Automotive dealerships have a lot of complex, moving parts. Inventory management and sales, parts and services, operations and accounting—everything has to work together to make the business run efficiently and smoothly. And the key ingredient driving your business? The people.
But retaining the well-trained and highly skilled staff is becoming more and more difficult. With the average tenure of employees as low as only 18 months, General Managers (GMs) and Dealer Principal Owners (DPOs) are in a tough spot. Hiring and attracting new team members isn’t easy. And here’s the secret: when it comes to finding new staff, you’ve got to keep up with the changing pace of technology. Bottom line, if you’re trying to refill a role based on outdated technology skills, you’re playing a losing game.
Hiring the Millennial Generation
Anyone born between 1980-2000 (roughly) can be considered a Digital Native, that is, a person who grew up with technology from an early start. Unlike their predecessors, this generation never experienced an office culture without access to emails, digital retailing, online advertising, and similar shopping experiences. So what does hiring a digital native, or millennial, mean for your dealership?
- First, even though millennials are tech savvy, don’t be surprised to discover they can become error-prone and less productive by a tendency to multi-task.
- Second, the myth that this generation prefers to interact solely through text and online methods is just that—a myth. Many millennials thrive in group settings, sales roles, and person-to-person contact.
For DPOs and GMs, it’s clear that sticking a millennial in a role where they must learn outdated technology, memorize mindless codes, and multi-task with slow technology is certain death.
Don’t Forget Priority #1
Your dealership’s number one focus should always be on customer satisfaction. Loyalty, trust, retention are all fostered by building good relationships. For the owners at Heritage Ford, anything else was seen as a total distraction. When they began shopping for new Dealer Management Software (DMS) technology, they quickly realized the need for an easy-to-use system that allowed their focus to return to priority #1: the customer.
The solution? It’s simple.
Hiring and replacing lost employees can be extremely cost-prohibitive for dealers. For many, the amount of money it takes to replace lost team members can reach $45,000 per employee! Is outdated and old technology keeping the generation of automotive talent from joining your workforce? Would an easy-to-use, forward-thinking DMS allow more tech savvy, digital natives the chance to engage with your customers without the hindrance of learning your current, clunky tech?
Learn more about overcoming your Staffing Struggles here.
