While the challenges presented by Covid-19, caused a different sort of turnover, employee turnover at car dealers is persistent and continues at all-time highs. This isn’t a new problem. And it’s not just salespeople. The NADA Workforce Study found that the turnover rate for salespeople is up to 80% and the turnover rate for service advisors is 49%. A quarter of dealers list turnover as a core business struggle[1]. With the waning interest in commission-based careers for younger generations, attracting a youthful workforce is as problematic as retaining an existing one. It is critical that dealership leaders listen to the needs of their staff.
In particular, 1 in 3 dealership leaders aren’t investing in training opportunities for their employees beyond what OEMs provide. Paired with staffing challenges, training is a critical focus area. To make matters worse, 61% of employees don’t believe their dealership is using the latest technology in-store, and 39% of dealership leaders agree that implementing new technology is a top challenge for them.[2]
Our own annual dealer survey reinforced this learning with 51% of millennial respondents indicating that adding technology in the sales process would increase profits. 57% said lack of training is the primary reason for turnover.
Companies need to have smart tech to support their processes and the training needs to be easy. It's a challenge that Matthew Marquardt, of Marquardt of Barrington, understands well and does his best to address within the selection of every potential new tool they use. “Because turnover is high in the industry, we all need to get new employees up and running in as little amount of time as possible.”
MAX Digital offers inventory management and merchandising solutions that fit the bill. Both in terms of ease of use and driving efficiencies in operations. In an industry where personnel move around to different dealerships frequently, the ability to have them use the various tools without needing advanced training is key. Marquardt’s goal is to be able to take a new manager up and running as quickly as possible.
“It’s not difficult for someone new to pick up FirstLook and utilize it properly. And with MAX Ad, auto-populating and pre-programmed with auto approves, you have a description that has the right equipment automatically,” Marquardt said.
For a lot of stores, success comes down to how quickly people can be trained on tools and if they need to be trained at all. The more intuitive the core programs your team uses, the shorter the training times. And maybe more importantly, less frustration for your staff leads to lower turnover. “A big part of profitability and effectiveness in this business is the ease and time associated with getting your staff fully up to speed and contributing to the business.”
“For us, MAX Digital Showroom and FirstLook are simply easy to use. They are self-explanatory and intuitively useful,” continued Marquardt. “Being easy to use means training our people to get up to speed faster. That’s key for our business.”
“With used cars not one is the same as another. Since every single used car is different and nothing is apples to apples, having the best market information, up to date and product detail is key. Being able to put that in your salesperson’s hand makes it easy for our staff.”
“The market analysis is just so easy to use. I can sit with a new manager for a couple of hours and they can do everything that I need them to do. It’s a superior product to all the competitors out there. And it's less expensive and more intuitive than some of the big guys that aren't as good."
Want a little help making it easy for your team? Schedule a demo to learn more about how MAX Digital is helping dealerships like yours get staff up to speed as quickly as possible by delivering smart, intuitive solutions for inventory management, pricing, and digital showrooms.
