How Auto Dealers Can Attract and Retain Employees

We’ve mentioned in our past articles that most employees in the dealership industry will not remain too long. Therefore, attracting and retaining talents will always prove a challenge to auto dealers. They may have to think creatively to find those that are better suited for their dealership. They need to find someone willing to grow with the company. Moreover, it should give them a better return on their investment. We’ve listed some of the steps to help you hire and keep the top talents in the industry.

How Auto Dealers Near Me Can Find and Keep the Best Employees

Understand that shoppers can find similar deals when looking for a new or used vehicle. Therefore, your people can make a difference in winning and keeping customers. Follow some of the strategies here, and you will attract the best people and have a lower turnover rate.

Good Hiring System

Talented people are always out there, but you might be wondering why you are not attracting them. Perhaps you are currently thinking about whether you need to implement changes in your hiring strategy. Before you do this, you need to look at your current employees. You can ask them or do a survey to understand what made them choose to work for you. Ask them the sources they use to find your dealership. The information you will gather will help you assess and refine your strategy. Do not hesitate to add something new to attract the top talents in the industry. For instance, used auto dealers should reach out to listing sites and employment websites to reach out to your desired candidates.

The Pre-Interview

Realize that the hiring process is like a survival reality show or an elimination process. Your people who are assigned to the interview process have lots of things to keep in mind. It is a long process, and you don’t want to waste your time on talents that will not suit your company’s ethics and values. Therefore, auto dealers should conduct a pre-interview by phone. Prepare some of the most basic questions when interviewing them by phone. This will help you understand the employability of the talent. You can also determine the employee’s customer support and phone skills when you talk to them over the phone.

The Actual Interview

During the actual interview, be sure that you will focus more on the previous achievements and performance of the applicant. When analyzing their resume and answers to your questions, there will be common denominators that you will notice among the top performers. Regardless of their background, they are mostly breadwinners, have an above-average performance in their previous work, and handle the bills. We don’t mean that those are the characteristics that used auto dealers near me should look for. However, you can use that as an indicator when finding the diamond in the chaff.

Various websites will help you determine the best questions to ask during the interview process. You should also know the proper way to conduct the interview. Otherwise, auto dealers may leave a bad impression on your potential candidate. For instance, give them the chance to market themselves. Ask them about their biggest accomplishments. You should also inform them about your expectations. If you have a sales quota or performance goal at the end of each month, you must notify them about this. Ask them about their plans to reach their goals.

Training the New Hires

Do not expect that you can immediately deploy your talents as soon as you hire them. They will have to go through standard dealership training to ensure that they can offer the best support to your customers. It would be impossible for the new hires to complete their monthly goals without training. The manufacturer’s course that you can download online will not cut the deal. If your auto dealers still don’t have a training program, it is the best time for you to consider one. Look for training that offers effective instructions and interaction. Adults will respond better to this training method.

It will take some time to develop a training program that provides a solid foundation for your new hires. It sends a signal to the talents that this career should not be taken lightly. People will place more value on things that require hard work and dedication to achieve. Also, used auto dealers should provide them with systematic training. By allowing your employees to learn and grow, they will think twice about leaving the dealership. Remember that hiring new people is more expensive than retaining existing employees.

Dealership Environment

Most experts will tell you that the first week of the new applicant is very crucial. The impression that you will make can affect the employee’s perception and affect their performance for the rest of their employment contract. Be sure to offer them a healthy, pleasant, and supportive environment. Remember your first few days in opening your dealership. Think of the time when you first visited the dealership to get your first ever car. You may be filled with excitement, but there are times that you will meet rude salespeople who will dampen the mood. This is pretty common to new sales reps who are not satisfied with the environment provided to them by the auto dealers near me.

What can you do to prevent this? In most cases, the used auto dealers near me will be short of staff, and the manager will have little to no time to interact with them. Most new people will feel that they are less valued by the company. They will feel ignored and might think that they are distracting others from their work. It would be best if there were someone who could mentor them. It can be a salesperson who has been working for years or a manager at the dealership to guide them around on how the process works. The mentor is basically someone who can continue to guide them after the training.

Evaluation and Feedbacks

To retain employees, most used auto dealers will have a similar approach. They will have a constant evaluation of their employees and will provide them with feedback. Some big dealerships believe that it is a perfect gift to their people. You may not be aware of it, but most employees long for feedback. Every one of your employees is curious about how they are doing. You should never keep them guessing.

New hires may leave the auto dealers in around 60-90 days, based on the reports. Therefore, you need to think of ways to retain them before that period. Be sure to hold a meeting for the new employees within 30-60 days. Ask them the necessary questions and solicit some of their feedback. Invite the key people from your HR and development team to participate in the meeting. It is a perfect time for you to understand some of the common challenges they face. It will be very practical in determining the concerns and issues and asking your people about their personal opinion about those matters.

Providing Opportunity to Grow

Used auto dealers near me should provide their people with continuous ways to develop if they want to retain their talents. We’ve already mentioned above that you must provide them with regular training. It refines their skills and makes them more accustomed to using the latest software and application in the industry. It also gives them a chance to be familiar with the new make and models of the car and the new technology that comes with it. Nay employee development program should be done periodically.

How do You Create a Training Session?

When planning the training session of your people, start by thinking of the things you want to accomplish. Determine the skills you want your salespeople to acquire at the end of the training. You should also list your desired result and the benefits that it offers to your people and your auto dealers. One way you can identify this is by evaluating the gaps in the skills of your people. What are the skills that they need to possess? How would you rate their skills from 1-10? Once you identify the answers to these questions, it will be easier for you to develop a training module and program that will benefit them.

Next, the auto dealers will have to be fully prepared. Therefore, you need to plan everything. Planning will ensure that you will have a consistent execution and proper selection of the trainers. For instance, you can select from your team of managers to facilitate the training procedure. Ensure that the person you choose can inspire the entire team; they must lead by example. It is sending a signal to the new hires that you are taking this training seriously.

The training must be on-point, informative, and short. Start with some housekeeping tasks, just to get this topic out of the way. Then proceed immediately to the core topic of the training. Describe the team’s current position now and inform them why they should improve in their craft. When teaching them the actual skills, do not forget to remind them of the benefits that it entails. End the training with a role-play to help them be accustomed.

Hiring and retaining the talents will not be easy for the auto dealers near me. It will not be enough to have a comprehensive hiring process or a good initial seminar and training. You need to forge a strong culture since that’s the essence of hiring new people. Know that these things will not happen overnight. It takes time, patience, and dedication. Luckily, you can start embracing the changes today.