GPA Training has released its latest video tip for dealers. This week’s video notes the ramifications of failing to define key terms in business.
“While truck does an exceptional job tracking vehicle data, as well as continuing to enhance this skill, we tend to lag behind other industries when it comes to tracking data regarding our staffs and customers,” says Ian Coburn, president, director of Learning, GPA Training. “For instance, we often don’t track lead sources (how customers heard about us) or staff attrition rates.”
Without measuring such items, GPA Training says dealers can’t gain accurate insight into ROI on functions such as marketing, training and recruitment methods. This, in turn, gives other industries a leg up in attracting and retaining talent, something which continues to show across the board at dealerships, from sales to technicians.
The first step needed, GPA notes in the video, is to define key terms such as customer service, success and leadership.
“When we don’t define such terms, we often create discombobulation for both our customers and staff, creating frustration for them, which could lead to losing both on large scales. Use parents as an example,” Coburn says. “Let’s say one parent is a department or manager, while the other is a different department, or different manager in the same department. Parent A tells a child they will be rewarded if they perform well in school. The child scores an 82 percent on a test and is quite pleased; however, parent A isn’t because 90 percent is their minimum for performing well. Meanwhile, parent B showers a different child with praise for scoring 78 percent on a test because the score is a big improvement from the 55 percent the child typically scores, and improvement, not score, is parent B’s standard for performance.”
Coburn says this analogy can easily be applied to staff sales numbers, customer comments regarding staff, staff workload, and so forth. Failing to define the terms, which then leads to failing to define company-wide thresholds for success, can easily lend itself to staff resentment, just as one child might resent another for being rewarded differently.
He adds it’s easy to see how one team member might feel another one is being rewarded for achieving fewer results. A culture of resentment, gossiping and high attrition is soon to follow in the workplace, of which customers all too often become aware, causing them to take their business elsewhere — they have enough drama in their own organization and don’t need to expose themselves to ours, he says.
“We can’t hold our people accountable if we haven’t defined what accountability looks like and that starts by defining terms,” says Coburn. “Unfortunately, all too often we hold them accountable any way and that is where our people and customer challenges begin.”
To be certain to receive news of the release of the latest video, GPA Training says to email [email protected] or follow/connect with Coburn on LinkedIn.
