In September and October of 2012, 17 U.S. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) automotive brands worked together to launch the first syndicated technician survey. On behalf of Nissan, we would like to thank all the Nissan and Infiniti technician participants who took time and responded to the survey. The following information will provide a high level summary of the most relevant survey findings received from the participating technicians.
Technician support of this survey has been quite strong as shown by some verbatim comments from those who participated:
- “This is the first time in 15 years I think I have ever taken a survey about my satisfaction of [OEM] and my work environment. I would like to see this more often and hopefully see some changes come from it.”
- “I think the survey was set up perfectly. Very thorough and well-based questions. I hope my responses to some questions help with my dealership.”
- “Very good survey, hope it makes a difference.”
- “Thank you for asking my input.”
- “The survey was perfect. I’m glad that [OEM] takes the time to read comments from their technicians.”
What can the dealership do to help you to achieve your career goal...
- “Improve our service department and recognize the hard work we as technicians do for our company and recognize that we as technicians are the back bone of the service department.”
Technician Demographics
Although the age distribution across the various OEMs varied significantly, the average age of approximately 800 Nissan and Infiniti technicians who participated ranged from 33-44 years old. The educational background of the participating technicians indicated that 70 percent of technicians were high school graduates, and about half had attended a trade school. 67 percent of the technicians surveyed were currently Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) certified. This highly regarded ASE certification reflects their special skills, attention to quality and professional experience.
Speaking of the experience of the technician respondents, 20 percent of the technicians were working in their first full-time job, while most of the technicians had been working in the automotive industry for a while. The survey results indicated that on average less than 15 percent of the technicians had worked in a different industry prior to becoming automotive technicians. The survey also indicated that the majority of technicians have spent their careers with their current brand, and about 20 percent were with the same brand but with various dealers. Brand preference and financial opportunity were the top reasons why they have stayed although technician training programs and prestige were shown to be growing in importance. Technicians who indicated they had previously worked for a different brand stated the top reasons they left included: dealer management, pay rates or lack of sufficient business.
How can Nissan help to achieve your career goal...
- “Continue to provide the technicians, with up-to-date bulletins and service support to allow us to repair vehicles correctly.“
- “Continue to make quality and innovative products that customers want to buy and provide adequate training and reference material & equipment to allow the techs to repair the vehicles in a correct and timely manner.”
Repair Support and Training
What did technicians say they needed to perform quality repairs?
On average, technicians stated they needed better coordination with their service advisors and more support from their dealerships. They also suggested that improved part availability and service information would better allow them to perform high-quality repairs. The survey participants also thought improvements in technical support processes, and being able to obtain the right training content, or even an in-person training center would better enable them to repair customer vehicles properly. Less than half of those polled gave high marks to their dealers when responding as to whether their dealer supported them. The survey showed that most technicians felt receiving repair information about what specific symptoms would be present when a condition was found on a vehicle would be most useful. They also sited the need for improved availability to essential tools and access to previous repair history as useful in helping to service a vehicle.
What are the primary issues/barriers that prevent you from delivering high-quality repairs to your customers?
- “Repair orders not written as per customers complaint, parts department taking too long with price list, customers looses interest-waiting too long.”
- “Service writer not putting proper information on tickets.”
- “TOOLS”
- “Using aftermarket parts or not having parts.”
- “Shop equipment, in stock parts and parts counter persons who are efficient.”
- “Make training mandatory and make sure that management follows through with it.”
- “Better service manuals.”
Overall Satisfaction and Retention
About half of those surveyed responded that technical training provided them the highest job satisfaction, followed by customer satisfaction and work environment. Conversely, the lowest ratings by those polled were given to pay plans and warranty labor times. 33 percent of the technicians stated their 5-year goal was to remain in the same job, while another 25 percent wanted to become a shop foreman or service manager. Finally, when asked what factors would have the biggest impact on their retention, technicians rated hourly pay and dealer co-workers as the biggest influences on whether they will remain in their current jobs.
Comments to Nissan...
“First off, thank you for actually making an effort to make our jobs easier. It is truly a pleasure to work on Nissans, and the product is something that (most) of us stand firmly behind. Second, thank you for sending people such as Pat Devost our FOM to dealers to come and check on issues we are seeing/gaining our feedback. With Nissan, I see my part in the big picture, and gain excitement with every new model that rolls out.”
- “Overall an excellent company to work for and is always on the cutting edge of technology which is great for a technician."
- “Great Brand to work for. Always on the cutting edge of technology. 16 years and running. Wouldn’t want to work for a different company!”
- “Personally I will never leave the Nissan/Infiniti brand again I did for two years and will never do so again the amount of support from the local DTS and TSM is unparalleled in how much they care about the customer which is my prime concern as well.”
- “Would be nice to know more about career opportunities within Nissan. This can keep quality people in the company (i.e. job openings at corporate or assembly locations)."
Nissan’s Response
What we plan to do!
Here are a few items from the technician training side that are being implemented as a result of this survey, benchmarking and our Nissan’s Training Council.
- Increased instructor-led training (ILT) capacity through expanded and improved training centers and additional instructors.
- Enhanced ILT enrollment process allows technicians to enroll in classes out of their areas to obtain classes quicker.
- New App for iPad® and iPhone® mobile devices allows technicians to view SIR training videos conveniently in their service bays.
- Development of mini-videos to address difficult or high frequency repair procedures (i.e., Altima Rear Camera Aiming) and diagnostic procedures (i.e., Parasitic Draw Testing).
Is there anything else that Nissan can do to help you as a technician?
- “I think that overall Nissan does a great job of helping technicians with their job.”
- “More and better service advisor training with focus on communication.”
- “Have someone come to the dealerships and demand that specialty tools be available, and in working order.”
- “Make service managers and writers more aware of diagnostic procedures and time required to complete.”
- “We need more op codes for all this technology we have to deal with i.e. bluetooth/consult just because I don’t replace a part I should still get paid to diag some of these concerns.”
Spend more time on...
- “Electrical diag for beginners and auto transmission diag and repair”
- “Auto trans and ecu diag”
- “Drivability and DTC diagnosis”
- “Repair order preparation, classroom training for service advisors”