New recruiting approach helps stores hire women

A year ago, Shannon Haywood had never sold a car in her life. Then while mulling a career change, she spotted an online ad for a sales job at Titus-Will Chevrolet-Buick-GMC-Cadillac in Olympia, Wash.

After researching the dealership's reputation and making a mystery visit to check its operations, Haywood, 26, applied for the job. Less than a year after starting, she is among the store's top salespeople.

"More women should really do this job," Haywood said. "I'm not very scary. I don't look very slick. The job is about going out there and making a friend and solving whatever the [customer's] car problem is, and a lot of times that comes really naturally for women."

That's why Court Will, operations manager for Titus-Will Automotive Group, wanted to get more women working in the showrooms and service departments of the five stores he helps run. It was one of the reasons for revamping recruiting efforts almost two years ago. Haywood is one of 28 women the five stores have hired in sales and service jobs since the change, nearly tripling the number of women in those departments.

Hiring more women "was always something we were thinking about and wishing we were able to do," said Will, a third-generation auto retailer. "But also we want to try to attract a higher quality and quantity of candidates" overall, women and men.

So in early 2014 the company launched a website, tituswill jobs.com, to handle recruiting for the five western Washington dealerships in the group managed by Will and his family. Three more stores in the group are run by another branch of the family.

Applicants are directed to the website, which has a video summarizing Titus-Will's history and philosophy. The website, using hiring management software from Hyrell, handles initial applicant screening, does virtual interviews, sets up drug testing and background checks and sends out job openings to online sites such as Indeed and other job sites. 

Job descriptions also changed. Instead of sales consultants, the stores advertise for product specialists and offer the choice of a traditional commission pay plan or a salary plus bonuses. The quality of applicants is better, Will said, and they are coming from other industries such as health care and fitness.

The investment has been modest, Will said. It cost a few thousand dollars to have the site built. The video cost $2,000 more. Ongoing costs are $400 a month for the software subscription. And it saves a lot of time and effort for managers and human resources personnel, Will said.

The change has helped retention, Will said. Turnover is down, and the average length of employment is getting longer. Sales and gross profits are up. While much of that stems from a general rise in vehicle sales for the industry, Will says the quality of the employees also has been a factor.

Titus-Will employs about 275 people at the five stores. New- and used-vehicle sales at those stores total about 4,100 annually.

The top three service advisers among the five stores are women, two of whom were hired as part of the new approach, Will said. Some of the new women sales reps have risen to the top at their stores. Store culture also is changing, with less friction among salespeople.

While that wasn't frequent before, "I feel like I've had to put out less fires between salespeople," Will said.

Haywood got off to a strong start. A few months in, she was the top salesperson of the month. She typically is among the top three out of 14 with average monthly sales of about 13 cars.

The early success for Haywood and other new hires got the attention of longtime employees. They're working harder to follow up on prospective customers, Will said.

"It's actually resulted in a lot of other employees who've been here for a while stepping up their game," he said.

Haywood is urging her sister, who lives on the East Coast, to consider selling cars. Her own earnings are up significantly. She had been making $40,000 a year with no benefits running a home-based business buying company overstock and selling it online. This year she said she's on track to make $60,000 before counting automaker spiffs. At Titus-Will, she gets benefits and will become eligible for longevity bonuses. She bought her first house this year.

Though she has three small children, Haywood hasn't found the schedule daunting. She works 40 to 50 hours a week. She gets every Thursday and Friday and every other Sunday off.

She was told during interviews for the job that she would have flexibility in handling child care issues and that she would be able to attend her children's events.

All potential employees are required to meet with Will or his brother or cousin, who manage the five stores' daily operations and reinforce the family company's commitment to work-life balance.

And that commitment has been proved out, Haywood said.

"I can see all of my kids' soccer games," she said. "Every Saturday, which is a huge day for car sales, one of my children has a soccer game. My manager told me I'm not allowed to be here until the soccer game is over. That speaks to how they treat their employees."