Every program OEMs launch depends on people who may not be there in six months.
Training investments. Brand standards implementation. EV transition preparation. Customer experience initiatives. All of it flows through dealership employees: a workforce turning over at 42% annually, with sales consultants hitting 66% and BDC representatives exceeding 100%.¹
The Brand Problem OEMs Don’t See and Dealers Pay For Read More »
Fixed operations is where dealerships actually make money. Service and parts generate consistent profit regardless of whether the new car market is booming or struggling. When variable ops gets squeezed, fixed ops keeps the lights on.
Tim Bergstrom knows all 2,500 of his employees by name.¹
That’s not a marketing claim or an exaggeration. It’s an operational commitment that illustrates everything about how Bergstrom Automotive approaches employee experience.
When “You’re Family” Isn’t Just a Slogan: What Real Dealership Culture Looks Like Read More »
When Roger Penske says “Human Capital is the most important asset on your balance sheet,” he’s not delivering a feel-good talking point.¹ He’s stating a business philosophy that has made Penske Automotive Group an outlier in an industry defined by workforce instability.
What Penske Gets Right About Employees – and Why It Shows Up in Results Read More »
Every industry has its sacred excuses. In automotive retail, the biggest one sounds like this: “High turnover? That’s just how this industry works.”
It gets said with a shrug. Sometimes a knowing smile. As if accepting 42% annual turnover is a mark of wisdom rather than a failure of imagination.
“That’s Just How This Industry Works”: The Most Expensive Myth in Automotive Retail Read More »
Ask any dealer principal about their numbers and they’ll rattle them off: gross profit per unit, service throughput, hours per RO, closing ratios, inventory turn. These metrics get reviewed daily, sometimes hourly. Compensation is tied to them. Careers rise and fall on them.
Dealerships don’t have a CSI problem. They have an employee problem, and the numbers prove it. Automotive retail loses an estimated $20 billion every year1 to employee turnover. Not because the problem is unsolvable, but because it’s been normalized.
The Employee-Customer-Profit Connection in Automotive Retail Read More »
In automotive retail, the old mindset of “that’s the way it’s always been” is starting to crack.
We’ve stuck with old-school practices for decades—but emerging tech has forced us to change the way we do business.
Building a Better Dealership: Creating a Customer-Centric Culture Read More »
