Chris Lawson says auto repair shops should recruit before they need to hire

Technician Find founder Chris Lawson says independent auto repair shops can avoid staffing crises by building recruiting pipelines before a technician quits. He shared the approach on Remarkable Results Radio, arguing that respect, growth and visibility matter more to technicians than a last-minute pay bump.

Why it matters: - Independent auto repair shops often lose time, revenue and customer capacity when a technician leaves and hiring starts too late. - Lawson’s message is aimed at shop owners who want a steadier staffing model instead of a recurring scramble. - The approach is designed to help shops stay fully staffed by keeping a bench of candidates ready before an opening appears.

What happened: - Chris Lawson, founder of Technician Find, discussed the recruiting strategy on a 38-minute episode of Remarkable Results Radio hosted by Carm Capriotto. - The episode is titled “Stop Hiring in Panic Mode.” - Lawson framed the problem as reactive hiring versus proactive bench building. - Lawson said the real crisis is not the technician who leaves, but having nobody to call when the vacancy opens.

The details: - Reactive shops post an ad after a resignation and often hire the first available candidate out of urgency. - Proactive shops keep a list of qualified prospects ready to contact when a position opens. - Lawson compared the process to marketing, saying shops should not wait for car count to collapse before advertising. - Shops that stay staffed market themselves to future employees continuously, long before an opening exists. - Lawson said technicians value respect first, growth second and money third. - Lawson argued that sign-on bonuses can miss the real reasons skilled technicians stay or leave. - Lawson described a local visibility strategy he calls “10-Mile Famous,” which uses small, steady culture-focused advertising to stay in front of potential employees. - Lawson said the best technicians often are not looking at job boards, which limits the reach of sites like Indeed for recruiting them. - Lawson has developed the approach over nearly eight years working with independent shops. - Lawson now shares the framework with a community of more than 516 independent shop owners and general managers. - Technician Find was founded in 2017 and focuses on helping independent automotive repair shops attract and retain skilled technicians and service advisors.

Between the lines: - Lawson’s argument suggests recruiting is a branding and relationship-building exercise, not just a compensation problem. - The emphasis on proactive pipelines reflects a shift from filling vacancies to preventing them from becoming operational emergencies. - The local-market focus implies that many shops may be overlooking passive candidates who already live nearby but are not actively job hunting.

What’s next: - Lawson said owners can learn the full framework through his online community, where he publishes recruiting and retention resources daily. - The full episode is available on Remarkable Results Radio and on the show’s YouTube channel. - Lawson can also be reached through Christopher T. Lawson on LinkedIn. - Technician Find lists contact information and social channels, including LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Skool.

The bottom line: - Shops that build recruiting pipelines early can turn a resignation into a manageable staffing event instead of a crisis.