Amber Hash
Recruiting Manager
EFG Companies
Struggling with Employee Retention?
It could be due to the nature of the industry. It could be due to a labor shortage. It could be due to your recruitment practices. Or, it could be a combination of all three.
The U.S. unemployment rate continues to sink, hitting a 17-year low in November of last year at 4.1 percent. Job seekers are finding work more easily than any time since the mid-90s. Openings have now topped roughly 6 million for five months in a row, a record streak, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the second quarter GDP notched an impressive 4.1 percent, labor market analysts cautioned that an increasing labor shortage could impact growth going forward.
In addition, according to the 2017 NADA Dealership Workforce Study, the median workforce tenure in retail automotive is 2.5 years. However, it takes employees in key production positions, like F&I managers, an average of three years to reach full productivity.
Going in to 2018, dealers were already struggling with employee retention. Compound that with a labor shortage, and the typical high-turnover nature of the industry could turn from a nuisance to a serious problem.
In my previous blog, I discussed how hiring practices can impact employee retention – specifically the importance of vetting your candidates. While vetting is extremely important in making sure you’re filling open positions with the right people, it’s equally important to set realistic job expectations early on in the recruiting process. This helps your team make sure they are searching for the right talent, and it helps to set up new recruits for success.