While the industry is clearly working to bring new, young talent into the field, one of the most important steps a body shop can take is investing in the employees they already have in the garage.
According to the 2021 FenderBender Industry Survey, an overwhelming majority of shops are investing in at least one, if not three or four different types of training for its employees, with a smaller majority committing to pay for that training.
For the shops that do pay, how much are they willing to spend? Of shops that keep a budget for employee training, the most popular strategy is to allocate 1-5 percent of the total budget to training.
What Type of Technical Training Does your Team Attend on an Annual Basis?
I-CAR - 73%
OEM-Specific - 41%
Equipment manufacturer - 44%
Paint manufacturer - 84%
Insurance partners - 10%
Information service providers - 15^
Other vendor/supplier 34%
None - 5%
What Types of Employee Training/Education Does your Business Pay For?
I-CAR - 78%
OEM-Specific - 50%
Equipment manufacturer - 42%
Paint manufacturer - 65%
Insurance partners - 8%
Information service providers - 15%
Other vendor/supplier 25%
Management and career development - 23%
None - 11%
What Percentage of your Business's Total Sales Do you Allot For Training Investments?
0% - 5%
1-5% - 32%
6-10% - 16%
11-15% - 1%
16-20% - 2%
No specific budget for training - 43%
