There’s never been a better time to tighten your internal operations to boost efficiencies, compliance and reduce your risks.
In this economic and political climate, there are far too many things that are outside of a dealership’s control.
There are some things, however, like managing HR, safety and compliance — that are entirely in their control — and that can have a positive and direct impact on their bottom line and employee satisfaction.
“One thing we are hearing a lot more about lately from our dealer clients is concerns over compliance related issues,” said Michael Stassen, President and CEO of DriveHRIS, in an interview with Canadian auto dealer.
CADA 360 partners with DealerPILOT to provide the DriveHRIS software solution that helps dealerships automate and streamline their recruitment and hiring, record keeping, payroll integration and scheduling, health and safety and employee engagement.
Stassen said that since the pandemic, dealers are witnessing a spike in the number of compliance and health and safety related issues, and in some cases greater penalties, corrective actions and fines for dealerships that aren’t fully compliant.
“When you are busy managing your bottom line and margin compression, dealing with increased costs from tariffs and other supply issues, it’s important for dealers to ensure that they are as efficient and well-run as possible. That way they can mitigate their risks and be laser focused on selling and servicing vehicles,” said Stassen.
For example, DriveHRIS helps dealerships avoid costly missteps by automating employee offer letters, pay plan approvals, and termination protocols — all backed by documentation that protects you should a dispute arise.
“Managing risks is a key deliverable for all our CADA 360 programs and services,” said Michael Psotka, CADA’s CFO and Director of Member Services. “Given the exposure and liability dealers face, it’s critical that they use all the tools at their disposal, like CADA 360 Drive HR to ensure their house is in order.”
Stassen said the CADA 360 Drive HR platform, powered by DriveHRIS, helps digitize and document all records related to an employee. “So in the event that there is a problem, we can very clearly communicate the information to lawyers or Ministry officials. With our digital workflows, documentation and ensuring all your i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed is a huge part of what we do on a daily basis,” said Stassen.
Running a dealership is all about harnessing and unleashing the energy and abilities of your people. Fully embracing a platform like CADA 360 Drive HR will help you run a better operation, while mitigating headaches and compliance worries.
Even something as seemingly simple as managing vacations can cause big problems. “Scheduling time and attendance is always an issue, but vacation management is one of the most highly contested items in the HR world,” said Stassen.
Another problem area that often arises is over employee termination. “We spend a lot of time on termination assistance. There are a proper set of steps you have to go through,” said Stassen. “So every phase of employment has a risk component to it, and digitization and automation and setting up triggers can help mitigate that.”
Another concern Stassen said is on the rise is increased violence and harassment cases in the workplace. “We are seeing an escalation in that, and that itself increases the risks for the dealers,” said Stassen, adding that managers can also be held personally liable if they don’t respond to those types of issues appropriately.
Another benefit to using next level HR platforms is the high level of automation that helps track and monitor tasks and actions. For example, a dealer can set the system up to trigger an alert if someone is given a pay increase beyond certain parameters. That way a senior leader can review and authorize or reject the increase if necessary.
“If you give someone in the wash bay a dollar an hour raise, no big deal. But if a manager grants someone a $10,000 raise that can trigger an alarm. It’s about operational efficiency, and making sure things aren’t happening across the organization that are outside of what you need to run a lean ship,” said Stassen, adding that dealers are the ones that set the guardrails and rules for their program.
With employees at the heart of a dealership’s success, it’s also important to take advantage of the CADA 360 Drive HR’s built in functions to boost engagement like employee surveys, boards to exchange information and tools to help the dealership better communicate with team members.
“Running a dealership is all about harnessing and unleashing the energy and abilities of your people. Fully embracing a platform like CADA 360 Drive HR will help you run a better operation, while mitigating headaches and compliance worries,” said Stassen.
Dealers can visit cada.ca/cada360 for more information about CADA 360 Drive HR or other CADA 360 services like employee benefits, home & auto insurance, garage insurance, retirement savings and security services.
