Trinity Talent Group says transparency, not pay, is driving technician turnover

Trinity Talent Group’s 2026 Technician Retention Report says collision and automotive shops are losing technicians because they won’t answer basic questions about pay, dispatch and advancement. The report argues shops can improve retention without raising wages and can use the same insights to recruit more effectively.

Why it matters: - Trinity Talent Group says the skilled technician shortage is being worsened by avoidable turnover, not just a lack of applicants. - The report argues shops can keep more technicians without increasing labor spend if they answer the questions workers say matter most. - The findings also suggest employers can improve recruiting by marketing what technicians actually want to know before they apply.

What happened: - Trinity Talent Group released its 2026 Technician Retention Report based on 1,000 technician interviews conducted over the past year. - Jason Duffy, founder and chair of Trinity Talent Group, authored the report and conducted the interviews across 48 states. - The report says transparency, not compensation, is the top reason technicians leave collision and automotive employers. - The full report is available at trinitytalentgroup.com.

The details: - Technicians repeatedly raised unanswered questions about how flag hours are calculated, how pay rates are set, what it takes to advance, whether work is distributed fairly, and where profits go when raises do not happen. - Duffy said, “Pay is a painkiller, not a cure.” - Trinity’s analysis puts the revenue lost to one empty bay at $24,775 a week, $107,276 a month, and $1,288,300 over a year for a solid producer. - The report says standard flag-hour calculations understate the cost of a vacancy by about 75% because they leave out parts markup, calibrations and sublet work. - Trinity’s average repair order value across the dataset was $4,955. - The report recommends posting flagged hours daily where the floor can see them, explaining the labor-time methodology, publishing a complete pay scale with advancement criteria, making dispatch decisions defensible, holding monthly one-on-one production conversations and explaining where profit is reinvested. - The report concludes a shop can keep technicians for 30 days without changing a single pay rate if it follows those practices.

Between the lines: - The report reframes retention as a management and communication problem as much as a pay problem. - Its core argument is that silence from leadership can signal hidden information to technicians, which can push them toward other shops. - Duffy also argues the same transparency that improves retention can become a recruiting advantage. - The report says job posts should name the pay scale, explain how flag hours are calculated and spell out the advancement path. - Duffy said, “Knowing what talent wants means you can market for it, and almost nobody does.” - Social media is described as the most effective and most underused hiring channel in the trades. - The report says community events can reach technicians who are not actively looking, and trade schools are an overlooked place to explain how a shop differs from competitors. - Duffy said trade schools produce entry-level technicians, not profit-creating technicians, and that shops still need to headhunt experienced talent.

What’s next: - Trinity Talent Group says employers can use the report’s findings to adjust recruiting messages, retention practices and internal communication immediately. - Duffy is available to media for commentary on skilled trades labor shortages, technician recruiting and retention, and social media in trades hiring. - Trinity Talent Group says it serves the skilled trades and manufacturing sectors and advises employers on recruiting strategy, talent marketing and retention practices.

The bottom line: - Trinity Talent Group’s message is blunt: shops that explain pay, workload and advancement clearly may keep more technicians and attract better candidates, without raising wages.