Do you know the main reasons that employees leave their dealership? And of those, which areas are you excelling in and where could you improve? Based on employee surveys collected by ESi-Q in 2022, we’ll highlight the reasons why dealership employees are leaving and share some anecdotal information gleaned from the written survey answers.
Of the tens of thousands of dealership employees who completed surveys, those who said they were looking for a new job were asked a follow-up question: Why are you looking for a new job? Respondents could choose up to three different reasons why they’re looking for a new job. Respondents were also allowed to leave additional responses in a freeform text field which helps paint an even clearer picture of their feelings.
1. Pay Issues – 53%
As you would expect, pay issues are the most frequently mentioned issue as to why people are leaving. However, it’s not always just about the rate of pay. Quite often, it’s about unfair pay practices such as favoritism, where someone feels another employee is getting fed deals more often than they are or service technicians who feel they are not getting compensated for extra effort, hours, or stress.
2. Bad Manager/Bad Culture – 42%
For employees who are looking to leave, it’s a lot easier to say you’re leaving because you’re getting paid more elsewhere, as opposed to the second most frequent reason people cited for leaving which is because of their managers and a bad culture in the workplace. Respondents cited incompetent managers who don’t listen or care about employees, negativity, hostility, and/or a lack of teamwork in departments or between departments.
3. Growth & Development Issues – 37%
Today, especially with younger workers, employees are much more focused on acquiring new marketable skills, professional development, and career growth. Those who selected this as their reason for leaving feel that there’s a lack of training, coaching, mentoring, or a lack of a clear career path. Employees want coaching on how they can become a better salesperson, make more money, and just generally bolster their skills and knowledge.
4. Benefit Issues – 18%
With benefits being tied to many people’s place of employment, it’s surprising that this number isn’t even higher. This could have to do with any of the benefits that are offered or not offered including (but not limited to) medical, dental, vision, life insurance, retirement (401K), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health savings accounts (HSAs), paid vacation, paid sick time, paid holidays, paid parental leave, paid family leave, paid medical leave, flexible schedules, education assistance, family building benefits, and whatever else a dealership might offer. If your employee is the benefit provider for their family, this might be a top priority for them.
5. Career Change – 18%
18% is the number for sales advisors. For service technicians, this number is even higher at 21%. Survey respondents cited burnout, especially on the service side, as a leading reason for selecting this answer. Many service departments have been overworked due to pent up service demand, parts inventory issues, issues dealing with customer complaints, all leading to increased stress and burnout.
6. Hours, Weekends, PTO – 16%
While working weekends and holidays is par for the course at most dealerships, many employees still want flexibility when it comes to their schedule. Dealers who are able to be reasonable and generous with scheduling and PTO for employees will aid in keeping them happy. Flexibility is key as more and more employees place value on creating and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
7. No Vision or Direction – 10%
Today’s younger employees want to feel a sense of purpose in their work lives. Employees who feel that there is no vision or direction at their dealership or from dealership leadership may feel a lack of purpose. There’s more to working at a dealership than just selling/servicing cars and hitting your numbers and employees want to feel bought into where the dealership is headed and what it stands for.
Do you recognize your stores in any of the above examples? If so, it may be time for a reset and tackle the issue head on. Training and development of your team is one way you can help them move forward with a clear direction and purpose. With it getting more difficult to find and retain great team members, digging into the above reasons and solving them now is well worth your time and effort.
About the Author
Ted Kraybill is the President of ESI-Q for Quantum5.