Experts Weigh In: Will Dealers Resolve to Change for the Better?

Experts Weigh In: Will Dealers Resolve to Change for the Better?

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From technology to the economy to politics and legislation, the world is moving faster and faster. And while it may not be possible to tell the future with 100% accuracy, we know a few people whose predictions can come pretty darn close.



This week Sandy Zannino, founder of Innovative Auto HR, joins us to help dealers gear up for 2019. Here’s what Sandy sees in her crystal ball:

2019 is on the way!  Will the car business make the proverbial resolution to change for the better—because it’s the right thing to do?  Probably not, but I do believe that our wild and wonderful industry will find itself forced to move toward some changes—changes driven by the environment we find ourselves in as we move toward the new year. 

Culture Shift—I see this as inevitable

Our military, top down, boss vs leader style will have to transform itself in order to compete for and more importantly, RETAIN, talent.  First, we have an employment environment where there are more job openings than there are job seekers.  Second, we have the huge Baby Boomer Generation at long last retiring (some estimate the number at 10,000 per day)—leaving a skilled workforce gap.  This gap that can only be filled by generations of workers whose needs and values are vastly different from our beloved Boomers.  Dealers will have no choice in the end on changing their culture to attract these younger generations of workers.  Some examples of these changes are a reevaluation pay plans & hours worked; exploring cross training and sales teams—this may be a way to continue business as usual without forcing employees to work bell to bell—when they simply will not; creating clear career paths for generations who hunger to know where they can go and how they will get there.   We are going to have to get creative and give the workforce what it wants—if we want to keep them.

Training for HR Compliance & Profit Protection

We spend significant time, energy, and money on sales training with the goal of creating profits—as we should. Anyone in the business knows that profit is King.  However, over the last couple of years there has been significant litigation resulting in big losses of those hard won profits.  This has always been frustrating to me because I find them needless and often ridiculous.  Most silly in my opinion are the simple employment processes that are misunderstood and bungled to the point of costing the dealer a lot of money.  Compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act regarding background checks is a great example!  Simple employment paperwork like the Federal Form I9 is another.  Therefore, I foresee a focus on HR process compliance.  Additionally I believe there will also be a shift in Manager Training.  The #MeToo movement has been going strong since 2017, fueling legislation such as we see in New York with mandatory harassment training.  I believe that in this environment dealers will begin to realize that Managers, often promoted from within, are woefully equipped to protect the profits they work so hard to make.  Part of that protection is understanding the basics of employment laws—I like to call it Alphabet Soup:  FMLA, ADA, ADEA, EEO, OSHA.  I see forward thinking dealers beginning to work toward training their managers—boot camp style—for Profit Protection.

But wait, there’s more! Tune in next week as we share our last prediction from some trusted advisors. 

Perspectives Author

We like to share industry perspectives with our readers – that’s how the Perspectives program was born. Read up on the latest opinions from subject matter experts that can impact your world.

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