Another Reason to Take Employee Retention Seriously
Friday, October 10th, 2008I noticed recent Discussion Board postings about whether to brand your dealership or yourself. It is an interesting discussion, particularly in our industry with the estimated employee turnover of 40%. I started thinking about how this issue relates to improving dealership employee attrition. And I think in most cases both the dealership and the individual should be branded, and this includes all departments that are customer facing. Your customers should have an attachment to your dealership, and this means an attachment to your employees because they are a part of the dealership. If they don’t feel apart of the dealership, you’re not managing well: either you’re not creating a culture of inclusion or you hired the wrong person. Customers (in most industries and especially ours) notice when their key contacts leave. Vehicle purchases and even parts and service can involve a lot of money, and a lot of emotion. When consumers develop trust with dealership personnel, they can be incredibly loyal and make referrals. It’s one of the best ways we have to generate more business. And you can easily lose that business when employees leave. Yet another reason to focus attention on retaining your good employees …