If there’s one thing we learned from our automotive customers this past year, it’s this: employing product specialists vastly improves customer experience and loyalty, as well as lowers dealership employee turnover.

More and more dealerships are beginning to adopt this sales model. Why? The traditional “road to the sale” approach isn’t working anymore. Customers are more educated on the vehicles they’re shopping for and therefore don’t want a sales pitch when they come to the dealership. Instead, they prefer to utilize their own research to help speed up the buying process—purchasing their preferred vehicle quickly.

The transition from the traditional entry-level sales position to product specialists allowed our customers to thrust life into their stores. When executed the right way, employing product specialists is a win-win for everyone. The dealership develops their customer satisfaction. The new employee gains an appealing job with a clear career path. And the customers receive better service that motivates them to deliver more referrals to the dealership.

If your dealership has yet to switch over to the product specialist model for your sales team, here are the five benefits you may want to consider:

The 5 Pros

1) Increase Customer Service & Loyalty—The product specialist position allows the customer to shop at their own pace and still have access to additional information, such as vehicle technology or anything else he or she might want to know. This lets the customer build a healthy relationship with the specialists, since they don’t feel like a sale is being shoved in their faces. Plus, when happy customers leave the lot in their new cars, they’re more prone to refer your dealership to their friends and family.

2) Attract Millennial Talent—Now the largest chunk of the US workforce, millennials are ideal for product specialist positions. According to a recent industry article, the pay plan for product specialist positions attracts Gen Y job seekers: “The pay structure (for product specialists) also helps the dealership attract recent college graduates to its sales team, which it rarely did before its new structure.” Also, due to the ever-changing technology in new vehicles, millennials are easily able to adapt and become educated on these advanced vehicles.

3) Develop Sales Team—As the traditional sales model continues to become outdated, more dealerships are going to have to somehow mend the demand of a new sales approach from today’s customers. Under the product specialist model, here’s the basic hierarchy of the sales team according to Automotive News: the specialist works under a team lead or sales manager, who then takes the “handoff” as soon as a customer makes a decision on what car they want to buy. This model is not only proven to work, but also attracts more talent. Today’s job seekers aren’t looking for an entry-level sales position at dealerships. However, a product specialist position that offers an annual salary and a well-defined career path is something any recent college grad can gravitate towards. Overall, this model gets better talent into your dealership, developing your sales team.

4) Lower Turnover—Michael Marlin, Director of Training at Ray Skillman Auto Group, can attest to how employing product specialists helps lower turnover. As Automotive News reported:

It certainly helped improve Skillman's employee turnover rates in the sales department, one of the most vexing personnel problems in automotive retail. The average turnover at U.S. dealerships among salespeople was 72 percent, according to a 2015 National Automobile Dealers Association study. At Skillman, sales turnover is less than 20 percent, Marlin said, down from more than 50 percent before the new model was adopted.

5) Boost Sales—Customers have an appetite for the changing sales culture that’s striking the auto industry. As technology continues to advance and become adopted at dealerships, customers are going to be drawn towards any tech that can help improve their customer experience. This includes a faster turnaround time—from the time the customers enter the lot to when they purchase the vehicle. By employing product specialists, customers save time by talking directly with the sales manager when they’re ready to make a purchase (cutting out the middleman and wasted time). Therefore, by boosting customer service, you also hike up your sales.

These benefits are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to employing product specialists are your dealership. To get more insight on transitioning to product specialists at your dealership, click here.

Do you consider yourself to have a good eye for recognizing talent?

Regardless of whether you said yes or no, it doesn’t really matter when it comes to dealership hiring. If you’re making a hiring decision based off of your ‘good eye’ or ‘gut feeling,’ then you’re doing it the wrong way.

Finding your next great employee is typically the end game of the hiring process for any position. Yet before you can get to that point, you have to know what to look for—and it takes more than just physically judging a candidate by his or her appearance (just because someone wears a fancy suit and is well spoken doesn’t mean he or she is going to be the right fit for the job).

Check for these four essentials...

There are four elements most qualified candidates will all possess and show during the interview process. Sometimes it takes a few conversations or talking to several of the candidate’s references, but if the job candidate shows all four of the following elements, then you should strongly consider hiring that person.

1.)  The Right Attitude—this may vary depending on what position you’re hiring for since all jobs require a specific attitude to succeed at some level. Nevertheless, there are several, general attitudes that will work well for anyone in any position, such as positivity, respect, dedication, etc. You know what this position entails, so you’ll know the right attitude when you see and/or hear it.

2.)  Sense of Accountability—no one wants an employee who points fingers every time the (you know what) hits the fan. A job candidate who has a great sense of accountability will take your business far. Be sure to ask candidates to tell you of a time in the past when he or she took accountability during a difficult time and then resolved the issue.

3.)  Past-Related Job Success—all you have to do is ask! Resumes can tell you a decent amount about candidates, but it’s better to ask and get more details. Simply hearing a candidate explain his or her success can also give you a better sense of what that person is really like, as well as how he or she might be able to perform in the future.

4.)  Culture Fit—it shouldn't matter how smart or talented a person is: if that person is a real jerk, then no one will want to work with them. Culture fit is vital to how your dealership business runs on a daily basis. Not everyone has to be best friends, but work will almost always be more enjoyable if everyone respects one another. There are ways to check and see if someone’s personality is the right culture for your dealership, like a DiSC assessment test.

These are just four essential elements that ideal candidates possess. To hear more expert hiring advice, tune into our webinar by registering here.

Do you enjoy a long game of phone tag or relish trying to track someone down after hours of time-consuming effort? If so, ignore this blog; but if you’re like the rest of, let’s say—the majority of people inhabiting this earth, then continue reading.

The hiring process can be lengthy in itself. There are numerous steps dealership hiring managers must take before they can actually hire a candidate. Nevertheless, there’s one step of the process that can take the longest and therefore cause headaches: performing reference checks. 

Why is this and what can be done to expedite this part of the hiring process?

First of all, the traditional way of checking references is outdated, yet is still used by majority of companies worldwide. Hiring managers continue to get the bulk of work when it comes to contacting and verifying candidates’ references, and this shouldn’t be the case. Why should the manager have to track down numerous references when they do not know any of them?

(If I have to contact a stranger on LinkedIn, I usually see if someone in my network knows that person. That way I know I’m more likely to get a response from the stranger if my contact can give me a proper introduction via email. And if not, then I just look like a creep on LinkedIn; no big deal)

Secondly, in order to save time and avoid unwanted problems, hiring managers should be requiring their candidates to contact their references and be responsible for making sure they are completed. How can you make this happen? Follow the quick guideline below to renovate the way you conduct your reference checking:

The Go-to Reference Checklist

1. Request 3 to 5 references from a candidate. Make sure at least two of the references are the candidate’s former managers and that all of them are non-related to the candidate. This ensures that you’re getting more honest opinions and reviews about the candidate.
2. Make the candidate schedule the reference check meetings for you. Have your candidate reach out to his or her references to set up a time for you to call them and time for them to complete any questionnaires you might have for them. Your candidate knows the references way better than you do, so he or she has a much better chance of scheduling a phone call at a time you can actually connect with them.
3. Create a reference check questions guide. The only real effort you should be making during this phase of the interview process is conducting phone calls to the references and developing an initial questionnaire for them to fill out. Think about what you want to know about the candidate that you couldn’t figure out during your interviews with him or her. Ask questions that dive into discovering the candidate’s work habits, ethic, skills, culture fit, etc.
4. Make the candidate give references at least a 24-hour notice. If the candidate gives his or her references a notice that you’ll be contacting them in advance, you’ll have a much better chance of connecting with them when you call. This also gives the references time to prepare so that they can give you appropriate feedback about your candidate.
5. Try automated reference checking technology. Using this kind of automated process (much like the aforementioned one listed) holds the candidate responsible for collecting feedback from their references, which is sent directly to you, and never viewed by the candidate. It also allows you to receive timely and honest responses about the candidate’s past job performances to help predict his or her future work performance.

Why take the stairs when you can take the elevator? (I know, there are probably many health-related responses to this question, but I think you get the point here). Giving your dealership candidates more responsibility when performing reference checks is not only easier for you, but it also shows just how reliable your candidates can be. 

There has been an abundant amount of buzz surrounding millennials the past several years. The media keeps releasing articles and reports, telling us all about this young and ever growing piece of the workforce. Granted, this is essential information if you’re hiring millennials. But what about after you make the hire? What do managers need to know about retaining their fledgling talent? 

Before I dive into some tips of managing millennial workers, lets take a look at what most of us might already know about Generation Y:

• Culture is key. Millennials prefer a workplace that’s open, laid-back and operates with a flexible schedule.
• They’re looking for purpose. They want their work to mean something. Therefore, things like money and perks aren’t as important.
• Millennials prefer a 40-hour workweek. Life outside the office takes priority over ‘climbing up the ladder.’
• Gen Y favors a salary over commission. Having some form of stability is significant for them. Plus, it encourages comradery.
• They see themselves as individuals, but prefer to work in a team environment.
• Recognition is big with this generation. Encouragement is key, rather than giving orders or managing directly upfront.
• And of course, millennials prefer a casual dress code, but who doesn’t?

These are just several insights into the millennial workforce, but as I previously mentioned: how do we manage millennials after we hire them? To ensure that you can get the best work from your young employees and avoid turnover, I’ll share some advice I recently read from an article in Franchise Times, by Kimberly Savilonis. As Senior VP of Franchise Research for GE Capital, Savilonis mentions these 10 great tips for managing the “mighty millennials:”

1. Clearly communicate expectations—the earlier the better.
2. Be real. Provide accurate and ongoing feedback on their performance and their potential.
3. Demonstrate realistic career paths so they understand what’s possible.
4. Provide transparent information on pay practices. Share data to prove your points.
5. Explain why an individual role is important. If possible, tie the job or skill to an employee’s long-term career goals.
6. Offer flexible hours, if possible.
7. Focus on results rather than face time.
8. Treat millennials like adults despite generational differences.
9. Ask their opinions and respect their contributions. They can bring new ideas to the business so be open to learning from them as well.
10. Remember what it’s like to be young.

Take these tips into consideration while onboarding the next millennial hires at your dealership. Having someone to look to as a mentor or for leadership will go a long way for your younger employees. Like any other young professional in time, they want to succeed!

We’ve all heard this before: If you really want something, you have to be willing to work for it. Not everyone takes this old saying to heart, but for those who do, you’ll always notice. If you’re a hiring manager, then you know that the same can be said while looking at resumes.  

If an applicant really wants to get a job, then he or she is going to do the research and put in the appropriate time to compile a good resume—one that speaks to the hiring manager and highlights his or her work experience, as well as personality. However, this doesn’t always happen. (I know I’ve given minimal effort while drafting my resume before!) But like I said, you can tell when someone’s giving his or her best effort.

So, how can you tell?

To better understand what to look for in a resume at your dealership, I talked to Hireology’s Director of Talent, Melissa Ely. I asked her what were some warning signs, as well as positive signs, to spot on resumes. Here’s what Melissa had to say: 

Red Flags 

1.) Gaps in employment - gaps in employment can mean someone was either let go, or left a role without another position lined up.  Both are red flags.

2.) Several short-term (less than one year) jobs listed on a resume raise the red flag of job stability, and make me question if the candidate is a job hopper. 

3.) Lack of specificity with job responsibilities - more than anything this shows that little time or thought went into creating your resume. A great resume is tailored to the role you are applying for, with specific examples of success in a similar capacity. 

4.) Not including dates of employment - this makes me question if you are trying to hide something. 

5.) Too much information - a resume should be well formatted, easy to follow and easy to scan.  It should tell the story of your background, but not in a narrative form.  Resumes that you can easily follow and pull out the information you need definitely stand out in a positive way.  

6.) Spelling and grammatical errors - most positions require someone that is detail oriented and making spelling/grammatical errors show a lack thereof attention to detail.  

7.) Anything over a 2 page resume - my opinion is that 1 page resumes are a thing of the past; sometimes you need 2 pages to tell your story—but anything over 2 pages is overkill. 

Things That Stand Out

8.) Formatting - a resume should be clean and polished, and this definitely stands out when looking through resumes.  It shows that time and attention to detail went into putting your resume together.

9.) ROI statements - I love to see how a candidate has provided a strong ROI in former roles by listing out solid examples of accomplishments. 

10.) A strong cover letter - I also love a cover letter that is specific to why they want to work at Hireology and shows they've done their research.  It also is really helpful to explain why they are looking to make a career change, relocate, etc.   

11.) For new graduates, it is great to see what extracurricular activities they were involved with during their college years.  A lot of times this can provide real, hands-on experience that results in transferrable skills. 

12.) Highlight Relevancy - a resume that is tailored to show examples of previous, relevant experience shows how you will make an impact in a similar role. 

Do you know how to spot fraud on a resume? Check out this eBook to get the inside scoop on spotting red flags on resumes. 

Whether you’re a dealership hiring manager or a professional athlete, the competitive advantage is important. Having an edge to your own personal performance is a powerful thing—one that’s usually recognizable as well. If you’re on a roll, hiring multiple rock star employees or averaging a .350+ batting average, people are going to notice. 

Good things happen when you’re “crushin’ it,” but how do we get to that point?

{Enter steroid reference here}

There are numerous ways to gain a competitive advantage, but if you’re a hiring manager looking for that edge, HR tech might be the easiest way to do so. If you haven’t yet discovered the advantages of algorithm-backed surveys and interview scorecards, then you’re missing out.

What You Should Know…

HR tech is being used by more hiring managers every year and for the ones using it, there’s been a positive response on performance. Software Advice, an HR and recruiting technology research firm, recently published a report on key performance indicators (KPIs) with HR analytics software. Here’s what they found:

• More HR analytics software users than non-users are performing “good” or “very good” on common KPIs

• 86% of software users reported “good” or “very good” performance on the time to hire KPI, compared to only 58% of non-software users

• 92% of software users reported “good” or “very good” performance on lowering cost-per-hire

Competition is out there. How you decided to set yourself and your business apart from competitors is entirely up to you on the hiring end. Wouldn’t you like to know more about whom you’re hiring, whether or not a candidate is the right culture fit or if a candidate is turnover prone? These are only a fraction of the benefits managers receive from this kind of analytical software; so why not implement HR tech into your dealership hiring process?

Want to hear something crazy? 103 years ago the Titanic sank. Want to hear something even crazier and completely irrelevant to the first question? Most people do not know how to conduct a proper interview, yet alone a phone interview.

Meeting someone face-to-face allows for natural interaction and initial conversation. On the other hand, meeting someone over the phone calls for a bit of effort from the caller (in this case, the hiring manager) to get the conversation going. Therefore, it’s essential to have a guideline or some format to follow when writing up phone interview questions; otherwise the interview is bound to fall apart and lose its purpose.

6 Tips for Phone Interview Questions 

1.)  MAKE A SCRIPT—Following the same script for every interview helps avoid bias and inconsistency. You want to make sure every candidate has the same opportunity to a fair interview process; this means asking everyone the same basic questions. Plus, this helps you stay on track and keep the interview flowing within your respective time limit.

2.)  INTRODUCTION—This means more than just a simple, “Hey, how’s it going?” Introduce yourself, your background and your company first. Then give your candidates an overview of how the interview will flow so they know what to expect. Make sure they understand your interview process. This will help ensure a smooth transition to the next stage of the process, like a face-to-face interview or polite rejection.

3.)  CAREER PLAN—Ask the candidates about their career plans, goals and dreams. This helps you gain a better understanding of what their overall objectives are and whether or not they’ll be an immediate fit for the job. This also helps you save time and make the decision of whether or not to go on with the rest of the phone interview...and as they say, "time is money!"

4.)  INVESTIGATE SKILLSETS—Ask what the candidates are good at and what they do not like doing when it comes to work. Knowing their areas of expertise and lack thereof helps you recognize what you can expect from the candidates. Are they the right culture fit? Can they complete the work that will be asked of them? Will they go above and beyond the type of work that’s needed to be an all-star employee?

5.)  JOB HISTORY—While conducting reference checks isn’t needed until later on in the interview process, it’s still good to ask about the candidates’ work history. This is another way to investigate their skillsets, experiences and personalities. There’s plenty to learn from hearing about a candidate’s prior job.

6.)  DESCRIBE THE WORK—After you fully explain the major details about your open position, ask the candidates if this is the type of job they can see themselves enjoying. It’s one thing to hire an experienced candidate, but if that same person is not going to truly enjoy the work, then it’s probably best that he or she tells you now rather than later. Let’s be honest, no one wants ‘dud’ or a ‘negative Nancy’ as a coworker.

Always end your phone interview by informing your candidates of the next steps of your interview process. It’s unprofessional to leave a candidate hanging and uninformed. Plus, it just looks bad on your part and nobody wants to do business with a lazy manager.

Formatting your phone interview questions with these six steps helps not only you, but also the candidates during the process. There’s so much more to gain from a phone interview if you ask the right questions and listen for the right answers—and that goes for both the interviewer and candidate. Set the interview up for success and you’re bound to find a diamond in the rough sooner or later.

Turnover is annoying. It’s like a carpet stain that won’t go away. No matter how many different cleaners and pricey chemicals you use, it never fully goes away. While it’s nearly impossible to get rid of employee turnover, there are ways to lessen the amount of employees that leave your company. The most promising way to do so is by improving how you retain your staff at your dealership.

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article that covered research on why employees might leave their company. In the article, the author mentions the importance of retaining employees due to the cost of turnover, saying:

“As the employment picture improves, companies are focusing more on retaining workers, largely because replacing them is costly. The median cost of turnover for most jobs is about 21% of an employee’s annual salary, according to the Center for American Progress, a liberal-leaning think tank. And it can cost, on average, some $3,341 to hire a new employee, according to the society of Human Resource Management.”

Money is both the issue and answer here. Think of your employees as an investment. The better you take care of that investment, the more likely you are to see it grow and flourish into something better.

4 Easy Ways to Increase Retention

1.)  Reevaluating Your Leadership—who do you consider the true, core members of your management team? Are they doing what it takes to teach, motivate and personally mentor your employees? Make sure your leaders are actually leading. Transparency and accessibility are important characteristics of a manager and are both something employees not only appreciate, but recognize as well. The stronger your work relationship is with an employee, the more likely he or she is going to continue to work at your company.

2.)  Testing & Pre-screening—before you finish your interviews, don’t forget to dive into who your candidates really are. The more you know about them, the better chance you’ll have at hiring the right person for the job. Two simple ways to do this is by conducting phone screens before face-to-face interviews and by using scorecards to test your candidates’ performances during the interviews.

3.)  Training—this a key step for retaining your employees. Develop your employees’ skillsets by offering position specific courses or sessions in your office. Most employees prefer a career path that allows them to develop their skills and become overall, better professionals. 

4.)  Culture—in order to truly win over the hearts of your employees, you have to provide an enjoyable workplace environment. There are countless ways to do this, but the key to building a successful office culture is making sure it’s unique to you, your employees and your brand.

Turnover might be an upstream battle for some businesses, but the smart ones are the companies that know how to work with what they have. Investing in your employees with personal interest is the greatest way to be certain you’re working with those who’ll stick around for the long run. So make sure you take care of your investments!

Around this time of year, every year, I am filled with mixed emotions. If the famous comedy and tragedy masks got together and had 20 little children masks, that family of emotions would properly represent how I feel during March Madness.

With that being said, I still try to take every tournament with a grain of salt and enjoy it for what it is—the most exciting tournament in all of sports. (Yup, that’s how I feel about it soccer and cricket fans) 

The one thing that amazes me every year is the fact that some schools can have continuous success year after year. Even if you're not making it to the Final Four every so often, simply getting into the tournament and getting a win or two is an accomplishment in itself! It’s not easy to see the plural side of WIN in the NCAA tournament. Nevertheless, for some schools and their coaches, they make it look easy.

There are specifically three coaches who’ve seen the most success in the NCAA tournament over the years, reaching the Final Four numerous times. In order to achieve this level of success in any sport, a team must have an exceptional leader with the kind of leadership skills that are applicable both on and off the court. 

The same leadership skills are needed for managing employees, especially the millennials at your dealership. While they might be the youngest of your employees, they still make up a solid percentage of the workforce and are an impressionable group that can excel under the right leaders. Therefore, it’s crucial to make sure your leadership skills are up to speed so you can always relate to your younger employees and help them thrive at your dealership.

In honor of March Madness, below are quotes from three coaching legends who have the most Final Four appearances by any Division 1 coach in NCAA men’s basketball history. Keep these words of wisdom in mind when leading your millennial employees…these gentlemen knew and know what they’re talking about!

Quotes from John Wooden:

{UCLA head coach from 1948-1975}

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

"Winning takes talent; to repeat takes character."

"A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment."

"I'd rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent."

"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes."

Quotes from Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski:

{Duke head coach from 1980-present}

“Everybody wants to take responsibility when you win, but when you fail, all these fingers are pointing.”

“A basketball team is like the five fingers on your hand. If you can get them all together, you have a fist. That's how I want you to play.” 

“Leadership is an ever-evolving position.” 

“I think you're not a human being unless you have doubts and fears.”

“Imagination has a great deal to do with winning.”

Quotes from Dean Smith:

{UNC head coach from 1961-1997} 

"What to do with a mistake - recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it."

"A lion never roars after a kill."

"The most important thing in good leadership is truly caring. The best leaders in any profession care about the people they lead, and the people who are being led know when the caring is genuine and when it's faked or not there at all."

"Good people are happy when something good happens to someone else."

"A leader's job is to develop committed followers. Bad leaders destroy their followers' sense of commitment."

Most of us know the old saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It’s one that makes sense and can be applied to many things in life. But does anyone ever apply this saying during self-reflection? I guess not since it’s grammatically incorrect and it just sounds weird. Nevertheless, if you’re running a business it is important to reflect on your leadership skills and how it may be affecting your company; especially the office culture and employees. 

We all know that no one’s perfect and if you’re self-aware, you know that there’s always room for improvement. As a business manager, improving your own leadership skills helps develop company culture and therefore, inspires your employees to work hard and actually care about the work they do.

But before you can improve your dealership environment and the work conducted within it, you first have to get rid the bad habits or behaviors that may be having a negative effect on your business. Below are five ways you can do just that:

Leadership Habits You Must Avoid

1. Meddling With Employees Ideas—Just because you’re a manager or hold a leadership position within a company, it doesn’t mean you must be involved in EVERY little detail within the office. This is especially true during brainstorming sessions or when collaborating with employees on new projects. Interference during the creative process, as a manager, limits the creative potential of your employees. (It’s like having your parents try to hang out with you and your friends…as a teenager)
2. Ignoring Others In The Office—Listening skills are vital to creating a successful office environment. Whether or not your ignorance is intentional, listening to what your employees have to say and putting forth an effort to connect with them on some level goes a long way. It helps build teamwork and a culture of transparency.
3. Disregarding Core Values & Goals—There’s a good reason why companies have mission statements, values and ambitions; without them business direction is lost. Leaders must stay true to their core values and goals in order to move their businesses forward. This means having the will to let go of an all-star employee if he or she doesn’t believe in or goes against your business values. Follow your principles and you’re bound to build a workplace culture that thrives. Plus, this might help you avoid being known as a hypocrite amongst your employees as well!
4.  Not Giving Credit When/Where It’s Due—This is a habit all leaders must avoid if they care to promote culture, creativity and overall motivation. Even when there’s a small accomplishment, such as finishing a project done well, give credit to that person and make it public in the office. People appreciate when they’re credited for hard work and it helps push other employees to work harder as well.
5. Rushing The Hiring Process—It’s nearly impossible to build a suitable culture in your office if you don’t employ the right people. Hiring someone just to fill an open position is a big mistake and one that can lead to turnover. Make sure you have a hiring process that accurately evaluates job candidates and scores their abilities. Not only does this help fill your office will employees best fit for your office culture, but it also helps make the company parties MUCH more fun and tolerable.

Be sure to evaluate your own leadership skills before trying to make changes at your dealership, because the problem might begin with you. If you think about it, Ice Cube was right when he said, “You better check yo self before you wreck yo self!”