Four Ways to Improve Employee Engagement at Your Dealership

Employee engagement is an indicator and cause of success. Overall, companies with high employee engagement are 21 percent more profitable than companies with low engagement. This aspect of the workplace is also known to increase morale and cause employees to provide better customer service to potential buyers.

Ultimately, it is crucial for you to develop strategies that keep your dealership staff engaged.

The straightforward part of this strategy is understanding the engagement level of your teams. The challenging step is figuring out how to not only captivate them but keep them involved.

Fortunately, there are many ways that your dealership can reap the benefits of employee engagement.

Below are some steps you can take to encourage this trend at your dealership. 

Have Your Team Participate in COVID-Related Community Outreach

The COVID-19 outbreak is impacting everyone. Due to the massive loss of jobs and the public health issues brought on by the pandemic, many individuals need help from volunteers and nonprofit organizations. This time presents an excellent opportunity for you to do some good in the community while also engaging your dealership teams.

Additionally, most employees enjoy when their employers present opportunities for them to volunteer. Research by America’s Charities found that 71 percent of respondents said it’s imperative or very important to work where the culture is supportive of giving and volunteering.

So, find ways for your dealership staff to get involved. A great example of this is the Do-Good Auto Coalition, a group of dealerships around the country who have committed to deliver food, PPE, and even medicine.

Find out which organizations are helping out in your community and see how you and your dealership teams can support them. 

Recognize Your Employees 

Recognizing your employees’ work can bring about increased feelings of satisfaction and engagement.

It’s easy—especially right now—to be focused on keeping everything afloat and meeting your goals. Nevertheless, it is vital to take out the time to acknowledge those who are helping you keep the dealership running.

These are some ways you can say “thank you” to your dealership employees: 

• Provide lunch or breakfast for employees once a week. 
• Send “thank you” notes or emails to your employees where you specifically acknowledge ways they have helped around the office. 
• Produce content that profiles employees who have gone above and beyond. 
• Allow employees to nominate co-workers workers for recognition awards. 

There is a wide range of ways that you can acknowledge your dealership staff’s hard work. However, the goal is to find what works for helping your employees feel appreciated. Ultimately, a thank you can go a long way, especially when it comes to improving engagement. 

Offer Opportunities for Professional Development 

Training and professional development are crucial to employees who care about the work they do. They want to know that dealership leadership is invested in their growth. A study by Clearcompany found that 68 percent of employees say training and development is the company’s most important policy.

Providing employees with an opportunity to learn something new and sharpen their skills can offer them increased purpose and expand their options for advancement.

Here are some ways to provide training and development at your dealership: 

• Have lunch-and-learn events where employees can become educated on a professional topic or skill from an expert.
• Invest in virtual training programs with the help of platforms like Lynda.com, Udemy, and Coursera.
• Allow workers to attend conferences so they can participate in professional development workshops, and network with experts in the automotive community.
• Let workers shadow a team member in a department they are interested in working in. 

Allowing your employees to learn something new gives them the chance to renew their interest in their jobs as well as the automotive industry as a whole. 

Allow For Flexibility And Trust Your Staff 

Employees want to know that you trust them to do the work they were hired to do. Tactics like micromanaging, overworking, and strict policies on work times can decrease employee morale and engagement. You can avoid this problem by adding flexibility to how your dealership runs.

This situation can look like offering flexible start and end times, allowing employees to work from home, and avoiding the temptation to micromanage. Your ultimate goal is to be sure the work gets done.

Your employees want to know that you trust them enough to meet their goals, even if they need to arrive in the office a bit later due to family responsibilities. 

Engagement is the Key to Success In These Difficult Times 

COVID-19 is changing how we work and how we interact with those we work with. Now, more than ever, being able to keep your employees engaged is critical. Ultimately, the members of your team want to feel they have a purpose at your dealership. The steps above allow them to feel they are working for a company that cares about their aspirations, causes, and the work they achieve, which can definitely have a positive impact on engagement.