Auto Repair Industry Hiring Expert Urges Owners: Stop Hiring Babysitters, Start Hiring Managers

Automotive hiring expert Chris Lawson identifies 'The Babysitter Problem' as the hidden cause of management turnover in independent repair shops.

Published on Feb. 14, 2026

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A new analysis of automotive hiring patterns reveals that the majority of shop owners are inadvertently sabotaging their own management hires before day one—not through poor candidate selection, but through a fundamental misunderstanding of what managers actually need to succeed. The findings, shared in a recent episode of the Remarkable Results Radio podcast, challenge conventional wisdom in the automotive aftermarket about why 'good managers are impossible to find.'

Why it matters

With the automotive industry facing a well-documented technician shortage, the ability to develop and retain management talent has become a critical competitive advantage for independent auto repair shops. When shops get management right, it can improve retention, recruiting, and the overall operation.

The details

According to Chris Lawson, founder of Technician Find and an automotive hiring specialist, the distinction between a 'babysitter' and a 'manager' comes down to one critical factor: information access. A babysitter simply shows up, completes assigned tasks, and goes home, with no visibility into business performance or ability to make informed decisions independently. In contrast, a manager owns outcomes, sees the financial scoreboard, makes decisions based on real data, and understands how their work impacts profitability.

  • The podcast discussion, which included comments gathered from multiple successful multi-shop operators, took place in January 2026.

The players

Chris Lawson

The founder of Technician Find and an automotive hiring specialist who has conducted over 500 shop owner interviews.

Remarkable Results Radio

A podcast that has produced over 1,000 episodes featuring discussions with shop owners, industry experts, and thought leaders in the automotive aftermarket.

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What they’re saying

“Most shop owners aren't hiring managers. They're hiring babysitters and expecting manager-level results. It's a structural problem, not a talent problem.”

— Chris Lawson, Founder, Technician Find (Remarkable Results Radio)

“Between rent and my salary, I'm taking 20%. That's before anybody else gets anything from the net. Then 50% of the leftover stays in the company. The rest gets split between the people who got us there.”

— Anonymous multi-location shop owner (Remarkable Results Radio)

What’s next

The episode features testimony from shop owners who have implemented full financial transparency with their management teams, and addresses common concerns about the 'transparency approach', including how to structure defensible compensation, the identity shift required for shop owners to share control, and specific steps to transition from 'babysitter hiring' to 'manager hiring'.

The takeaway

This case highlights the importance of developing and retaining management talent in the automotive aftermarket, and how shop owners can improve retention, recruiting, and overall operations by providing their managers with the information and autonomy they need to succeed.