What Does Cheating Teach Your Employees?, from AutoPoint.
Automotive News recently carried a story about a lawsuit filed by Subaru of America against one of their franchisees. The lawsuit accuses a Southern California dealership of falsifying 224 CSI surveys in an effort to increase their CSI scores. This was after being issued a warning by the OEM in 2012 for past poor CSI performance. According to the article, when surveys arrived via email from the manufacturer, the dealership would then allegedly have employees fill them out at a neighboring dealership (that was also part of the same group). Apparently, as many as 12 employees were tasked with completing and submitting these surveys, which to me illustrates a massive failure in leadership – should it be proven true.
A dealership’s employees are its lifeblood. What lesson does this type of behavior teach these employees? — That it’s OK to kink the system, cheat the manufacturer and falsify reports for monetary gain. How do you hold these employees accountable for being honest to your business when you’re teaching them that it’s OK to be dishonest?
Managers should be role models for their employees and set an example of the culture and morality of an organization. By teaching them that it’s OK to cheat the manufacturer’s system, you’re also teaching them that it’s OK to cheat ANY system, including yours.
