Keeping Car Dealership Workers Out of ‘Bermuda Triangle’

A miffed car dealership manager chided his salespeople on the showroom floor, asking, “Isn’t anyone going to help that customer in the blue shirt over there?”

His ire turned to chagrin when a staffer said: “That’s not a customer. That’s a salesman. He’s been here a week.”

Had it been the new hire’s first day, well, maybe the boss’s misidentification was forgivable, says Jon Dawson, who relates the story. But a week?

It shows the dealership had failed to give the rookie adequate onboarding, an orientation process that includes, at minimum, recognizing people whom you hired.   

Dawson (below, left), founder and president of the consulting and training firm Sellchology, stresses the importance and mutual benefits of onboarding.

He goes down a list of how to do it right, offering advice at a session entitled “Stop Your Hires from Disappearing into the Bermuda Triangle” during the annual Used Car Week conference series, held online.

Instead of properly orienting new employees (who may harbor doubts and fears in the first place), some dealerships use a stern antithesis: sink or swim. Dawson calls that “a sad process.”

Besides the lugubriousness of the practice, it’s often a lose-lose proposition for the dealership and employee to toss newcomers into the water like that. That’s because they may climb out, dry off and leave for good, thinking the job’s not for them, even though it could have been.

Employee turnover has plagued auto retailing for years. It is especially prevalent among salespeople. Enlightened dealers are addressing the issue because, among other things, repetitive hiring becomes expensive and counterproductive.

“A dealership’s No.1 responsibility to new people is adding certainty to their situation and their careers,” Dawson says. It makes them feel they are in the right place. “The more uncertainty they have in the beginning, the less secure they feel.”

That insecurity keeps the revolving door moving at some dealerships. “We see too many people hired and then go,” Dawson says, referring to talented prospects who “check out dealership work as a possible career, but ultimately check out” due to an off-putting start.

He’s a former dealership salesman who has spent 20 years as a trainer. “At first, I would train anybody.” Then he realized some trainees were ill-suited for the job to begin with, a consequence of poor job-candidate screening.

“It’s hard to turn water into wine,” Dawson says. “A lot of times, dealers say, ‘Make this person successful.’”

That’s tough to do, “if you don’t have the right person in the first place.” But if you do, treat them personally, especially on their first day, he says. “Have everything lined up, from their business cards to their company email addresses.”

Order them lunch that first day, he says. And a welcome basket with token gifts on their desk goes a long way. “Welcoming them to the team is incredibly important. Make the first day special.”

jon dawson (003)

Dawson relates stories from people whose first day at the dealership didn’t go so well. Among their beefs:

“My computer wasn’t set up.”

“My computer had a virus.”

“I had a bad chair. I had to bring in my own.”

“Some people say, ‘Oh well, that’s the nature of the car business,’” Dawson says. “I hope not.”

Rather, well-done onboarding enhances work performance, boosts job satisfaction, fosters company loyalty and lowers those nationwide chronic dealership employee turnover rates, he adds, recommending the following:

Steve Finlay is a retired WardsAuto senior editor.