For many people that worked as fixed operations workers at franchised new-vehicle dealerships, 2015 consisted of less pay and shorter hours. The National Automobile Dealers Association created a 2016 dealership workforce study, that offers insight into service department employees’ compensation, job tenure, as well as work schedules. The following data is from the NADA report.
Pay Window
In 2015, average compensation for key fixed operations employees was generally either down or flat.
Average Pay, 2015 | Percentage Change from 2014 | |
Service manager | $113,622 | -1 |
Parts manager | $93,276 | -4 |
Service adviser | $64,635 | -2 |
Service technician | $58,726 | 1 |
Parts consultant | $50,442 | -1 |
On the Job
Fixed operations employees stayed with their employer longer than any other key dealership workers. Displayed below are the figures of 2015:
Median Tenure | Annual Turnover | 3-Year Retention | |
Service manager | 11 years | 11% | 81% |
Parts manager | 6.4 years | 22% | 66% |
Service adviser | 4.8 years | 19% | 62% |
Service technician | 3.6 years | 25% | 54% |
Parts consultant | 2.3 years | 39% | 42% |
Sometimes on Sunday
Roughly 7% of all dealership departments are open all day on Sundays, however, the figure varies by region.
Open Sunday | Avg. Hours | |
South Atlantic | 23% | 7 |
Pacific | 9% | 9.7 |
East North Central | 2% | 6.8 |
New England | 2% | N/A |
Mid-Atlantic | 2% | N/A |
West North Central | 1% | N/A |
Gender gap
1 out of 6 service advisers is a woman, which is a higher percentage than in any other fixed operations category.
Percent of women | |
Service manager | 6% |
Parts manager | 6% |
Service adviser | 17% |
Service technician | 1% |
Parts consultant | 7% |
All key dealership positions | 8% |
On the Clock
The Average scheduled weekly hours for non-management fixed operations employees declined slightly between 2015 and 2014.
Avg. Workweek, 2015 | Avg. Workweek, 2014 | |
Service adviser | 45.6 hrs | 46.6 hrs |
Service technician | 42.9 hrs | 43.5 hrs |
Parts consultant | 42.2 hrs | 43.2 hrs |