Leaders share how practices have shifted amid pandemic

When the COVID-19 pandemic made its presence known to the automotive industry, leaders at the Best Dealerships To Work For found themselves asking crucial questions: How could they safely recruit and hire employees to staff stores and keep business going? How could they adapt training to work during such a crisis?

It wasn't simple. They used digital tools, such as Zoom, to conduct interviews with potential hires and chat with customers. Some shifted work hours and revamped schedules to give sales employees a better work-life balance. Others capitalized on recruiting from the hospitality and restaurant industries.

In the early days of the pandemic, uncertainty bloomed at BMW North Scottsdale in Phoenix. As the coronavirus spread, dealership leaders realized they had to shift the store's business strategy. They put a freeze on hiring in March 2020 and didn't lift it until that September.

After the freeze was lifted, the store took a new approach to hiring and onboarding, said Tristan Topps, human resources manager, working to establish a hybrid process with digital and in-person components.

DCH Kay Honda in Eatontown, N.J., previously conducted all in-person interviews for new hires but switched to phone and online during the pandemic. To protect the dealership team, a candidate wasn't brought into the store until the third and final round of interviewing.

Round Rock Toyota in Texas started cross-training employees to step into other roles in the dealership, if needed, so no department or position would suffer in someone's absence, General Manager Gilbert Gortarez wrote in response to an Automotive News survey.

Some of the top dealerships chose to trim their hours to give employees a better work-life balance. Several said they offered flexible schedules and work-from-home options. Many stores also learned to adjust to employee absences from illness or pandemic-induced burnout.

"There was a lot of stuff on the news, and of course, if you got your head buried in that, then you could just totally freak yourself out," said Russell Crumpton, general sales manager of Honda Cars of Rock Hill in South Carolina. "We talked about it and said, 'We need to just focus on the controllables. Those two are attitude and focus, and, obviously, we need to be as safe as possible. We need to watch out for each other.' "

Digital retailing tools helped the store manage any staffing issues that resulted from COVID-19. Crumpton said the dealership engaged in more digital interactions with customers, such as sending them links to credit applications via text messages, emails or scannable QR codes.

Josh Sloan — general manager of LaFontaine Ford of Birch Run in Michigan — said that when it came time to hire more sales employees, he made a push to bring in restaurant and hospitality workers.

"As far as the hospitality business — it's always a good place to recruit [from] because what customers are looking for is warm treatment," Sloan told Automotive News.

Sloan said he has recruited six or seven people from the hospitality industry since the pandemic started; two of his four highest-performing employees came from that industry.

"I definitely will continue hiring them because I feel like they're already coming with the people skills, and to me, that's important," he said.

Tracy Gurnett, general manager of Mini of Austin in Texas, said her store hired two restaurant employees who were laid off because of the pandemic. She said their attentiveness to detail, ability to listen and familiarity with customer service helped them become productive salespeople in a short period.

About 67 percent of the dealerships responding to an Automotive News survey said they changed their approach to recruiting, hiring and training because of the pandemic.

The question remains as to whether dealers plan to keep COVID-19-era procedures in place after the crisis ends. Some experts say dealers would do well to ask themselves whether they're willing to challenge the ways they've always done business to attract and retain employees.

Dealers continue to struggle to fill open roles. The size of the available work force is smaller than it was 18 months ago, said Adam Robinson, CEO of employee recruitment management provider Hireology.

Robinson — whose platform works with thousands of dealerships — said dealers could benefit if they incentivize employees with shift flexibility, better hours and more sustainable pay. "If you're rigid and doing it the way we were doing it two, three, five years ago, you're going to have a much harder time," Robinson said.

New procedures are becoming permanent in some dealerships because they save time, he said. Remote recruiting is likely here to stay for that reason and because applicants want those options, he said.

Lindsay VanHulle contributed to this report.