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Compliance- AKA the “Rules”

As a small business owner and operator, you know it can be tough keeping up on what’s going on in your business, much less what is going on in the world around you. Its easy to be misled by sensational articles about different state and local agencies, a well federal ones, assigning new regulations and levying fines. But not all articles are just sensational hype, these agencies do enforce the “Rules”.

So how do you find time to address all the “Rules”. Which rules are more important than others? What are the risks involved in not following a “Rule”? How much are typical fines for a particular item? And, most importantly, how do you know where best to spend your time.

The good news is that most of the time you spend on Compliance at your company is simply a systematic look at how YOU, the owner and operator, wish to have things done, and communicating these to your associates.  

  • In order to meet the objectives of the company, there must be a systematic approach to each task.
  • There can be no accountability for completing a task when the company’s objectives are not clear.

There is help! Over the next few posts, I will be pointing you to several places that will not cost you any more to keep abreast of the ever-changing world of the “Rules”.

The first place that you may or may not know about is the State Independent Dealer Associations. These Associations often do a wonderful job of keeping an eye on new legislation and regulations being considered. They usually have a way to let the state bodies express the wishes of the Independent dealers.

According to the NIADA (https://www.niada.com/state_affiliates.php) website:

“NIADA has a well-established nationwide group of federated State Associations that each operate independently of each other but work together for a united cause. At the heart of our collective effort is the drive to maintain strong national and state dealer associations, better serve the interests of the public, provide educational opportunities for our members and preserve a strong legislative and regulatory presence that protects independent dealers from unnecessary litigation, rule-making or legislation that would prohibit them from serving their customers and the public fairly and honestly.  When you join your state association, you automatically become a member of NIADA as well.”

From this website, one may find links to their state association.  Many of the state websites offer monthly blogs, free dealer classes, sales tax help as well as free copies of dealer state specific manuals.

In my next blog, I will discuss some other great resources for you to use when considering Compliance.

There will be further discussion on this and many other issues you face at our National Dealer Seminar in Clearwater Florida, February 19 and 20, 2019. For more information on this seminar, please click on the Seminar tab at the top of our website. https://www.afsdealers.com/seminar.a5w#page-top

–Joyce Guest, February 8th, 2019

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DO PEOPLE LEAVE JOBS, OR DO THEY LEAVE LEADERS?

Over the past 30+ years, I’ve unfortunately conducted hundreds of exit interviews.  Surprisingly, compensation has rarely been a legitimate reason for leaving. According to Leigh Brahnam, author of the book “The 7 Hidden Reasons Employees Leave”, those reasons are:

  1.  The job or work place was not as expected
  2.  Mismatch between job and person
  3.  Too little coaching and feedback
  4.  Too few growth and advancement opportunities
  5.  Feeling devalued and unrecognized
  6.  Stress from overwork and work-life imbalance
  7.  Loss of trust and confidence in senior leaders

Have you ever considered the actual costs of hiring, training and retaining quality help?  An industry leader suggests the all-in costs of hiring and preparing a person to effectively manage a dealership is approximately $140,000.00 – 150,000.00, and approximately two years with the company working in various positions to learn the business and hone their skills.  

Suggestions to improve employee retention:

  1.  Be transparent.  During the interview process, paint the truest picture of the job and its requirements.  When a new hire realizes things are not as portrayed, doubt is created in the employee’s mind – “what else is wrong” or “what else are they lying about”.  
  2.  First rule of thumb, you will see the best side of people during an interview.  If you have a bad feeling, pass on the person or ask them to come back another time.  Assure the applicant has both the aptitude and attitude to be successful, or don’t hire them regardless.  Hire happy people. Hire people you would enjoy working for. Hire people who can one day replace you.
  3.  Coaching employees seems simple to me but is one of the greatest challenges I’ve witnessed among most managers.  Teaching a task, observing the student perform the task and offering feedback doesn’t seem so challenging to me. Maybe you don’t think it important, but your employees do.  They want to know how they are doing and what they must do to become better at their job.
  4.  Growth and advancement:  The number one reason people stay at companies has to do with developmental opportunities not how well they are paid.  Besides job enrichment, cross-training can increase the skill set and value of the employee, thus improving their preparedness for promotion.  
  5.  Folks want to work for a leader who recognizes their importance to the team regardless of position or responsibility and sincerely appreciates and acknowledges their contributions and accomplishments.  
  6.      Things have changed with the people we are hiring.  Work/life balance is far greater priority to employees today than ever before.  What is the culture at your company? Are you forcing employees to choose between having a career or having a life?
  7.  Inspire your employees by providing clear vision and purpose.  Empower them by delegating more responsibility and allowing them to do their job and more.  Demonstrate your trust and confidence in their ability to accomplish the goal, whatever it may be.  

A parting thought… Take a personal inventory of your leadership.  Identify the opportunities for improvement and establish a plan to reduce your turnover by becoming the best leader possible.  

-Bill Elizondo, February 1st, 2019