For dealerships, a ‘flexible' job can be many things, panelists say

LAS VEGAS — As dealers continue to struggle with recruiting and retaining staff, many potential employees demand flexibility.

The word covers far more than a desire to work from home and presents a wide range of opportunity for daily dealer operations, Adam Robinson, CEO of human resources and recruitment platform Hireology, said Thursday during a panel discussion at Automotive News Retail Forum: NADA.

"That means can my [technician] work four 10-hour [shifts]? Am I hiring part-time salespeople for nights and weekends? Do I let people leave and come back during office hours to take kids to school? And do I offer paid time off?" Robinson said.

The industry has been slow to adopt these practices, and the dealerships who have "are winning the game," he said.

Panelist Sherry Schultz, chief human resources officer at Walser Automotive Group, agreed.

"The gift of work is the greatest thing we can do," she said. "Work is freedom. It is an opportunity to provide to our families. … We are keenly aware of our value proposition, and it is family, career and diversity."

Schultz said Walser has tried to enable flexibility through actions such as benefits that cover maternity, paternity, adoption, child care, fertility assistance and other things that enable employees to work where flexibility is part of the equation.

In enacting flexible policies such as a four-day work week with a 10-hour work day, Walser considers whether changes are good for both customers and employees, Schultz added.

Hireology plans to release a new workplace survey at the NADA Show. During the panel discussion, Robinson revealed three key findings that help employers find and retain employees.

One element is pay stability. Another is a career path with learning and mentoring. Flexibility topped the list, Robinson said.

"If I come to work for you, do I still have a life? That's number one," Robinson said.

Those ideas dovetail with the inaugural Automotive News Dealership Salary Survey, which found, in part, that pay and work schedules were two big elements that help retain auto retail employees. In turn, employees considered leaving or took another job based on issues including the lack of a work-life balance, more work without more pay, a toxic workplace and issues with managers.

Robinson said the employment environment is likely as good as it will ever be right now, despite troubles filling positions. These challenges will only increase, he said, despite dealership struggles to fill positions on all levels.

"If you are a skilled hourly worker in the United States, you are a scarce resource," he said, adding that the job candidate pool will continue to shrink as people have fewer children and the population declines.