The Return on Investing in Your Technicians

Introduction

Last year, I got the opportunity to participate in a leadership development program for professionals in my field. It was expensive and probably not something I would've pursued on my own, but my boss approved the expense and it ended up being one of the more meaningful development activities I've done in my career.

What has stood out to me recently was that feeling when I got the approval for the expense. The development side was fascinating and the people were great, don't get me wrong, but more than anything, it felt good – it still feels good – to feel supported by my manager, to know that my leadership team felt like I was worth investing in.

And that got me thinking – it costs money to support your team in this way, but is there a "return on your investment" when it comes to somebody’s career? And after a recent conversation I had, it has me wondering if you can actually afford to not invest in your team…

Welcome to The Fleet Code, a podcast brought to you by Fleetio where we dive into the latest fleet industry trends, technologies and best practices.

My name is Zach Searcy and it's no secret how challenging it can be to find and keep skilled technicians. The labor shortage isn’t slowing down, and the competition for talent is fierce.

But there’s a solution – one that’s been hiding in plain sight. It’s a way to attract great talent, keep your best employees, and build a stronger, more capable team. It’s something that might just give your fleet a competitive edge.

Let's get into it.

About the Guest

I sat down with Dave Johnson, the President of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence – or ASE. You might know them as the folks who set the standard for technician certifications across the industry.

Dave Johnson

"I'm glad you mentioned that because that is the cool part of this, right? So we bring all these subject matter experts from all of these companies and not just the OEMs, but also people that are on the ground doing the work.

"So master technicians, we bring in instructors from fantastic automotive heavy truck programs and they, together, create and develop the standards that we say – here's what people need to know, here's what their competencies need to be in order to be a credentialed technician in all the different areas that you could get certified in."

Dave is a 30-year industry veteran who worked his way up through Ford Motor Company. And when it comes to technician development, he knows firsthand what it takes to build strong, capable teams.

The Return on Investing in Your Team

When we talk about running an efficient fleet, we often focus on things like vehicle maintenance systems and how to make the most of your fleet's data. But one of the biggest factors in fleet performance isn’t a piece of equipment – it’s your people.

Technicians are the backbone of fleet operations. The more skilled and engaged they are, the better your fleet runs. But investing in employees isn’t just about making them better at their jobs, it’s about showing them they matter and keeping them around for the long haul.

Dave

"I think in addition to what we already talked about, about those boosts in productivity, repeat repair attrition, their opportunity to earn more – there's this overall, I just call it the pride factor, right? To say that I know what I'm doing. Somebody else thinks I know what I'm doing."

Zach

"And I think that there's pride at the organizational level. There's pride at the fleet shop level. But I also think individual humans are very motivated by having people believe in them. And as a fleet manager to look at somebody and say, look, you're extremely skilled and I want to continue investing in you and helping you grow within our organization. Here's a certification that we're willing to pay for. There has to be just the, I don't know what the monetary value is – I don't know that you could assign one to it, but just that monetary value of retention that comes from somebody just feeling like somebody believes in them."

That’s a huge point. When employees see that a company believes in them, it builds loyalty and engagement. And for fleet managers, that’s critical because retaining skilled technicians is a growing challenge.

If you’ve been in the fleet industry for a while, you’ve probably heard of ASE certifications. But if you’re not familiar, ASE is widely considered the gold standard for technician training and certification.

Retention isn’t the only reason investing in employees makes sense. There’s also a clear impact on fleet operations. When your team has the right training and certifications, they work more efficiently, diagnose problems faster, and reduce unnecessary downtime.

Dave

"Well, what about the fleet owners or the service managers in the fleet shops? What does it mean for them? They don't pay these technicians more out of the goodness of their hearts. Maybe some of them do initially, but I'm telling you that the return on investment is significant."

"So I'm going to allude to some other numbers that you and I talked about before, um, what we've observed and these are samples, right? So this isn't, I'll say it's not as massive as what we did on this pay survey, but by doing some data analysis with some aftermarket chains was who we were looking at, at the time from my understanding. We pulled some numbers and did the analysis and here's what came out."

"We said ASE certified technicians versus non-certified technicians were 40 percent more productive. So think about that in a shop environment. That's huge. And just that overall productivity in a flat rate shop may be part of what's added to their, I'll say they're enhanced to that 20 percent we talked about, right? So that's again, not out of the goodness of their hearts cause they're churning more hours."

"They're getting more pay, nothing wrong with that, and along with that 40 percent productivity, the kicker was 60 percent fewer comebacks. So think about that in terms of fixing it right the first time, the quality of the repair, doing it faster, better quality outcome. So everybody's happy, right?"

"And then another bonus on top of that they saw was a 30% less attrition of employees that were certified versus non-certified."

Higher productivity.

Fewer repeat repairs.

And better technician retention.

There's a clear return on your investment when you hire a certified technician or pay for certifications for your current technicians.

Understanding ASE Certifications

For fleet managers, ASE certifications help ensure that technicians have the knowledge and skills to diagnose and repair vehicles correctly the first time – reducing misdiagnoses, unnecessary repairs, and costly downtime.

Dave

"Now I'm not guaranteeing that you're going to get 40 percent higher productivity and 60 percent fewer comebacks and 30 percent less attrition because there are a lot of factors that go into that. I will say you know, I would argue a little bit that even with the correlation, there's some causation there because that certification and it's about the person, it's not about ASE."

"It tells you that that person has motivation to continue learning, to try to be the best, to be on top of their craft. And those are some of the natural outcomes that you get from it. So when you step back from it, like, well, it's just kind of common sense, isn't it?"

There are over 50 ASE certifications, covering everything from brakes and suspension to hybrid vehicle maintenance and alternative fuels. The certification process is designed to test both technical knowledge and hands-on experience, making it a reliable standard for technician competency.

Dave Johnson

"I'm glad you mentioned that because that is the cool part of this, right? So we bring all these subject matter experts from all of these companies and not just the OEMs, but also people that are on the ground doing the work."

"So master technicians, we bring in instructors from fantastic automotive heavy truck programs and they, together, create and develop the standards that we say – here's what people need to know, here's what their competencies need to be in order to be a credentialed technician in all the different areas that you could get certified in."

"What you find is that those standards are then taken by the, I'll say the educational industry, those who create curriculums, and they use those same standards to go develop their curriculums. ASE's task would be to then use those subject matter experts and other subject matter experts who help to create those standards to say, what are the specific tasks that they need to know?"

"And then we would create the testing for that. That tests those competencies while on the other side of this, other businesses are out there creating their curriculum. So we're not, I'll say we're not shilling for somebody's curriculum or somebody's particular program. We're shilling for all of them, as long as they're quality."

For technicians, getting ASE certified isn’t just about proving their skills—it can also be a career accelerator. Many fleets and repair shops offer higher pay or advancement opportunities for technicians who achieve certification.

Dave

"We surveyed over 30,000 technicians in 2024 on repair frequency of different tasks, but along with that, we asked them what are your certifications in ASE? If you have any, we went to everyone, not just certified techs. So those with and without certification, and we asked them about what's your income and how many years have you been working in the industry?"

"And what we saw was within those groupings, I'll say of early career, mid-career, late career, there was this consistent about 20% – some cases 18, sometimes some cases a little over 20. So I'm just saying 20% higher pay for certified versus non-certified. So if you're a technician, that doesn't take a lot of time to think about, well, if I can get 20% pay – that little investment in an ASE certification could pay off in a major way. And the data says that it does."

"So if you're a technician, that doesn't take a lot of time to think about, well, if I can get 20% pay – that little investment in an ASE certification could pay off in a major way. And the data says that it does." – Dave Johnson, President, ASE

And from a fleet manager’s perspective, having ASE-certified technicians on staff helps with more than just repair quality. It also improves team confidence and professionalism—something that can set your fleet apart.

But how do you know that ASE's testing will cover exactly what you need from technicians?

Getting Involved with ASE

ASE has been setting the standard for technician certifications for decades, but what a lot of fleet managers don’t realize is that they can actually be part of shaping that curriculum. ASE works with industry professionals to keep its certifications relevant – so the more fleets get involved, the more the program reflects real-world needs.

Zach

"I know you mentioned some very large, very national and international brands that work as y'all subject matter experts. But for a smaller organization or a smaller shop or even somebody who's maybe involved within an industry, like a group of people within an industry, but not necessarily a fleet. What does it look like to get involved with ASE and just continue to feed back into what y'all are doing?"

Dave

"Yeah, that's a good one. So we do have, and I'm glad you brought it up, because when I talked about the board, I may have thrown out some of the big names, right? But we also have equal representation of independent shops and shop owners. So these guys, they're all just rubbing shoulders in our organization, and I always think about, I envision our board meetings, right?"

"It just makes me smile when I see all these guys working and talking together with a huge mutual respect because those small business owners, right? If you want to think about it, they're putting their, we'll say they're putting their life on the line way more than I ever did as part of a major corporation"

"And it kind of keeps us all grounded in reality. And so we love having them part of it. And to me, part of the way you get involved, part of it is ASE certification, getting involved in that way. And then it is reaching out to us and saying, Hey, I want to be involved as a subject matter expert, maybe in one of your committees, or, hey, I'd like to be on your board."

"We do have some demand to be on our board, which is a great problem to have, but just know that it's not all about just the big corporations – it's about everybody. Cause we, it's in fact, the folks who come from the big corporations acknowledge that it's like, Hey, we have a point of view. It's not a complete one. We need the people that are on the ground. And so those are just some great ways to get involved with this."

For fleets, getting involved isn’t just about shaping the future of certification – it’s also a way to build stronger teams. When fleets actively support ASE certification, it sends a clear message to technicians that their growth is a priority.

And Dave also emphasized the importance of getting involved at the local level. After all, you're not able to hire remote technicians, so most of your workforce is going to come from your local hiring pool.

Dave

"I wanted to touch on the local way that everybody can get involved. And it's really self-serving for all of you, and that is getting involved with your local schools on bringing these technicians or technicians-to-be through the program. They talk about a technician shortage out there and that's true, but I put a finer point on it, as friends of mine have, have told me, my friend George Arrants at ASE Education Foundation, is that we don't necessarily have a shortage of candidates, we have a shortage of qualified candidates."

"We don't necessarily have a shortage of candidates, we have a shortage of qualified candidates." – Dave Johnson, President, ASE

"And so that's where those school programs become important. And that's why the ASE Education Foundation is tied into this whole thing for us. It's all integral in terms of what you're trying to accomplish. And what we find is sometimes schools are out there on an island. You have a program, great instructor may be doing all the right things, but if they don't have the support of the local industry of saying, Hey, I want to bring some of these kids in – maybe just be for shop tours to start with – or I want to start bringing some of those kids in to, you know, get them started on in business on my Lubrac part time, whatever the case may be."

"And as you get involved with them in these, part of our ASE accreditation is advisory boards where locally, you're involved with that school as a business owner or as a shop manager or whatever the case may be, and you're helping to set the standards for that school in terms of here's the overall ASE standards, so we're within national standards, but here's the things we need to focus on in our area because these things are really important to us."

"And when you have that combination of a program that cares, that has that accreditation, you bring in local industry who cares, what you find is you're no longer worrying about a technician shortage issue in your area. You've created a pipeline, and you just keep growing your own, and that just continues."

And that’s exactly why Fleetio is getting involved. We don’t just want to talk about the importance of certification – we want to help make it more accessible for fleet teams. That’s where the Fleetio ASE Certification Scholarship comes in.

We just opened up nominations for our first-ever round of ASE scholarships. Our goal is to help fleets retain their high-performing technicians and raise up the next generation of master mechanics.

Dave

"Yeah, and thank you to Fleetio for stepping up in a big way and doing this. Sometimes, there are different scholarship organizations out there doing things and they're all good, they're all wonderful."

"So it all helps. And sometimes you may think, well, I dunno if I'm doing any good? Is it helping? And with Fleetio – with what you're doing in terms of, at least in part, I know as part of that is using that scholarship money to fund certifications along with their education. That's huge."

If you'd like to learn more about this program or nominate somebody for an ASE scholarship through Fleetio, I've included a link in the episode description for you to learn more.

Key Takeaways

We’ve covered a lot in this conversation, so let’s wrap up with a few key takeaways for fleet managers and technicians who want to invest in training and get more involved with ASE.

1. Investing in your employees has a measurable return: technicians who feel valued and supported are more likely to stay, work more efficiently, and contribute to a stronger team.

"I think in addition to what we already talked about, about those boosts in productivity, repeat repair attrition, their opportunity to earn more – there's this overall, I just call it the pride factor, right? To say that I know what I'm doing. Somebody else thinks I know what I'm doing."

2. As a technician, ASE certifications serve as a great way to stand out from the pack and open more doors over the course of your career.

"And what we saw was within those groupings, I'll say of early career. Mid-career, late career, there was this consistent about 20%. Some cases 18, sometimes some cases a little over 20. So I'm just saying 20% higher pay for certified versus non-certified. So if you're a technician, that doesn't take a lot of time to think about, well, if I can get 20% pay – that little investment in an ASE certification could pay off in a major way."

3. Fleets have a responsibility to get involved at the national and local level to help train up the next generation of skilled workers, so that they can address your specific needs.

"And when you have that combination of a program that cares, that has that accreditation, you bring in local industry who cares, what you find is you're no longer worrying about a technician shortage issue in your area. You've created a pipeline, and you just keep growing your own, and that just continues."

I truly appreciate my conversation with Dave, I could've kept asking him about his fleet experience for another four hours.

As a reminder, The Fleet Code is brought to you by Fleetio. Your technicians are your greatest asset, but what's the best tool for helping your technicians keep track of work? Fleetio's fleet maintenance platform has digital work orders, maintenance reminders, and comprehensive service histories so they always know what to expect. You can learn more about Fleetio at fleetio.com - that's f-l-e-e-t-i-o.com.

I've also pulled together a few resources around managing technicians, as well as a link to learn more about ASE certifications. All of that can be found in the episode description.

Make sure you subscribe to The Fleet Code on your podcast platform of choice to keep up with the latest tips and tricks for fleet managers. Leave a review or rating if you're into that kind of thing. If you have a topic that you'd like us to cover, send us an email to podcast@fleetio.com and let us know. Subscribe to our newsletter and follow at-fleetio on social media for even more fleet management best practices.

Resources

• Learn more about ASE Certifications (website)
• Nominate somebody for an ASE Scholarship through Fleetio
• A Guide for Managing Fleet Maintenance (e-book)
• How to Retain Fleet Technicians (blog)