"How do we get people who get people?"

When the pandemic struck the United States this past spring, Desmond Roberts knew he should begin working from home. Roberts owns a Chicago-area dealership group that operates five rooftops, including two Advantage Chevrolet locations in Hodgkins and Bolingbrook.

“Since the pandemic hit, I have spent most of my time working in my home office, and I’m able to do that because I have good, strong leaders managing their operations,” Roberts says. “They don’t need me to be there standing over their heads. They know what to do. 

“But if we didn’t develop those strong leaders, I’d have to be in the dealerships. It really hit home how it makes my job easier.”

Attracting, developing and keeping talented leaders can improve operations, increase employee retention and improve business across the board at a dealership, industry experts say. 

“Being able to lead people is the biggest skill gap in our industry,” says Fleming Ford, a vice president of the industry consultancy ESI Trends. “As an industry, we have to move from a focus on managing processes to leading people. It’s a big jump for our industry.”

But Ford asks: “How do we get people who get people? Leadership is a skill; you’re not born with it. Top dealership employees are usually certified in service or sales, then we throw them into leadership. But managing people is a completely different thing, and very complex.”

For Roberts’ part, he has sent his key leaders—his daughter, son and his “third son,” a 30-year employee he considers family—to “every leadership training opportunity we can take advantage of,” he says. The three currently run four of his dealerships.

“We spend a lot of time on training and development,” Roberts says. “Our philosophy is that each of our managers ought to be thinking about their replacement, how to develop someone to replace them. That helps develop strong leaders throughout the organization.”

Building a strong leadership team can pay serious dividends. As Roberts has found, a strong team takes pressure off the top. 

 “The owner or the GM is the hardest worker in the store,” Ford says. “Some of them are killing themselves trying to do everything. What if your leadership team led their people? What if you got more out of everyone, rather than you just giving so much more?”

Good store leadership also can translate into better employee retention all around, often by building a strong culture at the dealership. 

“Oftentimes, the dealer principal has a mission in mind. We call it the ‘why statement’—the crux of the corporate culture, explaining why a dealership is in business and what the business stands for,” says Patrick Hennessey, senior director of sales for Ally. “That needs to be developed, adopted and pushed through the ranks by leadership. 

“People are motivated by money, but more are motivated by a cause, a meaning behind what they are doing.”

Roberts, the Chicago-area dealer, agrees. 

“I recognized a long time ago that compensation is more than remuneration,” he says. “The work environment of the individual who is going to become one of our leaders is important. We want to make sure we’re giving them the opportunity to learn and grow.”

And if store leadership can help keep people in place, it matters to the bottom line—and not only in the savings from not having to hire and train new employees over and over. ESI research found that for a typical dealership, improving employee retention by just 10% translates into one more unit sold per person per month, Ford says. 

“That’s worth getting better leaders and getting them to stick around,” she says.

Developing a team of store leaders also is critical for dealerships or groups planning to expand. “Today’s marketplace is ripe with opportunities for dealers looking to grow their footprint in one way or another,” Hennessey says. “A lot of people talk about the capital needed to expand, but sometimes we forget that we need human beings to run those new ventures—and without proper planning, you can be stuck. 

“Dealers need to be thinking, ‘What’s my long-term plan to grow talent from within?’ ”

But talent development takes time, and experts say it starts at the beginning. As Roberts says, “We believe the leadership of any organization starts with the hiring process.”

Dealers need to recognize hiring and training new employees “as a real expense you need to get your arms around and account for,” Hennessey says, “because how you’re marketing for people, how you’re hiring and onboarding them is what leads to long-term, successful employees.”

Dealers and owners need to spend time one on one with team members to understand how each employee wants to develop, he says. They then need to commit to each other and put a plan in place. 

“That plan may include external training or maybe mentoring with a senior staff person or continuing education at a local college,” Hennessey says. “But it’s all about investing in people and understanding where they want to go—and where you want them to go.”

Busy owners and dealer principals can find it difficult to take the time to cultivate and build the leadership team below them. But “it’s worth it to put everything else aside and focus on talent development,” Hennessey says. “Get outside the 30-day bucket that dealers live in and start looking long term. That means taking a look at onboarding, employee development, the dealership’s mantra and ‘why statement.’ ”

One option, Hennessey says: “Dealers can leverage existing relationships with those who have the time, resources and expertise to help,” including Ally. Ally’s leadership curriculum includes a multiple-day A-list event to help senior leaders function better in their current roles. Ally also offers courses for leaders and managers across all dealership departments and levels. Choices include classes on hiring, emotional intelligence, building diverse and inclusive teams and situational leadership, focusing on managing, reading and communicating with people.

“Want to retain employees better? Build an onboarding process,” Hennessey says. “Double the number of rooftops? Build a talent development program. Investing in those people will help them stick around. 

“You simply have got to make the time for it. That’s how you win in today’s market.”

For Ford, who works with and coaches dealers around the country, good leadership is a tangible thing. “You walk into a dealership and right away you know how good the GM is,” she says. “The success of that leadership is reflected as soon as you walk in, in everything at the dealership.”