Derrick Woolfson’s recent conversation starter on paid time off in dealerships is an intriguing discussion that as dealers, we should be talking about more.  We should be doing this so we can pull ideas from each other in an attempt to make our operations and culture even stronger.

Here is what we do at Woodworth Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Ltd.

• We’ve established a culture where holidays are rarely discussed in terms of our team members wanting to take more time off
• We are extremely flexible with our team having to leave early for their kids sporting activities or other personal events that they are wanting to attend
• We don’t track or monitor the hours that they leave early which leads to them respecting us more and inherently drives their productivity
• We cover for each other which enhances our personal relationships within the dealership
• Because we’ve established trust with our clientele, they are flexible with us when it comes to scheduling deliveries or test drives.  And we aren’t the least bit concerned about them shopping elsewhere if we have to put the delivery off a day because our Financial Services Manager had to leave early to go coach his girls baseball team
• We’ve never had an argument or made a big deal about our team members needing time off, it’s always paid either through their holidays or through us covering for them
• Our commissioned team members don’t have set schedules, they can come and go as they please.  What’s ironic is that they typically end up willingly working more with this structure
• We don’t have our salary only (about 10% of our team) team members punch in or out to track time
• If our team needs a day off for a legitimate reason, we don’t deduct their pay or take it off their holidays.  They get paid for it either way
• We’re intentionally understaffed.  We have 17 team members (18 if you include me but I live 1,000 miles from the dealership) and sell a little over 400 retail units per year, plus additional sales for Wholesale, Fleet, and Auction. This creates a culture where we are able to build stronger teamwork.  When we see that someone is overwhelmed, a team member steps in and helps them out.  If we were overstaffed, as many dealers are and as we have been in the past, it creates a situation where we are less productive because it’s too easy to visit and slack off

It’s funny, when you trust your team, they return the treatment through their productivity.  When our team is at the dealership for 8 hours, they are productive for 7 of them (factor in lunch and breaks).  When I was at the other dealership for the first part of my career, it was stressful to ask for a day off.  And if I did want one, I had to explain why I was taking it off.  They didn’t factor in the hours I put in on Saturday’s at all.  It was like it didn’t even matter that I worked 60 hours last week.

To further validate this works, we increased our retail sales volume 61% from 2013-2016 and have since sustained it.  I’d argue with any dealer that we have one of the largest Profit Per Employee numbers in the country.  And because of the trust and reputation we’ve earned over the years with our clientele, we’re able to keep our Client Acquisition Cost under $250 when the NADA average is $600.

We’re that small town dealership that clients drive out of their way to do business with and people want to work for.  But with that, comes a tremendous amount of responsibility, discipline and consistency. It's my responsibility as a leader and owner to have our team work in an environment that they don't need to escape from.

We’re a bit unconventional with our operations, but is that such a bad thing? Keep in mind that we have the luxury of being a smaller dealer and because I’m an open-minded owner, we can test and experiment as much as we like.  What I’ve mentioned in this post is a result of trial and error, as is everything that I talk about.

Create a culture where your team members don’t live for vacations and you’ll find more success!