Pub. 14 2015-2016 Issue 3

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S I S S U E N O . 4 , 2 0 1 5 8 new jersey auto retailer Building The I often ask managers, if you were hired today to take over your job, what would you change? Would you have the same team around you? Would you have the desks set-up that way? Would you have the same inventory? Would your pricing be the same? Stop for a moment, look around with fresh eyes and identify the changes you would make. Stagnation of operations in dealerships can often be the source of stagnation in profits as well. That is why I was intrigued when asked, “What I would do to build the perfect Fixed Operations Department in a dealership?” After some thought, I looked at some of the common threads I see in Fixed Operations that are performing well. What follows are four core philosophies I would want to follow to build any Fixed Operations Department. Start with the right team We are in a people-driven business. Assembling the right set of people is never easy, but it is the main key to out per forming ever yone else in t he market. Unfortunately, hiring in New Jersey is often a crapshoot with horrible odds. So how do you tilt the probabilities back in your favor? There is no shortage of advice about how to hire better. Normally they come down to h i r i ng ba sed on potent ia l (their strengths), practical experience and a good f it wit h t he rest of t he team. However, I have found two more characteristics you need to follow from top performing dealerships. One, they promote from within. This means they develop talent over a long period of time and employees see that there is a possible career path. If a position opens up in your department and you do not have an internal candidate then you are not doing enough training and development of your staff. Second, like any professional team, they never stop looking and recruiting. Now that may sound counter to the earlier characteristic of promoting from within, but there are occasions when you have to look outside and you don’t want to hire under duress. If one of BY ROB CAMPBELL Fixed Ops Department