By Jeremiah Shelton, VP of Training and Development, APCO Holdings, home of the EasyCare and GWC Warranty brands.
In recent years dealers have made significant progress toward improving the customer experience. Consumer satisfaction scores indicate that buying a car today is easier and more enjoyable than 10 to 15 years ago. However, there is still room for improvement. And in some cases, the best way to enhance the customer experience is to improve the employee experience.
Employees are your brand’s front line and interact with your customers daily. If your employees are unhappy at their jobs, your customers will not have an optimal buying experience.
According to Cox Automotive’s “The State of Dealership Staffing” study, a supportive work environment is the number one driver of employee engagement. This is defined as a culture that offers career development, communication, appreciation, shared values, diversity and inclusion. To build an attractive workplace culture that will make your employees and customers happy, focus on the following.
Career Development
When a candidate applies to your dealership, do you offer them a defined career path? If someone starts as a salesperson, let them know what it takes to grow into a management position. If someone starts as a cashier in your service department, let them know how they can move into accounting or a service advisor position.
Review your onboarding process and ensure employees have all the tools they need to succeed. Once a new hire learns the basics of their job, ongoing training and career development programs are critical to prevent boredom and keep employees motivated and engaged.
Communication
Employees want to work for companies that are transparent and honest in their communications. They also want to know their opinions and ideas are heard.
One way to improve company communications is to hire a third party to conduct an anonymous employee survey. Find out what employees like and don’t like about working at your dealership. Share results with employees and ask them what ideas they have for improvements. Then, most importantly, make a plan to implement those improvements.
Shared Values
Does your dealership have an authentic purpose that appeals to job candidates? Identify and define the core values that define who your company is and how you do business. Making a difference in your community is a core value. Making money is not.
Once you have identified your core values, make sure that training and development programs focus on these values. Lead by example. Do not retain employees that refuse to live by your values, even if they are top producers.
Appreciation
Get to know your employees, so they feel acknowledged and appreciated. Learn their names, families, interests and hobbies. If an employee is doing well, take the time to congratulate them.
I’m a big fan of awards. Most dealerships have sales awards, but everyone knows who the top producer is. Look for other things to celebrate. One idea? Offer awards to employees who best exemplify your dealership’s core values. This will reinforce the importance of living your core values.
Empowerment and Inclusion
Employees want to feel secure, accepted and valued, no matter their background. To promote empowerment and inclusion, hire candidates from outside of the auto industry and reject pre-conceived notions about how a candidate may or may not perform. Pay attention to a candidate’s character and enthusiasm, which are more important than skills. As they say, skills can be taught.
If you want to improve your customer experience, start by improving your employee experience. It takes a thoughtful, intentional strategy as well as a commitment. But the payoff is worth it. Not only will your customer experience improve, but you will be able to attract, hire and retain better talent.
Jeremiah Shelton is VP of training and development at APCO Holdings, home of the EasyCare and GWC Warranty brands. Shelton oversees the creation and implementation of dealership training programs.
