Repost from Dealer Marketing July 2014
(faithie/Shutterstock.com)
It has been about seven years since the importance of dealer online reputation has become a serious concern in the industry. A number of businesses in general have taken a proactive approach to manage their online reputation. In fact, there is always a new small business popping up offering SEO, social media, and reputation management services . These services have played a healthy role in improving how a business handles their marketing practices as well as customer relations.
While this topic has been discussed more then enough times over the years there are other aspects of reputation management that businesses have failed to look at. Let’s explore digital human resources and recruiting practices. We all know that just about anything can be done on the internet. This means that there are websites popping up offering new tools, services and solutions. In fact, sites like Indeed.com, simplyhired.com and Glassdoor.com have made a mark in recruiting. These sites have as big of an impact on recruiting as Careerbuilder and Monster.
What is interesting about these newer platforms is that they allow past and present employees to leave reviews and comments about their experience working for their employer. This in turn allows job applicants to explore and consider if a company is worth applying for. When exploring some classified ads on these sites it has become evident that business has not been paying to attention to how their employees view them. Sure, it is easy to go on facebook and see if an employee badmouths their boss or employer. However, business is not managing their internal online reputation.
This is a very important topic for millennials, because they are socially savvy. Millennials read and write reviews of everything online. They also have a different attitude to jobs then “baby boomers” do. While, millennials have a difficult time landing on their feet or being taken seriously they still possess that attitude that makes them move on if something just does not smell right. This means that it is time for employers to step up their game by adding another process for managing their business. This is a Human Resource function.
Let’s face it employers (especially car dealers) deal with many issues that involve having past employees or current employees that might be disgruntled. A business that is always recruiting for fresh talent will limit the ability to have a quality recruiting process because negative reviews will force job seekers to move on and explore more opportunities.
It is time to get proactive. Employers that part ways with employees must have a process that is well documented and reviewed. This goes beyond an exit interview. If money is owed to the employee then it is important to get them paid right away. Anything that is owed by the employee needs to be produced as they exit their job as well. Employers need to be so professional that the exit process is a positive one. This will limit negative feelings and drama that would otherwise occur afterwards.
Employers must take the time to review working conditions and update internal practices to not only remain profitable but also be a place where employees want to go work. Employers should encourage current happy employees to review them online on job sites so that the credibility of the company is increased. Any bad review that gets written needs to be addressed just like a bad review that gets addressed with unhappy customers. This will also increase credibility with customers. As customers search for a dealership online they may come across recruiting ads and look at them out of curiosity. In the end dealerships can not only maintain a positive reputation but also decrease employee turnover.
Stan Sher is the founder and president of Dealer eTraining, an automotive sales training and consulting company focused on internet, BDC and showroom sales operations. Stan is a millennial himself with over 11 years experience in the automotive industry. He can be contacted at ssher@dealermark.com.