Recruiter Steve Stoll shares how to attract the best talent in the automotive industry

Today on Kain & Co., host David Kain, President of Kain Automotive, sits down with Steve Stoll, President, and Principal of The Stoll Group. The pair discusses automotive recruiting.

It’s like ABR, always be recruiting, says Stoll. Stoll says he’s proactive and not reactive. How many times do we wait until we have a need? Stoll believes you should always be recruiting because you’re only as strong as your weakest link. it’s one thing to attract the top talent but another to retain that talent. The cost of retention is a lot more expensive. No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care says Stoll.

Stoll believes a lot of recruiters that call themselves recruiters, aren’t. Ninety-eight to 99% of the best people are typically already working. The Stoll Group helps identify ‘first-round draft pick type of talent’. Those people will usually take a call to see if there might be a better opportunity, short or long term. Stoll says we need to go where the best talent or prospects are.

A dealership should have a ‘champion’. Stoll says this is someone whose sole job is to recruit and anticipate future needs. You must create a sense of urgency. He says if you’re not excited and passionate, how can you expect prospective candidates to have that? He also says recruiters do need to make themselves available after hours and on weekends.

You can have anything you want in your life if you ask yourself these 3 questions, says Stoll. What do you want? How much does it cost? And are you willing to pay the price? A lot of dealerships want to hire talent, but they are stuck in their own ways. It’s about people and relationships.

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