huge help with all of this, but they can easily get it."
ASC is a partner group that helped put the technician survey together. They’re helping make the results available to shop owners and technicians.
ASC is mentioned as a partner organization helping with the 2026 Voice of Technician Survey. In this context, it’s a stakeholder in the technician industry research effort, working alongside the podcast’s host group to distribute the survey.
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