Every industry is being transformed by new technology, and auto dealerships are no exception. Unfortunately, far too many businesses deploy technology but fail to focus on adoption. Simply rolling out a new way of doing things with a lot of fanfare isn’t enough to make it a success as indicated by a recent study conducted by Harvard.
What happens?
Dealership owners and managers can fail to make employees accountable for ensuring that technology is actually adopted. What commonly happens is after new technology is made available, management expects things will take care of themselves. Making sure adoption of the investment you’ve made is key, it should be a routine part of the way you do business.
Knowing all this, how can dealership owners and managers convince more of their employees to embrace and use new technology?
Focus on your priorities
Don’t get caught up in rolling out a huge variety of new technology. Instead, take the time to figure out what’s important to your business and where improvement is needed. Focus on the technology’s impact versus its cost and how difficult it will be to implement. For example, if you’re concerned about the profitability of your dealership’s reconditioning efforts, utilize technology like ReconTRAC to help track the amount of time and money each car costs you and how much of that investment is recouped.
Budget for training
Make sure your employees have the needed support to properly utilize the technology. The benefits and details about using the technology should be covered, and progress should be monitored. This isn’t solely about money, but also time – proper training and continued support should be given the and attention they deserve. Employees should never feel as though they weren’t given the help they need to be successful in using the new technology.
Set the right example
Department managers should eagerly embrace the new technology, setting the example for others. As these leaders set the tone, other employees will follow. Also make sure that your most influential employees and those who are most comfortable with new technology are brought in early in the process so they can set an example and assist others.
Provide rewards and recognition
Everyone appreciates being recognized, so why not offer tangible rewards for your employees who are effectively utilizing new technology? Reconditioning software and other technologies designed for dealerships can save money, so if you reward employees who are utilizing it to its fullest potential, you’ll still come out ahead. Even a small gift card, bonus, or other form of recognition can be a powerful incentive.
