Articles for Administration & Employment Dealer Operations
Monday, March 29, 2010
Bill Leslie - Before you take offense at the title of this column, please note that it is pointed at me. I'm the one who is stupid. I learn over and over that my success, and the success of my business, is dependent on the managers I hire. I seem to relearn this lesson about every 12 months. Maybe if I write it down, I'll remember it.
Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Bill Leslie - Six months ago, we caught an employee stealing on his first day on the job. We caught him red-handed. There was no doubt involved, and he admitted the theft. There were divided opinions among the decision-makers, but the decision was to give him a second chance. We really needed to fill that spot.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Jennifer Murphy - For most, rebranding or repositioning a business is a choice. Today for some dealers, there isn’t much of a choice involved in their rebranding and repositioning efforts. With the bankruptcies of two domestic automakers, well over 2,000 franchise signs had to be taken down.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Harlene Doane - Dealers are still in cost-cutting mode, and advertising and marketing budgets have taken the brunt of cuts over the last several months. Across the board, the amount of advertising and marketing dollars spent by dealers is down by 24 percent, which is equivalent to a $10,000 to $15,000 decrease in spending per month.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
... the one thing I’ve noticed all dealerships have in common is the weakness of their staff... they can’t hire great people. It’s as though a long-winded response justifies (or obscures) poor hiring practices. You can’t find good people and if you do, you can’t keep them! People don’t mind being the president or manager, but no one wants to be the ...
Saturday, April 18, 2009
There are two ways to address workman's compensation. The first is risk management.... The second is before and after the injury that has occurred.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Harlene Doane - A penny by itself just isn’t worth much any more. However, pennies still add up to dollars and several dollars can change your bottom line. Lately, in an effort to change the bottom line, many dealers have taken the time to review their operations to squeeze out ...
Monday, March 30, 2009
Harlene Doane - The decisions to slash personnel may have the biggest long-term impact on many dealerships and it might not create the anticipated effect. In the short run, it does reduce expenses, but at what cost? The hardest thing to replace in a dealership is good talent. You just can’t afford to make the wrong personnel decisions ...
Monday, December 15, 2008
David Wilson - I started in the retail automotive industry when interest rates were 22 percent, customers were sparse and everyone was saying how bad it was. The dealer I started with had just hocked his home to invest in the deal and we lost over $200,000 the ...
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Harlene Doane - Dealers have started looking closely at employee staffing and productivity in addition to overall dealership gross profits. The current all-dealer (domestic, import and highline) Benchmark departmental gross profit per employee is ...
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Erik Stuttz - Know more about recruiting the right people or creating a hiring, orientation and training process that ensures they stay.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Bob Tasca - Every new hire is assigned a mentor who is responsible for helping them on the job for the first 120 days.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Bob Tasca - Advertise that you offer monthly associate reviews for ongoing support and live up to that promise.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Jeff Smelley - Training for your admin staff will pay big rewards. Lack of training, for administrative people, leads to heavy turnover, poor information and divisive relations between departments and poor controls on key dealership functions.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Jeff Smelley - Inefficient daily operations in a dealership cost money, REAL MONEY, and unlike a missed sales opportunity, poor dealership operations will continue to cost money until fixed.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Harlene Doane - Have you ever wondered if a pay plan fair? The question is: “How do you evaluate your pay plan to determine fair?" A great pay plan has to be fair to the ...