Study Reveals Younger Generation Showing Greater Interest In Dealership Jobs Than Older Generations
Even More from the Younger Generation May Join If Positions Other Than Sales Are Offered.
With employee turnover in the US touching a new crest every day, talent acquisition and retention are posing to be tough challenges for employers. Dealerships find themselves holding the center-stage of the struggle with around 20% of all dealership employees expected to switch jobs in the coming six months. It has been found that one-third of non-management employees feel unsatisfied or neutral with their dealership jobs. Fortunately, the Cox Automotive 2019 Dealership Staffing Study has something in positive for the dealerships, forecasting that the younger generations have a greater interest in dealership jobs than their older counterparts.
Dealerships are on the verge of losing a significant portion of their sales staff, a department that already has a high turnover rate of 80%. This group of employees is most likely to influence car buyer satisfaction, as per the Cox Automotive 2019 Car Buyer Journey Study. This may put dealerships in a high-risk stage. But there is a silver lining to this. More than 30% of the young Millennials and Gen Z are interested in working for dealerships, a striking difference of almost 10% when compared with the interests of Gen X and older Millennials, the report states. The report also mentions that dealerships attract even more of the younger generation if positions other than sales are offered to them.
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“A new generation is entering the workforce and bringing with them a renewed interest in working at a dealership. To attract and retain employees in this highly competitive job market, dealerships should understand which benefits and cultural attributes employees value the most and take action to effect positive changes within their store,” said Isabelle Helms, vice president, research and market intelligence, Cox Automotive.
61 million members of Gen Z are entering the US workforce and dealerships have an option to attract and hire young talent who are tech-savvy and acquainted with the trending and upcoming technologies. Closing the prevalent gaps in the auto retail workplace culture and having better employee engagement measures will go a long way in attracting young talent.
Bob Kostkan, Senior director with Cox Automotive University said, “Dealers can’t afford to take their eyes off their employees’ needs. With record-high dealership turnover and a low unemployment rate of 3.7% as of June 2019, it’s critical that dealership leaders improve productivity while also enhancing employee engagement and retention.”
The dealership needs to work towards making the culture at the workplace that promotes learning and growth. Empowering workers is of key importance in collaboration with engagement endeavors. In addition, investing in technology to provide best-in-class training, learning, and development opportunities is of utmost importance in this digital age.
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