DEI in your dealership can improve how you interact with customers, but it’s not always simple to implement. See our tips on how to achieve the perfect balance.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion – known as DEI – can sometimes be a hot topic, and sometimes for all the wrong reasons. In reality, DEI hiring and practices can be an important part of your store’s success, both from the staff side and for your customers.
While DEI is undeniably important, it may sometimes be challenging to seamlessly incorporate its practices into your dealership. One of the keys is to look at it from all angles, and involve everyone in your store.
Exactly what is DEI all about?
DEI isn’t “we can only hire the guy who doesn’t look like everyone else in the dealership.” It’s a multifaceted approach to your entire store, and while it does involve your hiring policies, it also includes such things as how you approach your customers, how you advertise to them, how you build relationships, and how you operate your store to make it welcoming to people of all backgrounds.
Ideally, DEI is something you should pursue, because everyone should be welcome and encouraged at your store; and that you also want to pursue, because it’s going to improve your business internally and how it looks to your customers.
What is your advantage with DEI?
Customers who don’t always feel well-represented in many situations will be more comfortable in a diverse environment, which will translate into interest in doing business with you. If French or English are second languages for them, they may prefer to go over the intricacies of paperwork and financing in their mother tongue, even if they’re relatively fluent in their adopted language.
Once people are aware of your DEI policy, it can open your doors to far more customers. Those who are comfortable with you, including in the way they communicate with your salespeople, will send friends and relatives to you.
Some of these customers may be new Canadians and haven’t yet established a credit rating. This gives you an opportunity to walk them through your financial products that are available to them, further deepening their trust in you and your dealership.
DEI is also inclusion, which can include people with disabilities. Looking at your dealership through “inclusive eyes” can help you make any necessary changes to make it easier for everyone to access your building and services.
Where do you need to be cautious with DEI?
Establishing DEI in your dealership is essential, but there can be times when it can potentially create issues. You have to watch for them and ensure that everything is moving forward fairly.
For example, if you have a number of customers who prefer to conduct transactions in a specific language, but only certain people on your staff speak it, they may be getting a disproportionate number of customers who walk by others in the store. You need to ensure fairness with walk-ins, which might even potentially include staff sharing duties – and commissions – on a deal.
Another issue that sometimes comes up is when employees may feel that hiring or promotions are done strictly on DEI stipulations. Giving consideration to DEI doesn’t mean hiring people who aren’t qualified for the job. Let your staff know this, and work with your HR department to ensure that this is the case.
How do you get more women involved?
There is no question that dealerships are still male-dominated, and even if you want more women working in the showroom, it can be difficult to find applicants. When you are advertising positions for employees, note that your store that DEI is important and, especially, that women are encouraged to apply for positions.
You also might consider looking deeper within: It’s usually more common to find women working in the dealership offices, or sometimes on the service desk, than in the showroom. These employees might not have thought about working in sales or F&I, and might be interested in it. This can also apply to a more diverse workforce that might be “behind the scenes” in the store, and would also be good candidates for your departments.
The sales floor can often mean long hours as well, and might prove difficult for women who are primary caregivers for their children. If you can find ways to make shifts more flexible, you could attract more female candidates – as well as provide a better work-life balance for the people already working for you, which in turn helps prevent burnout.
Reaching out to your diverse audience
Make the most of your online advertising by promoting your store’s diversity on your site and on any marketplace websites. This can include a quick video showing all of your salespeople and managers with their names, and including a list of languages customers will be able to use when they come in. If there are local newspapers, or radio or television channels in languages your employees speak, advertise with them.
Making DEI work for you
Hiring people with diverse backgrounds is just the first step in DEI. You now need to keep them and to help them reach their full potential. Open dialogue is essential, and they need to know they can come to you and trust you if something isn’t working for them, if they don’t feel they’re being respected by others, or there’s a better way for them to do their jobs.
At the same time, use the diversity of your staff to your advantage. They may better understand how to reach out to people, including any unique negotiating and buying habits, or how to close a deal. There can be a lot of work involved in successfully bringing DEI into your workplace, which may also involve changing mindsets; but ultimately, it will be well worth what it takes to do it.