- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) laser focused on protecting employees, families and communities

 - Best practices from FCA plants in China and Italy helping guide North American safety protocols - - More than 57 million square feet of production floor cleaned and disinfected

 - Thorough daily cleaning schedules to be instituted to maintain enhanced levels of cleanliness and disinfection

 - Temperature checks and daily health self-screening required for all employees and visitors

 - Nearly 17,000 workstations analyzed for social distancing with more than 4,700 requiring redesign or modification

 - Staggered start times, increased break and lunch times implemented to increase social distancing

 - Installing thermal imaging cameras as added safety check

 - Masks and safety glasses to be required personal protection equipment

 - New safety protocols and procedures communicated in Return to Work package mailed to nearly 47,000 represented employees in the U.S. and Canada

May 12, 2020 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - As Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) prepares to resume its North American manufacturing operations, the Company has developed and is implementing a comprehensive program of enhanced safety measures to protect employees, their families and the surrounding communities from the spread and transmission of COVID-19 when the plants reopen.

“Above everything else, our top priority has always been to do what is right for our employees,” Mike Manley, FCA CEO, said. “We have worked closely with the unions to establish protocols that will ensure our employees feel safe at work and that every step possible has been taken to protect them.

“We have drawn on our collective global expertise and best practices to rethink our production processes to put in place comprehensive protocols to keep our workforce safe,” Manley said. “There is no question that coming to work will look and feel different. I have now visited several of our Detroit-area facilities, met with our teams and walked the floor. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank all of our colleagues who have done an incredible job putting in place safety protocols to protect our people. Thank you all.”

Since closing its plants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico on March 18, FCA has been working to put in place best practices that have enabled the restart of operations at its facilities in China and Italy. Aligned with World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommendations, these robust protocols, along with the actions employees will be required to take to safeguard themselves and others, were communicated as part of a Return to Work package mailed to nearly 47,000 U.S. and Canadian represented employees. Mexico will share the same information through in-person training.

FCA is implementing layers of protection to combat the spread and transmission of COVID-19. This includes cleaning, disinfecting and social distancing, but most importantly, ensuring the wellness of everyone entering an FCA facility. With that in mind, the Company will require its employees, as well as all visitors, to complete a Daily Health Risk Assessment, which consists of:

• Taking their temperature less than two hours before reporting to work or visiting the site with either a Company-provided temperature strip or personal thermometer
• Completing a self-screening questionnaire and turning it in upon entry

As an added measure of safety, the Company is installing thermal imaging cameras to verify what employees and visitors have self-reported.

Consistent with the direction of governmental agencies, employees will be required to wear Company-provided masks and safety glasses at all times when in the facility. Employees will also be asked to wear gloves and safety glasses when applying or cleaning with disinfectant spray. Visitors and contractors to any FCA facility will be required to provide their own personal protection equipment for entry.

During the production pause, FCA completed a significant number of cleaning and social distancing activities to prepare its facilities for when operations resume. These include:

• Cleaning and Disinfecting:
  • More than 57 million square feet of manufacturing floor space cleaned and disinfected
  • Enhanced cleaning and disinfecting schedules developed for common and high traffic areas, including turnstiles, restrooms, cafeterias, locker rooms and conference rooms
  • 135 hand-held foggers distributed for more efficient cleaning of these areas
  • Provided cleaning supplies at all workstations so surfaces can be cleaned and disinfected
  • Installed more than 2,000 hand sanitizer stations across all facilities
  • Daily audits to be conducted to ensure new standards are followed
• Social Distancing:
  • More than 17,000 workstations analyzed and evaluated for adherence to six-foot social distancing guidelines
  • More than 4,700 job areas and workstations redesigned or protective barriers installed to allow for more social distancing
  • Installed plexiglass partitions and created visual management guides for social distancing in break areas and cafeterias, as well as throughout all buildings
  • Staggered start times and added time to breaks and lunch to minimize large gatherings
  • Suspended meetings of more than eight employees at a time and transitioned to virtual meetings, wherever possible
  • Put new approval protocols in place for facility visitors

Upon the restart of production, FCA is adopting a new level of daily cleaning and disinfecting, in accordance with WHO, CDC and OSHA recommendations, at all manufacturing locations in order to maintain the enhanced levels of cleanliness and sanitation. In addition to increasing the number of times per shift that high-traffic, high-use areas, as well as common touchpoints, are cleaned and disinfected, 10 minutes per shift will be dedicated to cleaning and disinfecting employee workstations.

Signage promoting the themes of health and safety have been posted throughout all facilities to remind employees and visitors of proper protocols related to cleaning, social distancing, required personal protection equipment and handwashing or sanitizing. Employees also will participate in small-group training sessions on the new policies and procedures as part of their first-day activities.

“We have taken a ‘belt and suspenders’ approach to mitigating the spread of this virus by implementing lots of layers of protection,” Scott Garberding, FCA's Global Chief Manufacturing Officer, said. “You are a key part of successfully resuming operations. In this new environment, we all need to take responsibility for our own safety and that of the people around us. An effective start-up will require detailed understanding, teaching, coaching and patience from all of us.”

FCA will continue to monitor and audit conditions at all facilities, as well as the latest information on COVID-19 from federal and state agencies, to implement new safeguards and procedures as needed.
 
FCA
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is a global automaker that designs, engineers, manufactures and sells vehicles in a portfolio of exciting brands, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep®, Lancia, Ram and Maserati. It also sells parts and services under the Mopar name and operates in the components and production systems sectors under the Comau and Teksid brands. FCA employs nearly 200,000 people around the globe. For more details regarding FCA (NYSE: FCAU/ MTA: FCA), please visit www.fcagroup.com.   

I want you to think about Super Mario Brothers for a minute.  If you aren’t old enough to go there, think of your favorite mobile phone game.  The same principles apply, and you can harness these principles to help you improve your employee retention.

How much fun would a game be if you had to beat the “boss” right away?  How long would you continue to play the game if you couldn’t pass the first level easily?  

There is a very methodical approach to game design. They use the first few levels explaining how to play, and you learn as you go. The levels start simple.  It’s just about the fundamentals of gameplay.  Once you master these fundamentals, the levels get progressively more complex, and the rewards get larger.  By developing a game this way, the designers create an experience that is challenging and sticky.  You want to keep playing. It can become a habit.

What does this have to do with career pathing in your dealership? Traditionally, dealership employees start their job and get thrown in the deep end.  “Here is your dealer plate, make me proud.”  This sink or swim mentality creates an experience where it is easy to fail.  It’s the equivalent of starting your game on the boss level. Your dealership career pathing shouldn’t be like Navy Seal BUDS training.

Today, 87% of employees expect a career path. They want to see what the future holds if they perform.  You need to be able to show them.

Begin your career path design by looking at career levels.  Each job role should be broken down to 3 or 4 levels, each with requirements and objectives the employee must master.  These career levels are the key to a career path.

There are three parts to a career level.  Take the time to engineer these parts into your employee development processes. 

The first part is the training requirements. Think phone process or entering a customer into the CRM. Each employee should be able to receive instruction on what it means to be successful in a skill, product knowledge, and process that makes a high-performing employee.  This one is pretty self-explanatory.  You can’t achieve success if you don’t know what to do.  But this is only the first part of a career level.

The second part is developing habits. For example, executing on the phone process or CRM usage.  You learn how to use the CRM in training requirements, you then need to develop a habit to use the CRM religiously.  Success comes from replicating the right steps over and over again. 

The final part is performance quotas.  Your career level needs to have performance quotas that must be achieved in order to advance.  For example, you may have vehicle sales or hours per RO quotas. All of the knowledge or execution in the world doesn’t matter if you aren’t achieving results.   

Build training requirements, habits, and performance quotas into each career level, and these levels make up a career path.  What knowledge, habits, and performance does an employee need to master a job role?  And how can you break these factors down into specific levels that an employee can achieve, or “level up”?

The outcome of successful career pathing is accelerated development and increased retention.  Employees will see success more frequently and actually see how they can progress in your dealership.

The other benefit is a deep bench.  If a finance manager or service advisor quits, you’ll have employees that can take their place.

The time you spend building career levels will pay huge dividends.  Your employees will have more manageable objectives and see exactly what they need to do to progress in your dealership.

• TrueCar Exclusive Military Appreciation Package Includes:
• •  - Up to $2,000 in automaker Military Incentives on select brands and models
•  
• •  - Up to $4,000 in repair and auto deductible reimbursement benefits
• •  
  •  
  •  - Dedicated Military Customer Service Hotline based in the U.S.
• TrueCar Military is available to:
  • Active duty service members of the U.S. armed forces, veterans, military retirees, and their families.
•  
•  
•  
•  
• TrueCar expands partnerships with Team RWB (Red, White & Blue) and DAV (Disabled American Veterans) in support of military initiatives.

SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TrueCar, Inc., the most efficient and transparent online destination to find a car, today launched ‘TrueCar Military,’ a dedicated vehicle purchase program that provides exclusive Military Incentives and benefits, on top of TrueCar’s existing benefits, to those who have served our country’s armed forces and their families. TrueCar Military is an expansion of TrueCar’s work helping the military community find and purchase their vehicles at TrueCar network dealers for over thirteen years via leading military affinity partnership organizations.

Key benefits of TrueCar Military:

• Up to $2,000 in automaker Military Incentives on select brands and models from BMW, MINI, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Ram and Nissan
• Up to $4,000 in repair and auto deductible reimbursement benefits
• Dedicated Military Customer Service Hotline based in the U.S. to answer and resolve customer service inquiries
• Plus all the existing TrueCar benefits which includes over $3,400 average savings off MSRP, helping consumers find all the incentives they qualify for, and getting the actual price for the vehicle they want online

“There is no higher honor than to give back to our nation’s service men and women and their families who have sacrificed so much for our country,” said Mike Darrow, President & CEO of TrueCar. “We have connected millions of members of the military community with our network of Certified Dealers to find their vehicle over the past thirteen years. We’re now devoted to expanding that service to the broader military community and are excited to offer these new benefits and savings to them and their families. We will continue to evolve our offering and tailor our service to best meet their needs.”

TrueCar and its employees developed a passion for the military community from over a decade of serving military members and their families through affinity partnerships with leading banking, insurance and credit union partners. This inspired the creation of DrivenToDrive in 2017, TrueCar’s employee led, corporate giving initiative, that provides retrofitted vehicles to veterans in need. Through DrivenToDrive, TrueCar has partnered with Team RWB and DAV to give away four vehicles retrofitted to veterans in need. Earlier this year, TrueCar also launched a military hiring program in partnership with Shift.org. The program helps place active duty military transitioning into civilian life into paid fellowships and jobs at TrueCar.

TrueCar is also delighted to announce it has expanded its partnership with Team RWB to help raise awareness of TrueCar Military and DrivenToDrive.  TrueCar was a sponsor of Team RWB’s Old Glory Relay in 2017 in connection with DrivenToDrive, and supports their mission of connecting America's veterans to their communities through physical and social activity.

“TrueCar has a long history of servicing and supporting the military, and we’re excited to see them step up again by expanding their military initiatives and supporting our organization,” said Mike Erwin, Executive Director of Team RWB. “Partnerships like this enable us to bring our mission to more communities across the country and introduce veterans to the companies who support and appreciate their sacrifices.”

DAV, which provides a lifetime of support for veterans and their families, has been TrueCar’s DrivenToDrive partner since 2017. DAV will continue its support of this initiative and TrueCar’s broader support of the military community.

“We’re honored to partner with TrueCar to honor the service and sacrifice of all veterans,” said Marc Burgess, DAV’s CEO and National Adjutant. “In addition to the value they provide those who’ve served through their program, we’re grateful for their partnership that supports our service programs while giving back the freedom of driving to those forever changed in uniform.”

TrueCar Military is available to all U.S. active duty service men and women, military retirees, veterans, and their spouses. TrueCar has partnered with ID.me, a leader in secure identity validation that is trusted by over 20MM people and 450 partners including government agencies, healthcare providers and retailers to authenticate military status for program eligibility.

For more information on TrueCar Military, please visit http://www.truecar.com/military

Podium Starter helps qualifying local businesses adapt to the new normal by leveraging a powerful suite of introductory tools at no cost

LEHI, Utah – April 29, 2020 –  Podium, the leading customer messaging platform for local businesses, today announced that Podium Starter is now available to local businesses in the United States. Created as a response to wanting to assist local businesses’ recovery from COVID-19, the free suite of tools is designed to enable local businesses to adapt to the new normal by being able to quickly and easily get a start on texting their customers.

Podium Starter combines the fundamental benefits of its best-in-class suite of messaging tools into a free, basic starter pack for the first time. Designed specifically for local businesses, companies can set up Podium Starter and begin messaging customers in under five minutes through a simple self-service portal. After that, businesses will instantly have the tools to start customer messaging, contact-free mobile payments and webchat using texting and messaging channels that customers use and trust.

“The need for local business isn’t going anywhere, and we understand the immense challenge that these entrepreneurs are facing right now,” said Eric Rea, co-founder and CEO at Podium. “By offering a free introductory version for the first time, we’re aiming to make it possible for every local business to message their customers at a time when they need it most. We’ve already seen some success with our trial run through our text-to-takeout restaurant program in Utah, and we’re excited to see businesses across the country take advantage of our latest offering.”

Podium Starter’s essential tools can help local businesses get a start on building and maintaining contact with their customers and operating via text, including:

●  Staying open despite low foot traffic – Companies can utilize text to do business — sending pictures, answering questions, coordinating and more — without opening their doors.

●  Accepting safe, no-contact payments – Customers can pay without handing a card over, touching a credit card reader or using a pen to sign a receipt.

●  Enabling texts right away – Podium Starter is easy to use and free, and businesses can begin texting customers within minutes of signing up.

"Leaning on Podium's platform to help run our business has really helped us keep going as we had to recently shut down the dine-in portion of our operations," said Sun Choi, an owner of Yummy's, a family-owned Korean barbecue restaurant. "We have continued to stay connected and serve our customers through Podium's new free service, which lets everyone keep a safe distance while still supporting our business."

In just over five years, the Podium platform has been used by half of all smartphone owners in the United States to interact with a local business. Podium now has 45,000 businesses utilizing the platform across the United States, Canada and Australia, ranging from single-location SMBs to large enterprise companies with thousands of physical locations.

To find out more and sign up for Podium Starter, visit podium.com/starter.

About Podium

Podium is a customer messaging platform that enables companies with a local presence to conveniently connect with their customers at critical touchpoints to help them strengthen their business. By conveniently facilitating millions of customer interactions, such as driving customer-generated online reviews and providing improved customer messaging tools, Podium serves more than 45,000 local businesses in the United States, Canada and Australia. Headquartered in Lehi, Utah, and founded in 2014, Podium is currently backed by YC Continuity, Sapphire Ventures, Alkeon Capital, Recruit Co. Ltd., IVP, Accel, Summit Partners and GV. To learn more, visit www.podium.com or contact us at press@podium.com

CARMEL, Ind. (April 24, 2020) – As part of its ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, NextGear Capital, the automotive industry’s largest floor plan provider for independent dealers, announced it’s continuing to support dealers during this crisis by extending the most impactful aspect of its initial dealer relief program.

We heard what truly mattered to our customers and responded by continuing to defer curtailment and extension payments for eligible floorplan advances, for all NextGear Capital dealers in good standing, through May 31, 2020. To put it in perspective, within the first 30 days of NextGear Capital’s original relief package, NextGear Capital deferred more than 160,000 payments, providing assistance to more than16,000 dealers when it was needed most.

“After discussions with our dealers, we decided to continue the relief terms that were the most important, beneficial and meaningful to them and their businesses,” Scott Maybee, president of NextGear Capital, said. “Our hope is that, between the relief package, our incredible staff and the resources we’ve put together online, we can help our dealers make it out on the other side of this unprecedented economic crisis. Sticking together is the only way our industry will get through this still intact, and we want all of our dealers to know we are here to support them however we can.”

In addition, earlier this month, to show NextGear Capital’s commitment to supporting its customers, NextGear Capital advised dealers that the assistance provided in the initial package would be extended to the end of April. 

NextGear Capital also launched a COVID-19 Resource Hub so dealers can easily access important, up to date information in one place. The hub aggregates information from Cox businesses and outside experts like the CDC, providing valuable resources in one spot to help dealers navigate this uncertain time. NextGear Capital will continue to monitor this crisis and is committed to supporting its clients through this time.

###

About NextGear Capital

NextGear Capital is the largest independent inventory finance company in North America, providing flexible lines of credit for auto dealers to buy used vehicles from over 1,000 auto and other vehicle sources throughout North America. With a client base of more than 22,000 dealers, NextGear Capital provides comprehensive services and support enabling dealers to buy and sell more inventory through self-service management tools, title services, records management and collateral protection. Headquartered in Carmel, Ind., NextGear Capital is a Cox Automotive brand. For more information, visit www.nextgearcapital.com.

8 Billion Data Points from More Than 3 Million Vehicles Analyzed, Revealing Correlation

IRVINE, Calif., April 23, 2020—Spireon, the vehicle intelligence company, today revealed an analysis of proprietary consumer driving data that signals a distinct relationship between increased driving that has occurred following stay-at-home orders and increase in COVID-19 cases both at the state and national level. Specifically, Spireon data show that 10-14 days after recent spikes in driving activity, there have been corresponding upticks in the number of reported cases of COVID-19. This timeframe mirrors the incubation period of the virus, with the data serving as another indication that surges in public mobility can lead to an escalation of viral infections.

“As the coronavirus pandemic is sweeping across the nation, claiming the lives of thousands of Americans and causing disruption across industries, analysis of Spireon data shows clearly that having more vehicles on the road has negative implication for the spread of the virus,” stressed Spireon CEO Kevin Weiss. “The correlation between more driving activity and new cases of the virus further substantiates the importance of social distancing. We want these findings to serve as an important public service announcement as we all strategize ways to reopen the economy safely.”

Spireon gathered and analyzed eight billion data points nationwide, studying the driving activity of over three million vehicles starting March 1, to understand the relationship between spikes in driving and growth in the number of COVID-19 cases. Driving activity was measured against baseline reflecting average driving activity before COVID-19.

At the state level, an analysis of 1.1 million vehicles and 2.5 billion data points shows a significant increase in driving occurred immediately following the shelter-in-place orders in states like California and Texas. Subsequently, approximately 10-14 days after the surge in driving, the number of reported COVID-19 cases also rose. The 10-14 day delay in infections matches the duration of the COVID-19 incubation period, as outlined by the World Health Organization. In Florida and Louisiana, spikes in driving during spring break yielded the same result. Nationwide, driving data reveal a significant uptick in driving over Easter weekend, from Friday, April 10 to Sunday, April 12, which is already beginning to reflect an increase of COVID-19 infections this week.

“As the largest aftermarket telematics supplier in the country, Spireon’s data analysis team has unique visibility to a large volume of commercial and consumer driving data,” said Prem Hareesh, senior vice president of software engineering at Spireon. “As COVID-19 has rapidly transformed American life, our team continues to analyze how state and federal order, major holidays and more are causing spikes in driving that leads to increase in viral infections.”

Spireon data also shows that reported COVID-19 cases notably dropped following a 40-50% downturn in driving activity at both the state and national level in late March. These findings support public health guidelines enforced during the pandemic and illustrate the strong causal relationship between mobility and increased infections.

About Spireon

Spireon, the vehicle intelligence company, is the leading provider of aftermarket telematics solutions in North America. By equipping cars, trucks, trailers and other mobile assets with GPS devices and sensors, Spireon turns any vehicle into a connected vehicle. Award-winning products GoldStar, Kahu and FleetLocate deliver 24×7 asset visibility and actionable insights to auto dealers, lenders, transportation companies, service fleet managers, rental car companies and consumers to increase safety and productivity, boost profits and protect assets. Spireon’s NSpire IoT platform powers all Spireon solutions, supporting nearly 4 million active subscribers and processing more than 1 billion data events each month. Learn more at www.spireon.com.

I just got off a call with Greg Gershman of Recruitment HQ, and he's started a good initiative I want to get out there.  He's built a free database where employees can upload their resumes and dealerships can peruse them for potential hiring.  There are a lot of dealership employees that have been layed off or furloughed during COVID-19.  Whether you are one of those employees or dealerships looking for good people, you should check this out.

"Recruitment HQ is proud to partner with DrivingSales to help our extended Automotive Family in this time of crisis," said Greg.  "COVID 19 has ravaged our businesses and communities causing thousands of great dealership employees to be out of work.  We care about the Automotive Industry and the people in it.  Recruitment HQ and DrivingSales want to help those that have been put out of work get connected with Dealers that need to get restaffed to serve their community.  We have built a community board where workers and dealers can connect completely free."

Those interested in uploading resumes can click here.

If you are a dealership looking to shore up your staff you can click this link.

This is not open to vendors or recruiters.  We want to make a portal free of any pitches where employees and dealerships can connect.  

Vehicle Intelligence Innovator Once Again Recognized for Superior Customer Service

IRVINE, Calif., April 20, 2020—Spireon, the vehicle intelligence company, today announced it has been named a winner of the 2020 Excellence in Customer Service Award, presented by Business Intelligence Group. For the second year in a row, Spireon has won under the Organization of the Year category, as the company remains true to its commitment to stellar service and support to its 20,000+ customers.

"2019 marked another outstanding year for Spireon as we strive to deliver meticulous, white-glove customer service and value every single day," said Kevin Weiss, CEO of Spireon. "We have always embraced a customer-first philosophy and winning this award two years in a row is a testament to our ability to continuously provide outstanding customer service."

Through the dedicated work of its customer service team, Spireon earned a Net Promotor Score (NPS) of 76.7 in 2019, greatly exceeding the industry average of 26 for business-to-business technology companies. Spireon credits its high NPS score to comprehensive customer onboarding, diligent interaction with customers by multiple company teams and round-the-clock phone support from three U.S. call centers. On average, customer service calls were answered within 42 seconds in 2019, a 28% improvement from 2018's average of 59 seconds.

"Year after year the role of customer service plays a more important role in all of our lives," said Maria Jimenez, chief operating officer of the Business Intelligence Group. "We are thrilled to be honoring Spireon as they are leading by example and making real progress on improving the daily lives of so many."

Organizations from across the globe submitted their customer service and success strategies and platforms for consideration in the BIG Excellence in Customer Service Awards. Nominations were then judged by a select group of business leaders and executives who volunteer their time and expertise to score submissions. Spireon stood out among its competitors as an industry leader in both customer service and innovation categories with its continued hardware and software releases throughout 2019.

About Spireon
Spireon, the vehicle intelligence company, is the leading provider of aftermarket telematics solutions in North America. By equipping cars, trucks, trailers and other mobile assets with GPS devices and sensors, Spireon turns any vehicle into a connected vehicle. Award-winning products GoldStar, Kahu and FleetLocate deliver 24×7 asset visibility and actionable insights to auto dealers, lenders, transportation companies, service fleet managers, rental car companies and consumers to increase safety and productivity, boost profits and protect assets. Spireon's NSpire IoT platform powers all Spireon solutions, supporting nearly 4 million active subscribers and processing more than 1 billion data events each month. Learn more at www.spireon.com. 

About Business Intelligence Group
The Business Intelligence Group was founded with the mission of recognizing true talent and superior performance in the business world. Unlike other industry award programs, these programs are judged by business executives having experience and knowledge. The organization's proprietary and unique scoring system selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and then rewards those companies whose achievements stand above those of their peers.

Dealerships can create personalized videos for customers directly through
Mastermind’s automotive sales platform

NEW YORK (April 21, 2020) – automotiveMastermind®, part of IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO) and a leading provider of predictive analytics and marketing automation solutions for dealerships and manufacturers, has partnered with Covideo, a video communication solution for businesses, to create a new product feature that further supports dealerships in connecting with and helping customers during coronavirus disruptions and beyond.

Covideo allows users to create personalized, one-to-one videos that can be sent to customers via a variety of platforms. Covideo also provides real-time notifications, engagement metrics and detailed reporting.

The Covideo-powered feature named “Video Messenger” will live directly within Mastermind’s automotive sales platform, Market EyeQ, where dealerships already have access to all publicly available current and prospective customer data in their markets. Sending a personalized video from the same platform where dealerships can access all customer data will make the workflow smoother and more seamless.

“Providing the best support possible to our dealership partners is always our number one priority at Mastermind, but with dealerships’ current hardships, we’re laser-focused on finding innovative solutions to help them drive sales,” said Mastermind Co-Founder and CEO Marco Schnabl. “Video Messenger will help dealership sales teams personalize their communications with consumers, providing immense value and a much-needed human connection. We appreciate the Covideo team for partnering with us to help dealerships support their communities during the coronavirus crisis and beyond.”

Dealer partners who use the Video Messenger feature can have sales reps record personalized videos that are sent directly through the Market EyeQ platform and delivered via email. The recipient will receive a GIF in the email that links to the actual video hosted on an OEM-branded template.

“We’re confident our dealer partners who choose to use Video Messenger in Market EyeQ will see the benefit of how personalized messages will help build trust and loyalty with current and potential customers,” said Mastermind Chief Product Officer Joe Kacala. “Since many dealerships have needed to close their showroom, a perfect use for Video Messenger is to send personalized videos to their customers since car sales are largely relationship based. This will really help dealers stand apart from their competitors during this time. We see immense potential for dealerships to use Video Messenger, and we encourage dealership sales team to embrace video as a creative way to support customers now and once all showroom floors across the country are once again open for business.”

Video Messenger went live on April 21, 2020.

“Now more than ever, it’s critical that businesses are staying connected and communicating with their customers, and Covideo will provide that support to Mastermind’s dealership partners,” said Jason Price, Co-Founder and CEO at Covideo. “Touchless doesn’t have to be human less. One of the best parts of Covideo is it’s very easy to use, so dealership sales teams don’t have to worry about spending a ton of time on training. Integrating videos into their communications process through Market EyeQ will give dealerships a leg up on competitors who aren’t focused on personalized communication now or in the future.”
###

About automotiveMastermind

Founded in 2012, automotiveMastermind, part of IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO), is a leading provider of predictive analytics and marketing automation solutions for the automotive industry. Market EyeQ by Mastermind is the single sales platform to identify, communicate with and close every buyer in a local market. Mastermind is headquartered in New York City and San Francisco. For more information, visit automotivemastermind.com. Based in London, IHS Markit is a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions.

About Covideo

Covideo is a market leader in video messaging, used by thousands of businesses worldwide. Through Covideo, sales and service professionals can record, send and track videos across a variety of channels allowing them to build relationships and convert leads into customers. With an emphasis on personalization and personal connection, Covideo is helping people reimagine business communication. Visit covideo.com for more information.

In this Master Class, you learned about the importance of a performance review for your employees and your organization. We are excited to help you build and implement this process. Remember the old saying, “inspect what you expect.”

To recap, you learned:

 - The leadership cycle: measure, analyze, plan, and implement.

•  - What should you measure to maximize your employee performance

•  - How to build scales and scorecards for all job roles and levels 

This is a bit more complicated to build and implement than other processes. Because of that, you will have eleven days to complete this homework assignment.  Remember to lean on the other members of your class to help you with your homework.

There are things we need you to complete:

 - Complete the Performance Review Scorecard Worksheet for one job role and email it to your Employee Management Expert (our team will load it for you into the HCM platform.) As I have mentioned, this may take some time and you may want to use other members of your leadership team to help you with this project. Take your time and identify what quotas are important to your organization and to the job role. 

 - Complete a performance review with your Employee Management Expert

 - Complete the Performance Review Track on the HCM platform

 - Conduct a meeting with your team explaining the new performance review process and the "why"

 - Set up a performance review schedule for your team (individual appointments)

•  - Comment and interact on The Power of Performance Reviews blog in the community

•  - Participate in the Scorecards and Performance Reviews forum

 - Do not hesitate to reach out to your Employee Management Expert, they would love to help. 

Here are some additional resource downloads to help you complete your scorecards and performance review homework.

Performance Review Scorecard Worksheet 

Scorecard Worksheet Example

Salesperson Quotas and Benchmarks

BDC Salesperson Quotas and Benchmarks

Internet Salesperson Quotas and Benchmarks

Quotas and Benchmarks template

Effective Questions for your Performance Review

The Do's and Don'ts of a Performance Review