As dealerships across the country grapple with decimated inventory levels as part of the lingering microchip shortage, an ever-present challenge in showrooms and service bays is worsening: finding and hiring candidates for open positions and retaining those already employed.
It's a stark change from the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, when dealerships laid off employees en masse as stay-at-home mandates were issued by governors and local leaders to curb the spread of illness. And it has cemented a shift in power from employer to employee, dealership hiring experts say.
"The biggest problem dealers have is they can't find people," said Ted Kraybill, president of ESI Trends, a Clearwater, Fla., consulting firm that conducts the annual National Automobile Dealers Association Dealership Workforce Study. "That's been an increasing problem for a number of years even before COVID. And then you have the problem that the culture in car dealerships is ... not always the most pleasant place to work."