How to recruit — and retain — a workforce that is ready for the new wave of automotive retailing
To better sell to millennials, dealerships will need to recruit and retain some of their own. But there are some things you’ll need to understand about them if you want them to thrive — and stick around.
“We have this generalized idea of them being like hummingbirds,” says Dave Fraser, education coordinator for the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association (TADA), who has also seen the other side through his former role in career services at a university.
For many employers, millennials, a label applied to young people from about 18-34, are tricky employees to figure out. Many employers complain that they seem to want all the benefits, and all the money right away. They also tend to be perceived as employees who, like hummingbirds, can fly away quickly. “Retention is one of the biggest issues for employers, along with managing expectations,” says Fraser. “An approachable, non-intimidating soft sell is much more effective and a lot of dealers are realizing that now.”
Fraser, and others we interviewed for this story, say the key to a good relationship with millennial employees is to help them create the work/life balance they prize.
“I see a lot of creative and innovative ways of breeding loyalty among staff,” says Fraser. “Maybe they get to change cars every few months so they’re always driving something new, or they get
subsidized training.”
He says many companies have professional development budgets to help with training, and are also more flexible on working hours. There’s a move away from creating shifts where people are working from dawn to dusk.
“Putting an emphasis on that work/life balance has really come to the forefront. As a generation who might have felt neglected by their own parents, they’re saying, ‘Hey, that’s not going to be me with my kids’.”
Fraser says that while those working on the service side have a clearer picture of what working life is like, having completed an apprenticeship, candidates on the sales side sometimes have some unrealistic ideals. “[They have expectations] for salary and benefits packages, and a lot balk when they hear they’ll have two or maybe three weeks of vacation in the first couple of years. That sort of thing contributes to a disconnect.”
Sales candidates also come from different backgrounds which makes it harder to create standardized approaches to managing their expectations. “Unlike service, there is no isolated pool of candidates coming into auto sales. They may be entrepreneurs, teachers, have gone to law school —
they come from all different areas, so it’s much more difficult to balance and manage.”
“Work environments have changed,” says Ashley Schneider, a 21-year-old, third-year student at Georgian College’s Automotive Business School of Canada (ABSC) and the director of marketing and media relations for the 2015 edition of Georgian’s annual auto show. “It’s not just us who’ve changed it. Maybe we pulled for it, but I think more than ever we’re working towards a sense of community.”
Schneider says she can’t imagine herself or anyone with whom she would surround herself behaving irresponsibly towards an employer or recruiter. “I think that’s more of an individual thing, not a generational one.”
“There does seem to be some finger-pointing going on,” says June Martin, co-operative education consultant-employer development for Georgian College. (She also mentors the students who run their annual auto show, to be held June 5-7 this year marking its 30th anniversary). “But this generation created work/life balance, something the Boomers could have learned from.”
Martin says that in her experience, it’s about making connections in the workplace, just as it is at school. “Those teachers who make the effort to connect with students get students who strive harder.”
When they do strive, it’s important for that effort — and any results that impact the company — to be acknowledged, and for due praise to be offered.
“This generation wants more freedom,” says Sophie Senneville, president of Quebec-based Auto-Jobs. “But they also want to be recognized for how the business is doing, how their work contributes.” In spite of their hummingbird reputation, she says, “If you know how to treat them and what makes them happy, you can keep them.”
Senneville says it can be as simple as an employer telling them they’re appreciated. “They have an accent on their private life,” she says. Whether it’s team-building events or just getting together for fellow employees’ birthdays, millennials want to feel like their workplace is an extension of family. “A lot of everyday basic communication helps a lot.”
Schneider agrees. “It’s good to know when you’ve done well or whether you need to work harder,” she says, adding that when it comes to employers, she and her peers are eager to please but expect to be recognized in return. “We want [employers] to know that we want to do well. You’re what inspired us. We want to work together to achieve a common goal. Everyone has a stake in what goes on.”
When it comes to hiring, recruiters say to stick to the tried and true personality traits that make for good people, not just good employees.
“In every sector, you look for honesty and integrity,” says Brian Thompson, principal at the Edmonton-based Recruiting Room. “Clients spend a lot of money on training, and it’s expensive to run a company. You can’t afford to risk your revenue stream.”
In the end, this generation wants to be employed the way they want to buy their cars — with respect, transparency, and an absence of old-school, hardcore sales tactics.
