Do you believe it is easier to find good employees or keep good employees? That is the question I posted on Facebook this week. More than usual (which is something to be said), I’ve seen relatively knowledgable industry veterans jumping from dealership to dealership. Granted, there are a few I’m connected to with (what I call) “restless job syndrome”, but the majority keep switching positions. Dealer clients tell me the difficulty they have finding talent, to which I figure they wouldn’t have to keep looking non-stop if they kept their current team members trained and happy. Alas, easier said than done.
So I asked, is it easier to finder good employees or keep good employees? Several of the auto industry faithful weighed in, along with some other friends from around the way. Read their comments and see which answer generated the most votes.
Easier to Find Good Employees:
“Find. But both get easier with the right network and process.” ~ Dave Spannhake
“Ooh, the ultimate chicken and egg scenario. Building the culture that nurtures good talent is harder to create and maintain than finding good talent. But… really good prospects can sniff out a crappy culture pretty easily so finding the best people really requires you to have your house in order. All that being said, I think keeping good talent is the tougher task.” ~ Dave Hicks
“Find and create.” ~ Stephen Fucile
“Harder to keep because the perceived value of an employee decreases over time. Companies tend to treat new employees as the answer to a problem at first and then as a problem as time goes by.” ~ Melvin Eudell Hogan
“Easier to find. Harder to keep.” ~ Richard Morgan
“It’s hard to keep anyone that is worth keeping, especially someone with ambition and options.” ~ James Carter
“Easier to find!” ~ Destiny Bode
“Easier to make them into good employees.” ~ Jeff Sterns
“Find.” ~ Jonathan Evenson
Easier to Keep Good Employees:
“Keep for me. If they are a good employee- take care of them, ensure they have a path for their career aspirations, treat them with respect and fairness, show them you value them – they don’t leave you. I struggle with finding them in the first place… lots of people out there that “are just here for a paycheck” and quality of output be damned. (Regardless of role.) Just my 2 cents.” ~ Michelle Phelps
“Keep! ‘Better to sell what you can see then to see what you can sell’ sort of thought process.” ~ Aubrie Catan
“Keep them and then they bring you more good employees.” ~ Matt Raymond
“Easier to keep them. My best employees made it so easy for me to be a great boss. 
” ~ Gina Stark
“Keep for sure.” ~ Lawrence Perry
“Keep for sure.” ~ James Klaus
“Keep them.” ~ Chris Acker
“Keep them.” ~ Daryl Woltman
“Keep.” ~ Jen Dunstan
“Keep.” ~ Greg Freeman
“Keep.” ~ Brian Napper
“Keep.” ~ Ritchelle Lamb
“Keep.” ~ John Schrimpf
“With bosses like you guys. I’m sure it’s easier to keep them!” ~ (DealerKnows very own) Jennifer McDuffie
Either Undecided or Smart Word Salad
“I need more information about this/these good employee(s) in order to determine whether it will be easier to keep them happy/satisfied or if recruiting and molding an even better one would be easier…” ~ Stephanie Yamasaki
“The better your processes with leadership agreeing on roles, expectations and company values, you will potentially find the ‘finding’ process requiring more rigor, but the keeping much easier. Hire well. Starting with the leaders. The question here itself lends itself to different timelines. Finding people may take a few months, keeping people can range from months to years, so there are very different activities that need to happen with each in an ongoing tenure. A key challenge is that most leaders cannot begin to identify or relate to the employee at the multiple growth points in their position and at the company. What are challenges that happen on repeat with newer, mid-level or growth points, yet nobody identifies or overcomes? By the time they realize they might be losing an employee, it’s too late. All efforts that happen here should have been part of a deliberate plan much earlier. This would be a good point to learn and start to lay out plans for the future.” ~ Laurie Foster
“Both. You can’t find them to keep them.” ~ Johnny Van Le
“Both.” ~ Melanie Welch
FINAL TALLY:
Easier to Find: 10
Easier to Keep: 25
Undecided: 10
WORD ON THE STREET: IT’S EASIER TO KEEP GOOD EMPLOYEES
I have access to the Hireology accounts for some of DealerKnows’ clients as well so as to review potential candidates for their departments. On occasion we’re asked to conduct phone screenings (along with the requisite training of new hires) and provide hiring ads and job descriptions to our clients when asked. I will first say that training goes a long way to developing good employees and a well-trained employee is more apt to stay. A well-trained employee is also more valuable to the organization.
Judging from many of the resumes I see, applicants must believe it is a low barrier of entry (unfortunately) to join the ranks of automotive retail. Applicants with crucial experience such as clerking at the dollar store, being forklift certified, guarding at a penitentiary, and rocking the register at the local gas ‘n sip all are ready and willing to work for your dealership. Can they grow to be worthy employees? Yes, of course, but ONLY with a solid orientation program, a lot of training, consistent guidance, and great management. That is unfortunately not the environment for many though. (A lot of money is spent and time wasted when you get it wrong.) So I do believe finding good employees is more difficult. Keeping employees takes money, training, and care. Still not easy, but less of a shot in the dark.
So step up your game, companies. Put your best foot forward to attract and hire the best candidates when you can because you won’t know the next time you’ll have a chance. Work to keep them happy, but work harder to find the right ones. Like Johnnie Taylor said in his classic 1970’s R&B song, “It’s Cheaper to Keep Her.”
