[Video] Dealer-to-Dealer Panel: Technician Recruitment that Gets Real Results

The shortage of service technicians isn’t a new problem for the farm equipment industry — but has likely never been more worrisome than today. Progressive dealers have responded by taking recruiting into their own hands and tasked dedicated personnel to solve the problem in a job position that didn’t exist in dealerships a decade ago. This special session covers what these dealership’s full-time recruiters have learned about attracting and competing for next-level technician talent. Dealers of all sizes will learn what goes into these groups’ recruiter positions and the results that can be expected by a concerted and focused “prospecting and sales” effort to find the tech talent.

Richard Dugan, Service Recruiter, KanEquip, Wamego, Kan. — A former high school teacher, Dugan has been leading 14-store New Holland dealer KanEquip’s efforts to fill its technician pipeline. “Students didn’t want to be tied down to a 3-year commitment,” Dugan says. Borrowing an idea from the trucking industry, Dugan instituted a change in the dealer’s program that still delivers prospects while “getting the students to put a little more skin in the game.” Dugan covers lessons learned and the finer points of KanEquip’s program for reimbursement program for tools and tuition as part of…