CADA is rolling out a new program aimed at taking the “pain and paperwork” out of managing HR, health and safety and compliance programs.
The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association said it recognized that many of its members were struggling to manage the increased complexity and paperwork from their HR, health and safety and compliance programs, and worked with a software provider to customize a solution for Canadian dealers.
The program — CADA 360 HR Automation — launched in March and is now available for CADA members. “I think it’s a good strategic fit,” said John White, CADA President and CEO. “It complements everything else that we are doing — it fits in nicely.”
White said the new program adds to the current roster of CADA 360 programs: Employee Benefits, Retiree Benefits, Retirement Savings, Garage Insurance and Home & Auto insurance.
CADA considered several software providers and put DealerPILOT through a rigorous review process before rolling it out under its CADA 360 umbrella. “We came back to DealerPILOT. We were impressed with the platform, the approach, and the focus on dealers,” said Marvin Karges, CADA’s Chief Financial Officer & Director, Member Services.
The fact that it’s a Canadian company whose data resides in Canada, and that the platform is available in English and French were also key factors. “The feedback from dealers using this product is that it’s been a big help for them,” said Karges, who looks after member services for the association.
Before endorsing it, CADA also had to make sure it didn’t conflict with any programs offered by provincial dealer associations. “The provincial dealer associations enthusiastically embraced the product and the concept,” said Karges. The next step was approval from CADA’s Executive and Board of Directors, which took place in October 2017.
Karges said CADA knew that dealerships struggled with their administration and paperwork, because sometimes employees fell through the cracks and weren’t enrolled into the CADA 360 Employee Benefits programs. “It minimizes a dealer’s risk,” said Karges. “With regards to employee benefits, whether it’s insurance or long-term disability, it can help ensure employees are indeed signed up on time. Those are the things that get missed.”
So what does the software do?
“We take the pain and paperwork out of managing HR and health and safety at your dealership,” explained Mike Stassen, Vice-president of Sales and Marketing for DealerPILOT, the software provider that custom-built this online platform for dealers.
“It minimizes a dealer’s risk,” said Karges. “With regards to employee benefits, whether it’s insurance or long-term disability, it can help ensure employees are indeed signed up on time. Those are the things that get missed.”
“There are a lot of moving parts to support a successful employment lifecycle — everything from pre-hire to quit, retire or terminated. We are digitizing the process supporting the employment lifecycle. It’s a one-stop shop for everything around the employee’s career with the organization,” said Stassen.
HR and admin activities and processes that are now handled manually, can be more integrated and automated, saving dealerships time and hassles.
With only the largest dealerships staffed with full-time human resources professionals, many of the administrative and HR tasks that keep dealerships running are divided up among a host of people doing other jobs like finance, administration or general managers. “There’s a lot of mechanical work around all of that,” said Stassen. “The vast majority of dealerships do not have an HR resource at all. If they do, they are woefully overworked and often wear multiple hats.”
There are also increasingly complex and onerous requirements around record keeping, including health and safety and compliance programs, and the software platform can help reduce risks of non-compliance through monitoring. “The regulatory environment is changing quickly and the demands are such that you need to be up to speed on what’s going on,” said CADA’s John White.
Stassen said the company’s singular focus on designing software for dealerships is a big advantage. “It is designed for Canadian dealerships. That’s what we do.”
Stassen said the software is also an “all-in-one” solution, which means that dealerships won’t have to purchase other systems for things like applicant tracking, employee onboarding, HR solutions, time and attendance, scheduling and vacation planning, biometrics, health and safety and compliance, and more.
The system also lets dealership employees access the portal 24/7, through their phone, tablet or PC. “They can access information that is pertinent to them and their lives,” said Stassen, which can include things like their schedules, vacation days or tasks assigned to them.
“Dealerships understand that to attract, retain, and have high performance from their staff, they need to do a better job on the HR side of things,” said Stassen. “You can’t be turning over 40 per cent on average in the industry on an annualized basis.”
CADA has implemented the CADA 360 HR Automation software platform itself to help manage its own policies and procedures. “It was great,” said White. “We wanted to keep up with the times. It’s important we are leading by example by adopting some of these things ourselves. At the end of the day your employee is your most important asset.”
Dealer participation in CADA 360 programs help CADA and the provincial dealer associations with their advocacy and legal work they do on behalf of dealers across Canada.
For more information, email cada360@cada.ca or call 1-800-463-5289.
