Make them important

Many managers make the mistake of thinking that they need to personally perform any task that is considered important. Some actually consider this a form of job security to be the only person able to perform an important task. In fact I believe it's exactly the opposite. You need to develop your team in such a manner that they feel important and essential. When your team feels important and essential you will get the desired results from your service department. When treated exceptional your team will perform better.

Empower them

Every member of your team needs to be empowered to make decisions on the spot to assist in customer care. I understand that they need to have limits before they involve the manager, however this also reinforces the first point of making them important. Empower them to make the right decision and it will help your entire team perform better.
 

Trust Them

Simply said if you don't trust your team to do the right thing, than you must question if they belong in your dealership.
 

Develop them with constant training

Always invest in your team with a consistent training program. Don't expect to get superior results if they don't have the right training to reinforce best practice behaviors. When team members get the sense that the dealership is willing to invest in them they feel more secure that their job is long term.
 

Make them Accountable

Your entire new team needs to know that they are accountable for their actions. Everyone needs to be accountable including long-term employees, family members, or even friends of the boss. If there are privileged individuals in the team that are not held responsible for their actions it will resemble a tumor growing larger in a cancer patient. The outcome will never be good. Every team member has to understand what their responsibilities are and how to perform their job functions. 

Summary

My hope is that every manager that reads this and understands the importance of developing their team properly. The success or failure of a member of management depends entirely on how they choose to develop their team. It's hard to remember when you're up to your armpits in alligators that the original objective was to drain the swamp. How are you doing with your objectives? 

Sincerely,

Rob Gehring, President

Fixed Performance Inc.

rgehring@fixedperformance.com

1-888-205-8718