I hope this post finds you well, with a shop full of profitable work (and the hands to get it done). Lately, I've been hearing from shops across the country that it’s taking longer than usual to fill open positions and I wanted to let you know what I’m seeing personally. From coast to coast, I'm seeing a trend: hiring is taking longer, and applications are fewer. Now, before you start thinking it's just your shop or your area, let me assure you - this is a nationwide phenomenon. Here's what's going on: 1. Summer Slowdown: We see this every year. People are more focused on vacations than job hunting. 2. Election Year Effect: With the upcoming election, we're seeing increased ad censorship and a flood of political ads, which affects our industry's visibility. 3. Competition Is Increasing: So what else is new? This has been going on for a while. But here's the thing - challenges create opportunities for those willing to innovate. And that's exactly what we're doing. We've been developing a game-changing tool: the Technician Salary Survey. Here's how it works: We run Facebook ads in various cities, offering techs a summary of salaries in their area. The response has been phenomenal because techs LOVE this information. Now, we're taking it a step further. We're building an automated follow-up system that will pull this data from Facebook and nurture these leads until they're ready to have a conversation with you. It's like having a dedicated recruitment assistant working 24/7. While we're still ironing out some kinks, I believe this will revolutionize how we attract top talent in our industry. If you’d like to see what the salary survey looks like, reply to this post with your city name, and we'll create a personalized Technician Salary Survey for your area. You'll get a firsthand look at what techs in your region are earning and what they're looking for. Remember, in times like these, patience and innovation are key. We might be experiencing a temporary slowdown, but with the right tools and mindset, we can turn this challenge into an opportunity to build stronger, more resilient teams.