Many shop owners work hard to keep employees happy, yet retention keeps slipping. Pizza parties and scratch-off tickets may lift spirits for a day, but they do not create engaged employees who feel valued and want to stay. Don Rheem uses neuroscience and behavioral science to explain why, and what leaders can do instead.
Don is the founder and CEO of E3 Solutions, author of Thrive by Design, and a keynote and TEDx speaker. In episode 63 of Maximum Octane, he explains the difference between happy and engaged employees, why so many Americans quit their jobs during “the great resignation,” and how managers can build cohesion and measure engagement.
What You Will Learn
- A bit about Don and his passion for neuroscience
- Why pizza and scratch-offs won’t do the trick (even though they’ll increase happiness and satisfaction)
- The importance of making internal customers feel valued for more than the work they produce
- Why are so many Americans quitting their jobs
- “I can’t take this anymore; guess what? I don’t”
- How to stop “the great resignation” at your shop
- You can’t manage what you don’t measure
Don’s Passion for Neuroscience
Don starts by explaining his passion for neuroscience and how it shapes his view of the workplace. Our brains are wired for connection and safety. When people feel secure and valued at work, they perform better. When they feel threatened or ignored, performance suffers. Understanding that biology helps leaders create environments where people thrive.
Neuroscience research has helped explain why people behave the way they do at work. Our brains constantly scan for signs of safety or threat, often without conscious awareness. When people feel safe, connected, and valued, the brain is more open to learning, creativity, and collaboration. When they sense threat, through criticism, uncertainty, or isolation, the brain shifts into a defensive mode that limits performance. Leaders who understand these dynamics can create environments that bring out the best in people.
This perspective helps explain why some leadership approaches work better than others. Fear-based management might produce short-term compliance, but it rarely produces sustained high performance or loyalty.
Why Pizza and Scratch-Offs Do Not Work
Around the 7 minute mark, Don explains why perks like pizza and scratch-offs will not do the trick, even though they increase happiness and satisfaction for a moment. Happiness is temporary. Engagement is deeper. Engaged employees are emotionally committed to their work and their team. That commitment comes from how they are treated every day, not from occasional rewards.
Debbie Muno makes a similar point in Looking After the Jan Bradys Within Our Organization.
Perks create momentary pleasure, but engagement comes from deeper needs: feeling valued, having a sense of purpose, belonging to a team, and seeing opportunities to grow. These needs are met through daily interactions with leaders and coworkers. A pizza lunch cannot replace a manager who listens, a clear path for advancement, or recognition for good work. Owners who rely on perks while neglecting these deeper needs often wonder why their efforts do not improve retention.
None of this means perks are bad. A team lunch after a brutal week or a small reward for hitting a goal can be a welcome gesture. The problem comes when perks are used as a substitute for the harder work of leadership. Employees can tell the difference between a pizza that says “thank you, we noticed” and one that says “please stop complaining.” The first builds on a foundation of respect that already exists. The second often lands as a distraction from issues that have not been addressed, such as unclear pay plans, broken equipment, or a manager who never listens.
Valued for More Than the Work
Don stresses the importance of making employees feel valued for more than what they produce. When the only feedback people receive is about output, they feel like interchangeable parts. When leaders show interest in them as people, acknowledge their contributions, and support their growth, they feel valued and connected.
Valuing people as individuals means taking an interest in their lives, goals, and well-being. It might mean asking about their families, celebrating personal milestones, or offering flexibility when they face challenges outside work. It also means recognizing effort and growth, not just output. A technician who is learning a new skill deserves recognition for progress even before their productivity reaches its peak.
At the counter and in the bays, feeling valued often comes down to whether people are asked for their opinion. A technician who points out a recurring diagnostic problem and sees the shop change a process feels heard. One whose suggestions disappear without a reply learns to stop offering them. Leaders can build this habit by closing the loop every time: thank the person, explain what will happen with the idea, and report back later, even if the answer is no. That simple cycle tells employees that their thinking matters, not just their billed hours.
Why So Many People Quit
Around the 15 minute mark, Don discusses why so many Americans quit their jobs. He shares a line that captures the mindset: “I can’t take this anymore; guess what? I don’t.” Workers realized they had options, and many left environments where they felt unappreciated or burned out. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace research tracks how engagement affects whether people stay or go.
The period often called the Great Resignation saw record numbers of workers leave their jobs. Surveys found that many cited burnout, lack of advancement, poor management, and a desire for better work-life balance. Many workers realized during the pandemic that they wanted more from their jobs than a paycheck. For repair shops, the lesson is clear: employees who do not feel valued have options, and they will use them.
Stopping the Great Resignation at Your Shop
Don shares how to stop “the great resignation” at your shop by building strong teams. A big part of the answer is preparing managers and team leaders to create cohesion within their groups. People rarely leave a company. They leave a manager or a team that does not feel right. Training managers to connect with and support their people is one of the most effective retention strategies.
ATI’s Why Employees Leave Managers, Not Shops and The Role of the Manager in Employee Engagement apply these ideas to shops. ATI has also partnered with Don’s company, as announced in ATI Partners With E3 Solutions.
Training managers is one of the most effective ways to improve retention. Many people are promoted into management because they were great technicians or advisors, but they may never have been taught how to lead people. Providing training in communication, feedback, coaching, and team building equips managers to create the kind of environment where people want to stay. ATI’s coaching programs often include this kind of leadership development.
Cohesion, the sense that a group functions as a real team, is something managers can build deliberately. Short daily huddles where everyone hears the plan for the day, shared goals that the whole team works toward, and quick recognition of people who help coworkers all contribute. So does how a manager handles conflict between team members. Letting tension simmer between a technician and an advisor can poison an entire shop, while addressing it early and fairly reinforces that the team matters more than any single disagreement. ATI’s article on building a challenged and engaged workforce offers more ideas.
You Cannot Manage What You Do Not Measure
Don closes with a principle every shop owner knows from financial metrics: you cannot manage what you do not measure. The same applies to engagement. Regular, simple surveys and conversations help leaders understand how employees feel and where to improve before people start leaving.
Engagement can be measured through short surveys asking employees how they feel about their work, their manager, their growth opportunities, and the shop overall. Tracking the results over time shows whether efforts to improve culture are working. Turnover rates, absenteeism, and exit interview themes provide additional data. Sharing results with the team and acting on feedback demonstrates that leadership takes engagement seriously.
A common mistake is running a survey and then doing nothing visible with the results. That can be worse than not asking at all, because it tells employees their input does not matter. A better approach is to pick one or two themes from each survey, share them openly with the team, and commit to a specific change. Even a modest improvement, such as fixing a broken lift faster or clarifying how overtime is assigned, shows that measurement leads to action. Over time, employees become more candid because they see that honest answers produce results.
Small Daily Actions That Build Engagement
Engagement grows through consistent daily actions more than occasional big initiatives. Leaders can make a meaningful difference by greeting each employee by name every morning, recognizing specific contributions in the moment, asking for input before making decisions that affect the team, following up on promises, and spending time on the shop floor listening rather than directing.
These actions take little time but signal that the leader cares. Over weeks and months, they build the trust and connection that engagement depends on. Don’s research-based approach reinforces what many great leaders have learned through experience: people stay where they feel valued, and they give their best where they feel safe.
Signs Engagement Is Slipping
Disengagement usually shows up well before a resignation letter. Common warning signs include employees who stop offering ideas, a rise in sick days or late arrivals, quieter team meetings, more friction between departments, and work that meets the minimum but no longer reflects pride. Individually, these can have many explanations. Together, they often signal that people no longer feel connected to the team or the leader.
When owners notice these signs, the best first step is a private, curious conversation rather than a reprimand. Asking “How are things going for you here?” and then listening without defending the shop can reveal frustrations that are easy to fix. Catching disengagement early gives leaders a chance to respond before a good employee starts looking elsewhere.
Ways to Build Engagement, Not Just Happiness
- Ask each employee what makes them feel valued and act on what you learn.
- Train managers on how to build trust and cohesion within their teams.
- Run a short, anonymous engagement survey twice a year.
- Recognize effort and growth, not just output.
Don’s TEDx talk, How Can Work Save Our Relationships?, expands on his ideas. For more on culture and retention, listen to Roy Keiser in Using Culture and Reputation to Build a Bench for Your Auto Shop.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between employee happiness and employee engagement?
Happiness is a short-term emotional state, often tied to perks, events, or a good day. Engagement is a deeper, longer-lasting commitment to the work, the team, and the organization. An engaged employee puts in discretionary effort, cares about results, and is less likely to leave for a small raise elsewhere. Perks can make people happy for an afternoon, but engagement comes from feeling valued, trusted, and connected to people they respect, which depends on daily leadership.
Why do good technicians leave auto repair shops?
Pay matters, but it is rarely the only reason. Technicians often leave because of poor relationships with a manager, lack of training or advancement, unfair work distribution, outdated equipment, or a culture where they feel unappreciated. Many of these causes are within the owner’s control. Asking employees what would make them stay, through regular one-on-ones and anonymous surveys, helps owners spot and address problems before they lead to resignations.
How can a small shop measure employee engagement?
A small shop can use a short anonymous survey with a handful of questions about the work, the manager, growth opportunities, and whether employees would recommend the shop as a place to work. Running it once or twice a year and comparing results over time shows whether things are improving. Turnover, absenteeism, and themes from exit conversations add useful context. The most important step is sharing results with the team and acting on at least one issue each time.
How do managers build cohesion on a shop team?
Cohesion grows when people share goals, communicate regularly, and trust that they will be treated fairly. Managers can hold brief daily huddles, set team targets that encourage cooperation, recognize employees who help coworkers, and address conflicts early instead of letting them fester. Spending time in the bays and at the counter, listening more than directing, also matters. Over time, these habits create a team that people do not want to leave.
Resources and Links From This Episode
- E3 Solutions website
- Book: Don Rheem, Thrive By Design: The Neuroscience That Drives High-Performance Cultures
- How can work save our relationships? | TEDxBYU
- How to Stay Ahead of the Future of Work |TEDxWarrenton
Connect With the Guests
- Don: LinkedIn
