The age-old idiom “too many cooks in the kitchen” raises an obvious point about corporate collaboration as it applies to decision-making and shaping the future trajectory of a dealership. As much as we’d like to trumpet that everyone has equal input, in reality it’s simply not the case. But that doesn’t mean engagement is out of reach for most employees. They can still be made to feel very much a part of your organization through input.
Before it became a political football and poster child for the war on “woke,” the concept of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) sought to help businesses foster a greater experience for team members. The belief was that employees who felt seen, heard and supported were, in turn, more engaged in their work and more likely to think of their company as a destination employer. The good news is, dealerships can still implement DEI’s foundational underpinnings without falling victim to the contentious connotations associated with the term.
As we kick off our March State of the Industry report on corporate culture, we asked out august dealer panel to gauge the importance of employee engagement. Taking it a step further, we picked their brains to learn about the tools and programs they employ that can help facilitate professional development.
Rubber Meets Road
Being a practitioner of the Traction Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), The Swenson Group (TSG) abides by the process’ mandate to foster a safe place where teammates can share viewpoints and ideas, and respectfully challenge/question each other, notes President Dean Swenson. This, in turn, “sets the ground rules of open and honest communication without any negative ramifications,” he noted. It’s a process that pushes the organization to improve, implement fresh ideas and hold everyone accountable.
TSG managers conduct one-on-one meetings with all direct reports each quarter. However, Swenson points out that their aim is not to have managers provide performance feedback for team members.
“In contrast, it is to have the employee to give their manager feedback. This too has helped our leadership team grow and get better,” he said.
Dealers such as imageOne of Oak Park, Michigan, appreciate the value of team member engagement in the belief that culture separates the dealership from the competition. President Josh Britton believes it’s important to invest in team members as much as they have invested in the company, and the tools imageOne leverages support this two-way commitment. For example, imageOne has been run on the EOS platform for more than 20 years. The dealer follows the Great Game of Business open book finance program and adheres to “2 Second Lean” principles for fun and interesting methods to become more lean.
imageOne also employs surveys and manages to a team member satisfaction program called Gross National Happiness. Britton and team members also abide by the Evergreen 7Ps (Tugboat Institute) for enduring private businesses; are longtime practitioners of the Small Giants philosophy; and have extensive training for the “5 Dysfunctions of a Team.” New additions to the team embark on imageOne University (iOU), a 120-day program that educates newbies on these tools.
“These are supplemented with a variety of rituals weekly, quarterly, and annually to reinforce the principals and practices of our culture and, in turn, identify opportunities to improve and develop,” Britton noted.
On the individual level, imageOne charts self, manager and peer feedback weekly and quarterly, in addition to its annual review process—all of which drives professional development efforts, Britton added.
“Every team member also submits a Vision and Goals form every year,” he said. “This lays out the team members’ one-, three- and five-year goals, and 10-year vision for themselves. The V&G practice highlights a variety of opportunities to support team member development in their pursuit of their personal goals.”
Raving Glad
Consistency of message is important, so any vehicle that keeps it flowing can enable it to remain top of mind throughout an organization. At Datamax, a primary engagement trumpet is the dealer’s internal enewsletter, The Rave Review. According to Jeff Walker, marketing communications manager for the firm (with locations in Texas and Arkansas) the page helps familiarize people from across the organization in different areas.
The Rave Review also celebrates employees, according to Walker. “[It’s about] who they are individually, how they’ve evolved at Datamax, and what they uniquely bring to the organization, because every job matters,” he said. “While it’s a bit cliché to say that people are any organization’s greatest asset, we feel that celebrating them, taking the time to interview them, and giving them the platform to share their story is anything but.”
Meaningful engagement is a term James Loffler has become accustomed to repeating. The president of Loffler Companies in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, points out the dealership operates in a hybrid fashion, with most team members logging three or four days per week in the office. Tuesday and Wednesday are team days, when everyone is in the office, and the high energy and meaningful engagement—from team meetings to one-on-one sales mentoring—is palpable.
Stoking Passion
Professional development is encouraged at all levels, Loffler notes, and the dealer does its best to get a feel for where team members’ passions lie. “We love to fuel other people’s passion, but not feel like we have to create a passion for everyone,” Loffler remarked. “We’ve got intelligent people, so let’s listen to what they want to do and then give them the tools to make it a reality.”
Loffler Companies hosts monthly women in leadership meetings, where guest speakers are brought in to create a dialog around best practices/standards. Developing leaders are encouraged to join peer groups, such as Young Presidents’ Organization or Coalition9, to build their skills and confidence.
Monthly manager meetings are split into two sections: one is a catch-all for what’s happening with the organization and what’s on tap, plus allows them to ask questions. The second portion revolves around development; manager study groups will read a book such as “Dichotomy of Leadership” and focus on four chapters, thus ensuring that all participants learn at the same pace. These groups of about four to six team members include a healthy mixture of work roles, which helps bridge together the various departments.
During the pandemic, it was necessary to keep remote team members abreast of what was happening with the company. Loffler and the rest of the dealer’s leadership saw the merit in continuing the weekly updates after the worst of COVID had passed. From that, the weekly company newsletter was born.
“As you grow and have these remote locations, you start to develop subcultures, which is a thing,” Loffler added. “But at the end of the day, we all kind of need to feel connected and unified. The weekly newsletter does a really nice job of making sure all of those teams that aren’t in the headquarters every single day feel connected, know what’s going on, and feel like they’re a part of the team.”
