Fixed Ops Journal - April 2022 - F22

FIXED OPS JOURNAL
Francisco Mora, right, service manager
of Esserman International Volkswagen
in Doral, Fla., talks with porter
Daniel Pittaluga.
PHOTOS BY MARK ELIAS
OUTSIDE HELP
I
Dealerships fi nd new ways to recruit and retain
porters, resulting in lower costs and better service
MARK ELIAS
foj@autonews.com
n even the best of hiring times, fi nding
porters and dealership hospitality staff
can be a daunting task. And often, a dealership
is more consumed with fi nding
technicians and service advisers, so the
search for porters takes a back seat.
Once porters are hired, they need to be retained
- not an easy feat. Employment agency
Zippia.com estimates that 38 percent of
porters stay at their job for less than one year.
Rather than take the time to post porter jobs,
interview candidates and manage the staff ,
more dealership service departments are
turning those responsibilities over to outside
companies such as Citrin and DealerFlex.
Mark Bailey, service director at Austin Infi niti
in Texas, was one of those who used to
scramble to recruit porters until he realized it
wasn't the best use of his time. Administrative
tasks and supervision of the porters took time
away from his core duties. And then there was
the scheduling.
" If someone was sick, on vacation, left or
was let go, the workload was handled by fewer
people, which caused 'level of service' and
PAGE 22 APRIL 2022
Esserman porters handle car washing, a
process that has improved effi ciency.
overtime issues, " Bailey said.
After crunching some numbers, Bailey decided
in 2019 to turn over the hiring and managing
of the store's porters to Citrin. He says
" outsourcing is much more cost-eff ective,
with a higher level of service off ered to both
our clients and us. "
Citrin, based in Columbus, Ohio, is doing
business in nine markets nationwide.
" We specialize in valets, porters, car washers
and even vehicle delivery services, " said Cody
Blair, Citrin's director of marketing and reAdvice
for managers
Tips to help recruit and retain porters
 Make wages for entry-level workers
competitive with other dealerships
and companies.
 Respond to applicants immediately.
There is competition for these
workers.
 Ensure the onboarding process is
smooth. Discuss career progression
and growth opportunities.
 Give porters a written list of duties
and expectations.
 Designate a leader to oversee the
porter team.
 Offer cross-training to drive labor
effi ciency and provide diversifi cation
of responsibilities to prevent
burnout.
 Require that service department
staff members treat porters with
respect.
 Schedule regular check-ins and
surveys of porters.
Source: Citrin
cruiting.
In many ways, dealership service departments
rely on porters to help things run
smoothly, on time and in an orderly fashion.
Th ey are typically the fi rst person a customer
http://www.Zippia.com
Fixed Ops Journal - April 2022

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