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February 21, 201 1
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Dealers Find Best Workers in Many Ways By David Piestrzynski
Good help is hard to find, even with record numbers of job seekers out there. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the country’s unemployment rate stands at 9 percent. Still, a recent survey by consultancy Leedom and Associates ranked hiring concerns ahead of credit worries for many dealers. Many dealers are seeing an increase in applicants due to the high volume of people looking for work,.. Kent Stegall, owner of Kent Stegall Used Cars in El Dorado, Ark., said he’s had roughly a 30 percent increase in job seekers knocking at his door since the downturn started. This increase in applicants allows dealers to make more selective choices. Dave Andrews, owner of City Auto Sales in Memphis, Ten., said he interviews candidates with or without sales experience.
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“We bring them in, and then let one question lead to another,” he said. He said they look for overall initiative, background and focus heavily on the candidate’s employment history. “If they’ve gone from job to job a lot, that’s not a good thing,” Andrews said. Stegall also relies heavily on the interview process, but he said there’s been nothing specific for him as far as planned questions. “You just have to talk to somebody and go with your gut,” he said. Stegall has had luck with this approach. He said he hasn’t needed to replace anybody in years Automotive consultant Dave Anderson warns dealers not to be fooled by a good interviewee. Anderson said some managers focus too much on how much they like a candidate, rather than if that person has the character and competence to do the job. Also, he said, a person might give a great interview because they’ve had a lot of experience in interviews. Stegall said, before he went into business for himself, he worked for a Ford dealer who took all potential hires out to lunch. If that candidate put salt on his food before tasting it, they weren’t getting the job. Stegall said his father would invite candidates over for dinner, and put his mother’s judgment of character to work. Anderson said dealers should seek better sales can-
Photo by Robin Nelson HELP WANTED: Randle Smith, owner of Randle Smith Auto Sales in Dalton, Ga., is one of many dealers who has developed his own method of finding effective salespeople.
didates before having holes to fill. “Remember, as desperation rises, standards fall,” he said. Anderson offers a profiling system called Anderson Automotive Profile. This program assesses 24 key personality traits to determine if a candidate is suited for the automotive business. Another firm, AutoMax Recruiting and Training, actually puts candidates through a training program to test their aptitude. The training requires a commitment from the applicant, including a cash
payment. “Typically, if somebody is willing to put up a few hundred bucks to go through a training course, they’re serious about it,” said AutoMax founder Craig Lockerd. AutoMax then allows the dealership to chose from among the candidates who have completed the training. Randle Smith, owner of Randle Smith Auto Sales in Dalton, Ga., looks to his customers for help in finding help. “If it’s a customer I know, I ask them if they know some-
body,” he said. He said this can be beneficial if you’re looking for specifics. For example, if you need a bilingual salesperson, ask a bilingual customer. After that, Smith relies on the person’s attitude, an interview and a background check. “If they have a good personality, and they’re always in a good mood, that’s something I look for,” he said. “You have to get out there and find the right people, the smiling people. You can’t make them.”
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• Vendors offer latest wares in our New Product Spotlight. – Page 19