Highlights from the 2018 NADA Show
Most people travel to Las Vegas to get away from the rules. But last month, I went there to geek out about them.
I’m referring, of course, to the 2018 National Automobile Dealers Association Show. In my lead-up blog post to this year’s NADA event, I admitted that on a scale from 1 to excited, I was at a 12.5. Turns out I had set my expectations low. So many fantastic things happened at the show, and there was tons to be excited about—even if you’re not exactly a workforce compliance enthusiast. Maybe even especially if you’d rather not spend your time thinking about compliance.
Here were a few of the highlights:
We Announced Our Partnership with Hireology
First, some big news from us: Hireology, an applicant tracking system platform designed for automotive dealerships, is now integrated with Compligo! As you might guess from its name, Hireology empowers employers to make smarter decisions during the hiring and onboarding process. The platform gives you everything you need to screen applicants, make certain candidates are qualified, and capture key data about new employees—all while ensuring compliance, minimizing errors and excessive paperwork, and maximizing profitability.
Considering the automotive industry’s high rates of turnover and somewhat turbulent regulatory landscape, Hireology is a must-have for dealers. Your people are ultimately the only facet of your business you have full control over; regulators and manufacturers set the rules for products and facilities, which means workplace culture is a dealership’s defining characteristic. Your culture can be your greatest competitive asset, or your greatest liability. It all depends on who—and how—you hire.
The integration between Hireology and Compligo allows dealerships to craft the culture they want to create, set the tone for their organization, and hire people across the board who share the same values. I hate to use the term, but it’s an honest-to-goodness example of great synergy: Why use different workforce solutions pre- and post-hire? With this new integration, you can seamlessly track learning and compliance throughout an employee’s lifecycle, improving employee retention and productivity while reducing risk.
The Conversation Around Inclusion and Workplace Harassment Continues to Evolve
Hiring was a major topic at NADA this year, and not just in terms of hiring software.
One of the most exciting meetings I attended at the show was with Women In Automotive. Founded by six women at the forefront of the automotive industry, Women In Auto is dedicated to helping the industry recruit, retain, and develop female employees and leaders. The conversation I had with the group was candid and enlivening.
We discussed why Women In Auto needs to exist: women currently make up less than 20% of all employees in the industry, despite the fact that they submit more than 40% of all resumes. (Meanwhile, women make 85% of purchasing decisions.) It’s debatable whether this is primarily due to the ingrained, stereotypical profile of an automotive employee (hint: he’s a “he”) or is a result of dealerships attempting to reduce their risk of a sexual harassment claim by not hiring those who tend to experience harassment in the first place. Regardless, women remain underrepresented in the auto industry, and I am glad to have the opportunity to be part of the movement recognizing these issues and helping dealerships move forward.
The Best Part: Hearing from All of You
Speaking of great conversations, no expo would be nearly as rewarding or, dare I say, fun, without the chance to connect with our customers.
When I first joined Compli, we had just launched a new platform, we had less than 100 clients, and our F&I content hadn’t been updated in years. These days, I’m proud to say that we’ve become a market leader in all things human capital compliance. That’s not just marketing speak—it’s what you’ve told us.
By the same token, Compligo wouldn’t be what it is without you. Our platform is a product of the feedback we’ve received from customers over the years, and it’s reaffirming to hear from users who appreciate seeing their ideas put into action. I spoke with numerous people who use our platform every day, as well as some who haven’t checked it out in while, about the ways in which Compligo meets specific dealership compliance needs, and how we can serve our customers even better in the near future. We’re always working on giving dealers more tools to manage their ethics and compliance initiatives without increasing payroll spend or diverting resources away from their most valuable departments and employees.
Basically, our job is to take care of compliance so you can focus on what really matters: building your business. And I think that’s something we can all be excited about.
