Are Your Automotive Dealership's Employees Really Engaged?

I recently had the privilege of teaching our first NCMi class that is totally focused on leadership in automotive dealerships. We began this 1½-day class talking about “employee engagement,” and the general managers attending this session began positively nodding their heads, when I started this discussion with, “Surveys show that…

                1. Less than one in four American workers say they work at their full potential.

                2. One-half say they work only hard enough to hold on to their jobs.

                3. Three in four say they can be significantly more effective on the job.”

Why should this be? We work in one of the most potentially rewarding and technologically advanced industries on the planet. I believe the answer to this dilemma has less to do with the level of potential income and enjoyment and our facilities, technology, and processes, and more to do with the quality of the leadership in our stores. Ask yourself how well you and the other managers in your dealership(s) have tapped into the full potential of your employees. If the answer is “not very much” (and you value accountability), then you may want to examine the leadership style of your management team. The effort to examin. your style and change it could be well worth the effort it will take. Dealerships with high levels of accountability enjoy much higher levels of profitability than those that are not accountable.

Employee engagement (which includes, and is closely related to, accountability) has been studied extensively. An engaged employee is defined by most dealers and GMs as an individual who is committed to and believes in the value of the dealership, feels pride in working for his employer, is accountable for his results, and is motivated to go the extra mile.

In many respects, dealership accountability begins with a state of mind. It is the commitment of the employee to deliver the value expected by his department manager. The manager must create the conditions for accountability and commitment to happen. Barriers to employees being accountable often include the style of leaders, who in many subtle, and not so subtle, ways actually stifle accountable behavior. Lack of accountability can also stem from structural or process issues. These may include lack of formal business planning, failure to communicate goals, little or no follow up, poor hiring decisions, and/or inadequate delegation. Building an accountable dealership takes time and effort; there is no quick fix. But the results can be ground-breaking and sometimes earth-shaking.

Managers must remember that one size does not fit all. Each employee has different needs, interests, and motivations which drive how they work. The sooner the manager understands (or connects with) the employee, the more effective the engagement will be. Everyone knows that motivating employees to perform to their highest potential is important and is the responsibility of the dealership’s leaders. Once managers begin practicing the necessary elements of employee engagement, they will increase the efficiency and productivity of their respective departments.

Remember this well! Employees leave managers, not dealerships! Depending on the quality of the work environment, impacted mostly by the employee’s direct manager, an employee chooses to become engaged, to “quit and leave” or to “quit and stay!” The development of sound people management and leadership skills will help move the employee toward full engagement and discourage “quitting.” Employee engagement provides a distinct competitive advantage for dealerships in today’s automotive retail world.

For additional information on employee engagement, consider attending NCMi’s newest course offering,

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Comment by Bill Gasson on July 19, 2012 at 11:37am

Garry,

That is so true but you only seem to be aware of it ,when someone  remind's you .

Thank you for the reminder

Comment by Jim Mahoney on July 17, 2012 at 5:50pm
Bravo Garry! Those are amazing statistics and, for those of you like me who sat in "the chair", some faces came to mind of those that give less than 100% everyday. I was amazed over my career how many stores I walked into to find out that nobody knew how the store as a whole was doing. Changes being made without an explanation. Today's manager must be able to gather input from employees and either put it into practice or tell them why you didn't. Communication is still king and buy in by employees will go a long way to changing those stats in favor of the store.
Comment by Jim Radogna on July 15, 2012 at 10:46pm
Great post Garry!
Comment by Keith Shetterly on July 15, 2012 at 10:08pm

Garry!!!  What a great article! I tweeted it, too.  AWESOME!

Comment by Pat Kirley on July 15, 2012 at 4:31pm
Agree totally, many managers and gm's actually demotivated. It can be as simple as pointing out the advantages of working at X dealership. Day one at interview they tell you the benefits and that's it. We continually sell to our customers, we need to do it with staff too. It costs nothing but makes a big difference. No more quit and stay staff.
Comment by Steve Lewis on July 13, 2012 at 10:57am

You nailed that one Michal! As an employee I am in 100% agrement with your comment. An employee will work far closer to their full potential if they feel part of the process. Being a "part" of something is what we as human beings thrive on and look for. If you are involved you take the results more personaly.

Comment by Ashley Poag on July 13, 2012 at 10:18am

This statement highlights the fact that you must choose leaders who exhibit the qualities you want to see in every employee “Employees leave managers, not dealerships!”

Comment by Drew Spink on July 13, 2012 at 7:49am

A great article thank you so much for sharing it.

Comment by Michal Lusk on July 12, 2012 at 9:01pm

Great insight, Garry! I think one of the best ways managers can lead to foster the accountability that will drive results is to VALUE employees. Managers who demonstrate that they understand what their employees do and what they bring to the table, and show that it has value, will get greater performance from their employees.

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