If you knew there was a way to increase the self-confidence of your employees by 80% and improve their performance by 70% (International Coaching Federation), would you do it?
As the cold months of January and February keep many away from dealerships, this can be a difficult time for dealership employees. Slow days of waiting for customers to show up can be stressful. Doing little or even nothing can be exhausting and frankly, make your employees feel depleted at the end of the day.
If you’re reading this, and morale and engagement at the dealership are flagging despite you doing everything you can think of to keep your team engaged and upbeat, you’re not alone. If anything, it feels as if you hit a wall and tried every method to create the best possible workplace for you and your team. Is there anything that can be done other than giving your team additional days off to recharge?
Thankfully, there is a solution: coaching. We’re not talking about hiring someone to blow a whistle around the dealership, but rather implementing some methods that help your employees reach their goals and help managers prepare for the day leaders retire. In other words, coaching “can be used for solving problems, helping with goals and objectives, and improving performance” (Wavelength).
Here are just some of the benefits that come from coaching:
Improved Motivation: We all could use a boost of motivation from time to time. Coaching can motivate your employees to get things done, whether it be accomplishing personal goals or goals that will help the business. When people know their role and the work they do is important for the success of the company, it gives them a renewed sense of motivation to accomplish more. As a result, employees are more engaged in the workplace, improving overall workplace productivity.
Personal Awareness: Another way employees benefit from coaching is because they have an improved sense of their awareness. A coach can help employees become aware of areas they might not know need improvement and can work towards improving them. This will allow them to turn any weakness into strengths, which can be utilized not just for personal improvement but can also positively affect the dealership. Who wouldn’t want that?
Increased Engagement: Working in a dealership environment can often make employees feel like the sales team are the only people who matter. In actuality, every department is dependent on one another for the dealership’s success, no matter if you’re a powerhouse dealer or a family-run location. Coaching encourages your employees to become more engaged in the workplace. As a result, they feel more desire to participate as a team with the rest of your dealership team and feel like an essential part of the dealership’s success. When employees are actively involved in the workplace, they feel more valued and have increased productivity.
Planning Ahead: Many people in leadership positions fear the day their top managers retire or if prominent individuals decide to pursue other ventures. These people are critical to the success of the dealership, so what happens when they leave? Coaches can work with your top team members to prepare capable employees to take over once an old leader leaves through a method known as “succession planning.” It’s a process that will most likely require these individuals to acquire “bench strength” or the necessary new skills, in the meantime, to prepare them for taking over one day. Coaching can help throughout this whole process.
Implementing workplace coaching is important for any business that desires to grow and achieve goals as a team while being prepared for the future. Increased employee engagement, better decision-making processes, and improved communication are just a few of the benefits businesses see from coaching. Give it a try today, and see how a coaching culture benefits your dealership.
Photo Credits:
Top: Caleb Roenigk
Middle: Deb Nystrom
Bottom: Chris Hunkeler
