Why automotive consultancy may be the answer in gifting senior management more time

Now that we seem to be emerging from the threats and pressures of the pandemic, car dealers, like most of us, are coming to terms with the existential threat of war in Ukraine and the long-term ambitions of Putin and the possible macro-economic effect of his actions.

Business leaders appear to be lurching from one crisis to another. Changes to the retail business model that have emerged through numerous lockdowns, the semi-conductor shortage and the rising cost of living and fuel costs, in particular. Furthermore, political uncertainty and the effects of Brexit are still a factor.

As a consequence of these various uncertainties, it is no surprise that leaders are trying to predict their own long-term future and their particular ambitions for growth whilst remaining mindful of the need to manage through all the short-term uncertainty.  The more cautious amongst us might take the view that longer term investment is off the table for the moment, and we should simply wait and see.  If this mentality prevails businesses may find themselves unable to react to an upturn in the market with staff who are untrained and unprepared for change.

Everyone has lost good, experienced people through COVID. Whether that’s due to lifestyle changes, redundancy or indeed from the disease itself.  Some dealers have promoted people from within to fill the gaps with the hope that inexperienced people can become experienced and effective quickly.

All leaders understand that payroll is their most expensive cost and if the business has the ability to run lean, this will manage those costs to a minimum.  Additionally, dealers may be reluctant to engage in training as this would mean losing people from the business when numbers are already low.  However, if you employ inexperienced team members who are inefficient and ineffective it is likely you are engaging in a false economy. The needs of these people can quickly act as a drain on senior management time as they try to support their inexperienced associates.

The answer to this problem may lie in the consultancy route.  Recruiting experts to visit your business and work closely with your teams to help develop them, improve process and drive change will only involve a limited additional cost to your business and only as required. Experienced motor retail professionals can engage your teams appropriately to help in their development, freeing up senior management to engage with the day-to-day business that distracts so many in this ever demanding retail environment.

At MotorVise our consultancy team have over 100 years of motor retail experience between them in both sales and aftersales.  We have worked with many dealer groups both large and small in supporting them to drive improvement for more than 8 years.  We are confident that there are few situations we have yet to experience in the industry which puts us in the perfect position to offer direction and advice in your business.

If you would like to talk to us further for advice on how we might be able to help, we would be delighted to engage in a free of charge consultation.  Call us anytime on 01325 776410 or visit www.motorvise.com for more information.