Digital Dealer - September 2017 - 16

DEALERSHIP MANAGEMENT

Continued from pg. 14

good news and having an
open discussion regarding
the importance.
Warmest Regards,
Chuck
Are YOU in touch with
your associates? With associate turnover at all-time
high levels, ask yourselves these questions to
enhance communications,
reduce attrition and gain
valuable knowledge ...
	
Do you place a high
importance on being visible in the store as often as
possible? If not, why?
	
As a middle or senior
manager, how visible are
you on a daily/weekly
basis? ("'Being' the sheriff
time"...)
	
Do you and your
management team practice an "open door policy"?
	
How often do you
meet one on one with
associates? Every week,
30 days? 60 days?
	
What do those meetings look like? Questions
you should be asking:
	
Do you feel your job
is important?
	
Do you have the tools
necessary to do what you
do best?
	
Has someone talked
to you about your development in the last 30 days?
	
Do you feel your
opinion counts?
	
Does someone
encourage your development?
	
Has someone recognized you in the last seven
days?
	
Do you feel you have
opportunities to learn and
grow?
	
Do you know what's
expected of you at work?
	
Do you feel your
co-workers are committed
16

SEPTEMBER 2017

to quality?
	
What are some things
you can tell me about
each associate (i.e. wife,
kids names, hobby's)?
	
What does the word
"quality" mean to you as a
manager?
	
What do you do with
the information you gather
from associates? (Address
concerns and celebrate
achievements...)
If you can honestly
answer a majority of these
questions by saying "yes,"
congratulations, you're
one of the few. If you
answered "no," what's
keeping you from starting?
	
Is time management
an issue? Break down
how you spent your 10
hours yesterday. Bet you
had time to invest in your
people.
	
What can you do to
ensure you're more visible
on a weekly basis?
	
Moreover, will you
commit to increasing your
visibility?
	
Will you commit to
creating a structure with
your managers to begin
meeting with associates
on a monthly basis?
Your employees are
your front line and the
heart of your business.
Ensure their opinions
matter and that they have
a platform to interact with
management is paramount to the success of
your organization.
Future topics to dovetail
into this topic to include:
	
Successful hiring
practices - are you asking
the right questions to
recruit top notch quality
candidates?
	
Team performance
and management ac-

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

countability metrics.
Hopefully this article
provides you with a solid
strategy foundation in
the areas of; Inter-Relationship Development,
Planning for Cultural and
Process Change, Disciplined Decision Making,
Leadership, and finally
securing the 'buy-in' from
the management team to
implement them. Much
like skipping some of the
steps of the sale, skipping
any of the aforementioned elements towards
a successful endeavor,
will take you much longer
to accomplish or even
push you to fail altogether.
Yes, I know this is the 'car
business' and some of this
stuff is just plain difficult to
get around to much less
implement with lasting
concrete. My answer to
you is you need to acknowledge that the landscape of the automobile
industry has and continues
to change and if you want
to be a part of the success
stories regarding store
growth and team member
engagement, then you will
just have to do things a
new way.
Corporate America,
with a few exceptions,
has been doing it this way
for quite some time with
remarkable results yet we,
for some unknown reason,
feel this stuff is not for us.
I am here to tell you that
if your current thinking
is taking you towards a
"business as usual" shortcut approach, then be
prepared for BDA (battle
damage assessment)
reports. Shortcuts will
diminish your ROI, destroy
morale and will most likely

provide you with a scornful
attempt to grow the store
and any of your employees.
If people really are your
greatest asset, isn't it time
to look at your development
programs as investments in
your organization's human
capital and not just as an
expense? Anyone can be
competitive with their capitol
(such as advertising) but
investing in the skill sets
of your people develops
a stronger store and is
priceless. The theory of
training, like motherhood
and apple pie, is inherently
a good thing. But, because
short-term priorities or bright
fires always crowd out their
longer-term competitors, it's
typically something we plan
to do better next year - after
all, we've got away with it so
far, so another year won't
hurt! Right? Wrong!
You have to initiate a
valid, purposeful and measurable training/development agenda on a regular
scheduled time frame.
Productivity increases only
occur where, as a result of
quality training and employee engagement, additional
more efficient output can
be achieved with the same
or less level of effort. This
implies that the organization
actually desires more output
and growth. If it doesn't,
then it really doesn't matter,
does it? Look up to all your
employees with respect and
watch them as they grow.
Great possibilities occur
when your team members
become engaged.
CHUCK BARKER is President
& Founder of Impact Marketing
& Consulting Group, located
in Virginia. EMAIL: Chuck@
impactgroupcrm.com
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - September 2017
