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Comment by Robert Hildreth on September 22, 2011 at 6:52pm

I think any good company today needs to always be looking for talent and doing what they can to attract it. However, without good processes in place; not only will you find it hard to keep talent you will find it hard to recruit it to begin with.

I have worked in places where I have seen talent without any process and I have seen companies with so much process it actually hurts the business. (If it is not a process in place the company will not even talk about anything new)

I do not think to survive long term today in business you can survive without both...I also do not believe you can survive with just one of them. However, before anyone runs off to write there process it should have flexibility to make decisions that are outside the process. This should be the expection and not the rule however.

If we are speaking of true talent...when that talent gains experience and stayed within the process you will find they will one day be re-writing the process themselves as they move up within the company.

You have to be committed to both and I believe teaching a new employee the process is the most single important thing to teach an employee before they begin. If they understand how we do things.....then even training falls under the process itself. The most important asset we have is the people we work with....we must invest in them.

Comment by Brian K. Martin on July 21, 2011 at 6:13pm

Recruiting a talented staff can be challenging at times. Whether you are hiring veterans or someome new to the industry; in you’re mind you dont know what you are getting, and you always hope for the best. Processes are critically important in the dealership. Without them your business becomes a "Guessing Game", never knowing what will or could happen next. The relationship between recuriting talent and processes; I believe runs parallel for a time; early in new relationships, and graudually come together. What in mean is, regardless of the talent, the processes in the dealership must be solid and well communicated. Furthermore, processes must be practiced, drilled and rehearsed daily in the dealership. A manager that is an excellent teacher, leader, coach and motivator that establishes solid processes, policies and procedures, and holds them accountable will find suscess. When this happens managers will begin to find the talent in there staff and begin to see the processes become permanent. It is possible to have talent without process and process without talent. However, suscess is hard to achieve when this is happening.  So, hire the best staff available to you. Be a strong manager and establish a processes in the dealership that breeds suscess, and strive to find your sweet spot every day.

Comment by Kevin "Friend Me" Bradberry on July 21, 2011 at 1:14pm

Kathryn, well said!

I am interested in helping my dealers improve their on boarding process.  Please email me your information kbradberry@tkworldwide.com  I would like to see what your company has to offer. Thanks

Comment by Kathryn Carlson on July 21, 2011 at 12:47pm

Processes can improve effeciency, provide a defensive legal position for your practices and improve the quality of the new hire so establishing a consistent process for hiring (recruiting, interviewing, conditional job offer and background checking) makes sense. There is a reason that HR software to establish consistent process across all of the employment lifecycel is a billion dollar business.

  I've working in Human Resources for many years both at Fortune 500 companies and startup and now working with KPA's dealership clients and while it is true many dealerships don't have a consistent process for hiring, once we help them establish one they are delighted with the improvements in the time to hire, the quality of hires, retention.

There are process for every other aspect of running a dealerhsip-why would HR be exempt?

Comment by Kevin "Friend Me" Bradberry on July 21, 2011 at 12:34pm

Recruiting Talent is a big part of a dealer's success. You have Active Job Seekers, Passive Job Seekers, and then there are those who are simply MOTIVATED to work for a SPECIFIC dealer.  The one who is motivated to work for a specific dealer will identify him/herself in the crowd and attempt to stand out and EARN the opportunity to work for that dealer.

Comment by Tobias Sedillos on July 18, 2011 at 4:44pm

Thank you Bobby, I appreciate your input. It's amazing how that one trait can outperform all of the rest. In rereading my comment, I wanted to make a correction: *Kenai should have read "Keen-Eye" - my speech recognition software misinterpreted what I was trying to say (wasn't the first time). It sounds to me like if your website is guiding people towards this one truth, it is going to continue to be a big help for many!  Keep up the great work.

Comment by Tobias Sedillos on July 18, 2011 at 4:23pm

A very interesting response to a poll. Here's my perspective:  I think they are related, in the sense that they are both geared towards productivity. However, there is definitely a stark difference in the two.

Recruiting Talent can often be a double-edged sword in this industry. The people doing the hiring are often looking for "experience" - counted by the number of years or positions that they have held in the automotive world. I think, when it comes to talent in the auto industry; it should be gauged by the "likability factor" of the applicant. This is first and foremost – simply because people like to do business with people that they like... I have seen far too many people that have been in this industry for a number of years, yet continue to do the same things "wrong".  if you are looking for more information on this subject, I would recommend the books Appreciation Marketing by Tommy Wyatt and Curtis Lewsey, and Go Givers Sell More by Bob Burg and John David Mann.

Processes are designed to make the complicated simple - and also allow for Kenai and a sharp mind to to identify the areas that need correcting. If you have likable people, that are dedicated to doing things right; you can put processes in place that will make them perform better – simply because they are at ease with what they're supposed to be doing. From there, tracking can be performed effectively; and adjustments can be made through analysis.  For further insight, a good book I would recommend for cl arity on this subject would be The E-myth revisited: why most small businesses don't work and what to do about it by Michael E. Gerber

I hope it helps,

 

Tobias

Comment by Kevin "Friend Me" Bradberry on July 16, 2011 at 7:19am

Comment by Kevin Bradberry 1 second ago Delete Comment

I would agree that they are both connected on the most fundamental level. As I stated at the comment section in our "An American Dealer's Story" http://www.dealerelite.net/profile/KevinBradberry  Management is the accomplishment of a goal through people. If you recruit the RIGHT people, your mission becomes exponentially easier. That was actually something my father taught me.

You see, "reactionary" recruiting CAN happen! This is a very volatile industry, we live and work in. So, in the event of emergency DON'T PANIC HIRE! Instead, find some very useful, cost effective and creative ways to get the message out to your community that you have an opportunity, and pull the curtain back a bit for them. Discuss process, and organizational structure UP FRONT with your potential applicants set up some proper sales aptitude testing, then hire slow and fire fast.  You can stabilize quickly if you're in a bind, or simply keep turning your bottom 20 percent until you have a stable team in place, and then maintain a long term recruiting strategy that is both cost effective and very under the radar.

Comment by Ernie Rizzolo on July 15, 2011 at 9:07pm

I've spent most of my 25 years as a sales manager at smaller 100 cars per month and under dealerships.  Only one had a dealership "process".  The rest were open to whatever process the sales manager brought in with them.  The salespeople were on a constant merry go 'round of new ideas from managers that didn't stay around long enough to see the implementation and the results.

So, I say to the dealers, GM's etc. establish a process, refine it and when it's working make sure that everyone in the store follows it.  Employess need a clear path to follow, what's expected of them and how they can accomplish those goals.  "Do better, work harder" etc. is not enough. 

 

 

 

Comment by john Benjamin on July 15, 2011 at 4:19pm

I wish we would learn to change the term from recruiting to scouting. Scouting implies always being on the lookout for talent, a more proactive approach. Whereas Recruiting stinks of we need someone now and is reactionary. If you are always scouting you are on the lookout for great talent and can start to follow their careers, build a relationship and when the time is right for you or them a great partnership can commence. I would suggest Dave Anderson's great book Up Your Business! and a review of his chapters on hiring and firing.

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