One of the biggest challenges facing dealers today is how they can more effectively recruit quality Generation Y employees. Here are some tips to consider in your efforts to more effectively recruit young talent:
- Recruiting Style & Language:
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- Highlight the perks of working at your dealership on your website (e.g., training opportunities, benefits, life/work balance, green initiatives, community initiatives).
- Placards/signage in the customer lounge and showroom floor, featuring a Gen-Y female stating that job opportunities are available.
- Quarterly emails to your customer list indicating job opportunities are available.
- Postings on craigslist for “customer service reps” with benefits (e.g., training salary, flexible hours, opportunity to work with a great team). Do not mention it is an auto sales job in your posting.
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- Recruiting Style & Language: Life/work balance is critical, so determine methods for creating a 40-hour work schedule with at least one weekend off each month.
- Revised Pay Plan: Traditional pay plans based on gross with random spiffs will not attract quality Gen X and Y sales people who have never sold cars. They would rather be paid $14 per hour to work in sales at a Best Buy or Apple Store over taking on the financial risk of a straight commission pay plan. A pay plan that provides a good training salary (typically $2500 or more for two months) and then provides a combination of salary and compensation per unit sold (not gross) with bonuses works well.
- Training: Implement a consistent approach to training and skill development because training and development is an expectation, not an option, with this generation. The presence or absence of training and development initiatives can have a huge impact on retention and recruitment efforts.
