A few weeks ago, we published an article titled “Clear Expectations Set the Standard for Dealership Excellence.” In that discussion, I talked mostly about setting expectations. Today I’ll be presenting one of the processes that NCM recommends for managing expectations…the “one-on-one” meeting discipline.  Why should we have one-on-one meetings?  Because every employee needs and deservesto have quality, individual, interactive communication with his or her supervisor on a frequent and regularly-scheduled basis.

Here are the goals for the one-on-one meetings:

• Re-enforce the principles of Accountability Management

• Report and review actual behavior and job performance vs. expectations

• Provide a forum to achieve continuous improvement

• Impart feedback to the employee and vice-versa (receive feedback)

 Here is the recommended meeting frequency:

• Senior managers and department managers - no less than once per month.

• Sales department desk managers - weekly

• Financial services managers – weekly

• Vehicle sales consultants - weekly

• Service advisors (ASMs) - bi-weekly

• Sales team leaders and technician group (team) leaders - weekly

• Service and collision center technicians - no less than once per month

• Parts counter personnel - bi-weekly

• All other dealership employees - no less than once per month

Here’s how to prepare for (and conduct) the one-on-one meeting:

• Review notes from the prior meeting

• Have all the metrics (hard data) on hand that relate to the employee’s behavior and job performance

• Utilize a standard meeting template (or meeting guide)

• Schedule a non-interruptible block of time, and notify the employee at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting (most one-on-ones take no more than 20 minutes)

• Sample open-ended questions for the discussion:

• • “What are you doing well?”

  • “What could you do better?”

  • “What are you going to do differently?”

  • “How can I help?”

In future articles we will discuss other processes and tools to help you manage expectations; in the meantime, tell us about some of the tools you use to manage employee expectations in your dealership.

Setting and Managing Expectations is a topic that is discussed in the automotive management training courses offered by the NCM Institute Center for Automotive Retail Excellence.