Bulletin | October 2022

October 2022 Volume 23 | Issue 9

PLUS How the Economy Is Giving CADA and Dealers a Roller Coaster Ride - Page 6

Opposing the Californication of Colorado Vehicles Why Colorado should go its own way with electric vehicles and how California's new electric vehicle regulations could have an impact on your dealership. Page 20

OCTOBER 2022 VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 9

WWW.COLORADO.AUTO

CONTENTS 06

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CADA CHAIR

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CADA PRESIDENT

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COVER STORY

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AUTO OUTLOOK

How the Economy Is Giving CADA and Dealers a Roller Coaster Ride

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What We Learned from CADA’s Regional Meetings, and What’s Next

Why Colorado Should Go Its Own Way on Electric Vehicles

Colorado Auto Outlook Covering Third Quarter 2022

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Clear the Air Foundation Column CTAF Donation Tracker Safeguarding Consumer Personal Information Stored in Vehicles on your Lot Prepping for FAMLI Electronic Registration & Title Overcoming Teacher Employee Shortages Member News

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CONTACT US Colorado Automobile Dealers Association 290 East Speer Blvd.

Denver, CO 80203 303.831.1722 info@colorado.auto www.colorado.auto

OUR STAFF Tim Jackson, CAE, CMP President & CEO tim.jackson@colorado.auto 303.282.1448

ABOUT OUR ASSOCIATION Representing the franchised new car dealers of Colorado The Colorado Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) is the voice of the automotive retail industry throughout the state.

As the automobile dealer trade association, CADA advocates issues of importance to the auto industry in general, Colorado auto dealers in particular and Colorado's driving public.

The Colorado Automobile Dealers Association was formed in 1933 by a small number of dealers to protest a federal excise tax. Building on that success, the association was incorporated five years later.

Today, our dealers range from small, family-owned dealerships to nationally owned multiple-franchise corporations. CADA represents a united front for each of these new car and truck dealers to local, state and federal public policy makers; the public and the media.

Colorado Automobile Dealers Association

Marsha Temple Chief Operating Officer marsha.temple@colorado.auto 303.457.5123 Matthew Groves Vice President of Legal, Regulatory & Compliance matthew.groves@colorado.auto 303.282.1449 Beth Weir Controller beth.weir@colorado.auto 303.457.5120 Kim Jackson Marketing & Communications Director kim.jackson@colorado.auto 303.457.5115 Mark Zeigler Clear The Air Foundation Director mark.zeigler@colorado.auto 303.457.5105 Khorrie Luther Business Manager khorrie.luther@colorado.auto 303.457.5122 Qiana Emery Member Services Coordinator qiana.emery@colorado.auto 303.831.1722

Endorsed Provider of the

HOW THE ECONOMY IS GIVING CADA AND DEALERS A ROLLER COASTER RIDE As we wrap up 2022, inflation is a key issue for both Colorado’s new car dealers as well as consumers. Piled onto higher interest rates, chip shortages, and other supply chain problems impacting inventories, you could almost say we’re experiencing the auto industry version of The Perfect Storm.

COLUMN | CADA CHAIR

Brent Wood 2022 CADA Chair

Pundits debate over whether a recession has already begun or if one is just looming. I believe we’re there – spurred by higher interest rates. Plus, the Federal Reserve Bank is signaling another bump is likely at their next meeting. It’s a forced recession caused by a government trying to slow/stop inflation. Once the objective is achieved, how long will it take to climb out of the hole? Most trends in this business take at least 90 days to reverse.

This is having a huge impact on the lease business.

As people end existing leases and try to get into a new vehicle, they’re discovering monthly payments much higher than they were paying. If they want to buy their leases out, they face much higher loan rates. Imagine driving your vehicle for three years and then finding out that your payment to purchase it is actually a couple hundred dollars more per month. Customers waiting on new car orders are dismayed to learn that when vehicles arrive prices have gone up considerably. It’s a little like being hit in the face with a bucket of cold water!

PRICES ARE UP

INVENTORY IS DOWN

The impact is apparent. The average consumer can’t buy a new car without paying more than $700 per month. I’ve heard that around 20% of new car payments are over $1,000. Since Coloradans favor pickup trucks and SUVs over cars by about 85% the higher figure is closer to reality.

We’ve been begging manufacturers for more inventory. You’ve seen the stories about vehicles sitting in parking lots waiting for chips or parts before they can be shipped. Other reports reveal how much it costs to bring them in from overseas.

Now we’re experiencing new pressures that will hurt Colorado new car dealers and consumers.

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COLUMN | CADA CHAIR First, the hurricane in Florida damaged or obliterated more than two million vehicles.

Manufacturers will be directing new inventory to Florida’s dealers to get them back to operational.

Second, inventory is going to big companies with pre-existing fleet contracts. For example, when the pandemic hit, rental car companies drastically cut their fleets. With people traveling again, they’re rebuilding. Rental car agencies seem to be receiving the bulk of the inventory being delivered due to the large-purchase contracts.

There are a couple of bright spots. Parts and service businesses are robust because people are maintaining their vehicles instead of buying new ones. And with fewer units on our lots, dealers are paying less on floor plans, although as inventory grows, those savings will dwindle.

CADA IS FEELING THE IMPACT CADA is reviewing its finances in the same way dealers are – evaluating our expenses and finding ways to control them and scrutinizing every contract and relationship. Obviously, with fewer vehicles being sold, dealer dues will go down, impacting the association’s revenue. In the last couple of years our top revenue generator, the Denver Auto Show, has been canceled, reinvented and its current future is continually being discussed. Our support for the Clear the Air Foundation has shifted away from donated vehicles to fundraisers like the very successful CADA Annual Member Golf Event and Colorado Automotive Hall of Fame dinner.

In challenging times, dealers find ways to survive and thrive. We do it for our businesses and we’ll do it for CADA. It’s important to note that the association’s success rests on having an involved Board of Directors and engaged membership.

CADA’s board has a great mixture of new and mid-generation members providing an impressive blend of energy to confront our challenges. I hope members will keep looking outside their own businesses to stay informed and involved both with CADA and politically.

Thank You! to the top level sponsors of the 2021 Preview Gala Presenting Sponsor

Premier Sponsors

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WHAT WE LEARNED FROM CADA’S REGIONAL MEETINGS, AND WHAT’S NEXT Our 2022 slate of CADA Regional Meetings concluded at the conveniently located 4th and Main Downtown Grille in Wray on October 25th.

Over the last two months, beginning in September in far Southwest Colorado, we held meetings with CADA members across the state. It was a whirlwind of activity. At one point – between October 20-25 – we held eight Regional Meetings in five days, plus nine Legislative Grassroots Meetings (LGMs) during those same days! Even for a guy with a well-known appetite for Red Bull it was a pretty remarkable schedule.

Overall, I think we had average-to-good turnout: good attendance in Montrose, Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs and Pueblo; fairly normal representation in Colorado Springs and Northern Colorado, as well as on the Eastern Plains.

Participation was a bit lighter at our Boulder (Niwot) and Broomfield meetings. Thank you to all who came out and joined us for the 2022 Regional Meetings!

COLUMN | PRESIDENT & CEO

Tim Jackson CADA President & CEO

MEETINGS PROVIDE A ROADMAP FOR UPCOMING YEAR Having these annual Regional Meetings is a very good way for CADA to know what’s on the collective mind of our membership. I want to share some of what we heard with you, and also let you know about how that will influence the upcoming year.

Members let us know that there’s still a lot of concern about how retail warranty reimbursement is unfolding. CADA will go back to the state legislature in 2023 to fine-tune the rules.

We’ve heard from Joe Jankowski, the managing partner at CADA Endorsed Provider Armatus Dealer Uplift – that the plan changes we are hoping to get passed will give Colorado the best franchise laws in the U.S. regarding warranty reimbursement.

With vehicle electrification picking up speed (pun intended), we heard from both Ford and General Motors dealers about the changes they’re

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COLUMN | PRESIDENT & CEO planning to accommodate the shift toward EVs. It was a pleasant surprise to hear mostly positive feedback regarding plans to address factory expectations. Most dealers we’ve heard from say they’re planning to invest more in their dealerships to meet the new requirements. CADA will be monitoring the situation to see if franchise agreements need to be modified accordingly going forward.

supply, and expensive, almost everywhere in the state. At our meeting in Wray, dealers from the Yuma area told us about a developer planning 200 new homes. There was little doubt they’d be snapped up, many by people leaving Denver for rural Colorado. It was quite eye-opening.

WHERE THE PRESSURE POINTS ARE It comes as no surprise that dealers are having to adjust their pricing models to take into account inflation and the resulting increases in interest rates mandated by the Federal Reserve. Of course, ongoing inventory issues and price fluctuations in the value of used cars factors into this, but dealership profitability seems to be pretty solid, even accounting for these influences. If the economy slows appreciably that could change, but for now things are looking pretty good.

Inventory levels remain low for most dealers, and incoming loads of vehicles are mostly comprised of presold units. One dealer told me he recently had 40 cars delivered over two days, and every single one of them was presold. He just had to get them detailed and ready for delivery.

Technicians are still in short supply. We heard this refrain from many dealers attending the Regional Meetings. One unexpected contributor to the shortage is housing, which is in short

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DEALER INVOLVEMENT IS CRUCIAL I mentioned that we’d hosted several LGMs while we were on the road for Regional Meetings. The LGMs will accelerate as we ramp up for the 2023 legislative session. We’ll have several new legislators who we’ll want to educate about the importance of the automotive industry to Colorado’s economy, and why having a strong network of franchised dealers is critical. Please make sure that you participate when possible. The message is always more compelling when it comes from dealers themselves, not just me and others on CADA’s staff.

We’ll be fine-tuning our year-end meeting – Insight 2023 – scheduled for December 7th, so watch for details on the time and place for that.

You won’t want to miss it.

15TH ANNUAL MEMBER GOLF EVENT A SELLOUT SUCCESS HOLE IN ONE FOR AUTO TECHS It was a pleasure to see so many of you at this year’s Annual Member Golf Event! We were thrilled that over 142 people joined us for an unforgettable day on the green. The weather was perfect with sunshine all day long, but the connections and conversation were the real selling point. ​Thanks to our generous sponsors, proceeds from this event help deserving students pursue their dreams in automotive technology education. The revenue generated from this event is still being finalized, but we expect proceeds will provide an additional $25,000 for our auto tech scholarship program.

Mark Zeigler Clear The Air Foundation Director

Thank you to everyone who attended, sponsored or donated prizes. We couldn’t have done it without you! And a very special thank you goes out to our amazing staff members who helped make sure this event was off without a hitch.

We hope everyone had a wonderful time and we can’t wait to see you all again next year! Remember to register early – it will likely sell out again!​

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HELP US REACH OUR 2022 GOAL OF RECYCLING 600 HIGH-POLLUTING VEHICLES

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YTD DEALER DONATIONS

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YTD NON-DEALER DONATIONS

37 Fort Carson Mike Maroone Chevrolet South 16 Private Donation Dellenbach Motors 5 Warren Tech The Faricy Boys Ford 2 Pikes Peak State College Pueblo Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Pueblo Toyota O'Meara Buick GMC The Faricy Boys Hellman Motor Company SEPTEMBER O'Meara Ford YEAR-TO-DATE AutoNation Chrysler Jeep Arapahoe Mountain States Toyota TOTAL BMW of Loveland Perkins Motors Johnson Auto Plaza Stevinson Toyota West Faricy Boys Automotive Salida Phil Long Ford of Chapel Hill 9 O'Meara Buick GMC 7 AutoNation Chrysler Schomp Honda 8 O'Meara Ford Jeep Arapahoe Schomp Hyundai 3 O'Meara Volkswagen AutoNation Chrysler Stevinson Toyota East 20 O'MEARA TOTAL 2 Jeep Broadway Mike Maroone Honda 9 AUTONATION TOTAL 4 Schomp Honda O'Meara Volkswagen 3 Schomp Hyundai Phil Long Honda of Glenwood Springs 2 Foundation Chevrolet 3 Schomp Nissan Phil Long Hyundai of Chapel Hills Cadillac 3 Schomp Subaru Phil Long Valucar 1 Foundation Kia 2 Schomp Ford Schomp Nissan 1 Castle Rock Ford 2 Schomp Mazda Schomp Subaru Foundation Hyundai of 1 Schomp BMW AutoNation Chrysler Jeep Broadway 1 Boulder 18 SCHOMP TOTAL Emich Volkswagen 5 FOUNDATION TOTAL Emich Volkswagen of Boulder 12 The Faricy Boys Ford Foundation Chevrolet 4 Stevinson Toyota West 7 The Faricy Boys Freeway Ford 3 Stevinson Toyota East Faricy Boys Honda of Greeley 7 STEVINSON TOTAL 4 Automotive Salida Markley Motors 23 FARICY TOTAL Mile High Honda 2 Emich Volkswagen Peak Kia North 2 Emich Volkswagen of Schomp Ford 4 Phil Long Ford of Boulder Chapel Hills Schomp Mazda 1 Emich Chevrolet Shortline Buick GMC 3 Phil Long Honda of 5 EMICH TOTAL Glenwood Springs Berthod Motors 1 Planet Honda Castle Rock Ford 3 Phil Long Hyundai 1 PLANET TOTAL of Chapel Hills Dave Solon Nissan Phil Long Valucar Elway Chevrolet 3 Motor City Emich Chevrolet Fisher Honda 1 Phil Long Ford of DEALER GROUP TOTAL Denver Foundation Hyundai of Boulder THROUGH AUGUST 2022 Foundation Kia 1 Phil Long Glenwood Springs Subaru Fuoco Honda Hyundai of Greeley 1 Phil Long Lincoln King Chevrolet Buick GMC Longmont 16 PHIL LONG TOTAL DON A Mike Maroone Ford of Longmont TOD TE 16 Mike Maroone Chevrolet South Phil Long Ford of Denver AY! 3 Mike Maroone Honda Phil Long Glenwood Springs Subaru 1 Mike Maroone Ford Longmont Phil Long Lincoln 20 MIKE MAROONE TOTAL Planet Honda Schomp BMW

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2022 TOP DONATING DEALER GROUPS

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ENDORSED COLUMN AMERICAN FIDELITY

OVERCOMING editor's note TEACHER EMPLOYEE SHORTAGES

It’s no secret that employee benefits can help attract and retain employees, but does that still hold up during a Great Resignation? With 33 million Americans leaving their jobs in 20211, employers are struggling to keep top talent. This mass exodus of the Great Resignation has created a job-seeker’s dream market right now, where jobs are plentiful, and recruits have the upper hand when negotiating salary, benefits, and other perks.

So, what can you do to overcome employee shortages and maintain a competitive edge?

BUS DRIVER INCENTIVES It’s natural to feel like you’re fighting against impossible odds, but there are ways to help move things back in your favor. Consider implementing incentives specific to bus drivers. The more tailored they are to the type of people you’re hiring, the better chance you may have at attracting them.

GPS/Tablets in Buses You might see an increase in applicants if you’re able to provide a GPS navigation system or an iPad with access to GPS in

vehicles to help drivers feel comfortable with the routes. Helping them find ways to avoid heavy traffic or find the fastest route could prove to be very valuable not only to them, but also to you and your students.

Bonuses No matter your budget, there are likely ways to offer some sort of bonus. You could consider attendance-based bonuses that incentivize drivers to be more available and reliable, or a referral bonus if they help bring in more great employees. Consider paying drivers a monthly or quarterly lump sum based on the number of days they drove.

SUBSTITUTE INCENTIVES While some of the previous incentives could also apply here, there are more specific options for substitute teachers to consider.

Incremental Pay Increases With budgets already tight, even the smallest increases could prove to be extremely valuable. If you’re paying $125 but the district

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Why Colorado Should Go Its Own Way on Electric Vehicles

That old saying, “Don’t Californicate Colorado,” is taking on new meaning in the battle over transportation’s future in our state. That’s because where California goes on cars, Colorado has followed. But since the California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted in late August to ban the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles starting in 2035, Colorado’s lawmakers and regulators have a decision to make: Will or won’t Colorado go along with California this time?

California’s new regulation does not prevent people from holding on to their Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles, and used ICE vehicles will continue to be available. A carve out for plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) allows manufacturers to include 20% of them in total sales by 2035. But over time, PHEVs would be phased out, too. By 2026, the California timeline calls for 35% of new vehicles sold to be battery electric or hydrogen fuel-cell powered, bumping up to 68% by 2030.

Overall, there were about 47,000 electric vehicles registered in Colorado last year. It will take a massive acceptance by the public to reach almost a million EVs by 2030, the number projected by state planners, who believe that enough battery improvements will be made by 2025 to make the cost of EVs comparable to ICE vehicles.

Size Matters California was first to set a tailpipe emission standard in 1966 and has been allowed to set its own, more stringent emissions standards since the early ‘70s under a federal waiver to the Clean Air Act. Because of California’s population and consumer market size it has had an outsized impact on what automakers build and sell nationwide.

Colorado is one of 17 states adopting California’s previous Zero Emission Vehicle standards in an attempt to curb air pollution and climate change.

Following the new California ban on ICE cars would continue that movement, and in a state where the Environmental Protection Agency already has said air pollution – mainly ozone – is at critical levels, it almost certainly will be looked at carefully.

According to the latest news reports, Gov. Jared Polis, who has pushed hard for electric vehicles, is signaling Colorado might not adopt the California ban. The Colorado Energy Office has issued this statement: “While the governor shares the goal of rapidly moving towards electric vehicles, he is skeptical about requiring 100% of cars sold to be electric by a certain date, as technology is rapidly changing.”

Californians led on embracing zero-emission vehicles: 16% of new cars sold this year, an acceleration from 12.41% last year and 7.78% in 2020. While Coloradans’ interest in electric vehicles is accelerating, sales are still small compared to ICE vehicles. A Colorado Sun report in April pegged EV and PHEV sales for the first quarter at 8.6% of the total, compared to 5.6% in the first quarter of 2021. That’s much behind California but also Oregon (9.4% of total sales), Washington (10.7%) and Hawaii (10%).

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Why Colorado Shouldn’t Follow Along The governor’s statement mirrors some of the things that Colorado’s new car dealers have been saying for some time: New ICE cars are 99% cleaner than they were just a few years ago.

Older, high-emitting cars are the biggest culprits for emitting greenhouse gases in Colorado.

Even newer and less polluting automotive technologies are in development that could make electric vehicle technology obsolete, e.g., hydrogen fuel cells.

EV manufacturing costs are still too high to make EVs affordable for consumers and profitable for automakers.

Electric charging infrastructure doesn’t yet support a rapid increase in EVs although Colorado will get $57 million from the federal infrastructure bill to build out its charging network.

California’s climate is radically different from Colorado’s so California standards are not appropriate.

from the sale of recycled donated vehicles, most of which came from CADA members. Proceeds have been used to offer scholarships to students who are studying to become automotive technicians.

Colorado adopted California-style Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) standards in November 2018. At the time, CADA President Tim Jackson estimated that the LEV standards would add an average of more than $2,000 to the sticker price of a new car.

CADA’s lawsuit to prevent the LEV standards from going into effect was thrown out with the judge saying CADA didn’t have standing to oppose the new standards. The ruling never addressed the merits of the case.

In March 2019, CADA and several other business and industry organizations formed the Freedom to Drive Coalition, aimed at opposing state and local regulations that focused on “limiting the rights of motorists and commuters,” and supporting “consumers right to choose the vehicles that are best for them” while opposing “efforts that cede regulatory authority to an out of state commission with no accountability to Colorado.” In other words, Colorado shouldn’t be tied to standards set by California’s Air Resources Board.

How We Got Here

Clean Air and Consumer Choice CADA recognized the need to clean up Colorado’s air long ago. The CADA Board of Directors funded the launch of the Clear the Air Foundation in 2007.

Its purpose was to get older, high-emitting vehicles off the road. Most of the subsequent funding came

Following an executive order from Gov. John Hickenlooper, Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission adopted Regulation 20, California’s Low Emission Vehicle standard in November 2018.

Then in August 2019, following an order from Gov. Jared Polis to boost the number of EVs, it authorized the California Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) standard, mandating that at least 5% of the vehicles for sale here by 2023 had to be electric, increasing to 6% by 2025.

CADA’s incoming 2020 Chairman Jeremy Hamm said, “This industry can help solve its problems.

Coloradans don’t need people - who don’t understand who we are - creating and not solving problems. We should be making local decisions instead of letting an unelected board in California make decisions that affect Colorado.”

Roadmap, which it called, “the most actionoriented, ambitious and substantive planning process Colorado has ever undertaken on climate leadership, pollution reduction and clean energy transition.” Critics of the plan charged regulators with setting targets and reverse-engineering ways to achieve them.

The AQCC’s adoption of ZEV standards had the effect in Colorado of circumventing the Trump administration’s action in September 2019 to revoke California’s longstanding ability to set its own standards. California and 23 other states sued.

The lawsuit was stayed when the Biden administration directed the EPA to reconsider the waiver’s revocation.

Now Colorado is faced again with the prospect that California’s action to phase out and then ban the sale of ICE vehicles could be adopted here. Expect a vigorous opposition to the attempt to Californicate Colorado.

Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap Summarized Actions

The Battle Continues Whether the waiver will stand is still a live issue, because in May a group of 17 other states (Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia) sued the federal government saying that California’s ability to set its own emission standards would have such a dramatic effect on the automotive marketplace that it would have a nationwide impact that in effect would violate “equal sovereignty” of their states.

Meanwhile, in Colorado, the war on ICE vehicles continues. In January 2021, Colorado’s Energy Office released the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction

Continue swift transition away from coal to renewable electricity Make deep reductions in methane pollution from oil and gas development Accelerate the shift to electric cars, trucks and buses Make changes to transportation planning and investment and land use planning to encourage alternatives to driving Increase building efficiency and electrification Reduce methane waste from landfills, waste water and other sources

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MEMBER NEWS Congratulations to Alpine Buick GMC for being named the 2022 best Consumer Business in Denver!

Since opening its first dealership in Denver in 2005, Alpine Buick GMC has added two locations — one in Colorado Springs in 2018, its flagship location in Littleton in 2020 and Alpine Ford in Pueblo in 2022.

The company is the highest-volume Buick GMC dealership in Colorado and the state’s largest woman-owned business.

Over the past two years, Alpine Buick GMC has experienced growth despite a difficult automotive market that’s still feeling the effects of the pandemic. In the last two years, the Colorado dealerships had a nearly 70% increase in revenue, and Alpine Buick GMC ranks as the No. 1 GM dealership in Colorado.

The pandemic and resulting supply-chain issues made procuring chips for vehicles difficult. GM is building cars and parking them until they can be fitted with a chip.

“Alpine alone has more than 100 vehicles that have been built for its inventory that are parked and waiting to be retrofitted,” said Ivette Dominguez, Dealer and President of the Alpine Buick GMC. “To add insult to injury, supply chain disruptions might cause problems with the delivery of cars once they’re ready.”

While its likely that the issues won’t be resolved until late 2022 or early 2023, Alpine remains successful because of its strong relationships in the industry and the community, topnotch customer service and savvy sales professionals who find the best deals and vehicles for each person who walks into one of its dealerships.

Alpine has supported the community throughout its history.

Recently, the company launched a fundraiser to help a customer whose son needed a complicated surgery. It’s helped raise more than $2 million for community and nonprofit organizations, including Alice’s 36 Hours for Kids, Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation and Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce.

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ENDORSED COLUMN AMERICAN FIDELITY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 down the road is only paying $100, you have the upper hand.

Do some investigating to figure out where you fall, and determine whether a slight increase in pay could help you attract subs.

Bonuses Like bus drivers, offering bonuses could be helpful in retaining your substitute teachers. For example, you can provide bonuses that are specific to providing advanced learning or technical skills.

TEACHER AND STAFF INCENTIVES In addition to the suggestions above, consider these options for the rest of your faculty and staff.

Quick wins Offer additional vacation days. Adding just one more day to their bank could be enough to make you a better fit for the candidate. You could also offer designated parking spots to everyone or just certain employees. No one likes to stress over whether they can find parking. Take that easy win!

Long-Term Rewards A great way to show employees you care is by investing in them and their future. Create an additional bucket of money that’s distributed to their retirement program. If budget is a concern, you can do this based on performance goals. You can also invest in their education by developing a tuition reimbursement program, or by offering student loan forgiveness (which can vary by state).

INCENTIVES FOR YOUR BUDGET It’s difficult to create incentives that don’t impact your bottom line. However, there are ways you can utilize free or low-cost resources to give your organization an edge.

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Leverage Social Media Is your organization active on social platforms? If so, use them to your advantage. Create a contest for your employees by asking them to share open positions, or one that promotes your culture by asking employees to share what they like best. Rewards are easy too. Just enter everyone who participates for a chance to win a low-cost prize (gift cards work great here).

Are there local businesses that operate on part-time or seasonal employees? Talk with them about cross-promoting open positions on their social platforms.

Use Your Community Most people and businesses within a community will do whatever they can to help educators. Consider adding to your list of employee incentives by partnering with someone local. Do you have yoga instructors who’d be willing to give a free lesson once a week or once a month? Is the local pet shop open to bringing puppies by for a day to boost morale and promote adoptions?

Create a call for volunteers by letting your community know you need help covering recess or more support during lunch. You’ll likely find people who can’t commit to something consistent like bus driving but are willing to show up once a month to help with recess.

Traditional benefit options are likely no longer enough to attract and retain top talent, and you’re likely not the only organization in your area trying to hire. You’re competing for the same small pool of talent. And with more companies allowing remote work, some organizations are even competing on a national and international level.

Give your organization the upper hand by getting creative with the incentives you offer and get on your way to overcoming those staffing shortages.