Hire Better to Fill Dealership Openings
There’s nothing more critical to your dealership’s success than your team. Recruiting and hiring new team members to fill the gaps in your workforce has always had its challenges, but never has that hill been so steep for marine businesses as it is now, during what some are calling “The Great Resignation.”
Here’s the good news. While there is no magic wand to make these problems disappear, never have you had so many resources and so much education to guide you through the recruiting and hiring hurdles you’re encountering. Bookmark this page to be your go-to resource. We’ll keep adding the tools and information you need to find your way around what is, perhaps, the biggest roadblock your dealership faces in today’s market.
What Dealers Need to Know about “The Great Resignation”
When you hear or read about “The Great Resignation,” it may sound like a historical event, but experts suggest it is part of an ongoing, long-term trend. Here are the 5 things you need to know as a dealer about navigating this trend. By MRAA Vice President of Education Liz Walz
Avoid These 6 Common Recruiting & Hiring Mistakes
Finding qualified candidates to fill your dealership’s open positions isn’t easy … especially right now. The labor shortage – not just in the recreational boating business, but in almost every industry – means that any decent candidate has their pick of jobs to choose from. So, how do you set yourself apart and increase your chances of being selected as the employer of choice? Well, for one, you can avoid these common recruiting and hiring mistakes. By MRAA Vice President of Education Liz Walz
Target Your Recruitment
So often, knowing where to look and also where to post jobs is critical in finding more candidates and, ultimately more success in hiring. This handy one-pager breaks down the types of spots and locations to consider when you decide to post your open positions. Each outlet. you share to can (and have proven to) produce a different type of worker and target population. Finally, each location and worker /population leads to certain specific worker benefits. For example, if you post on Indeed, chances are you’ll appeal/attract Millennial and Gen X non-trade or degreed professionals who are typically a mid-level or better professional with a good amount of time left before retirement.
Answers to Your Most Common Hiring Questions
If you’ve got questions about hiring, we’ve got articles, resources and online courses that can help you answer them. By MRAA Vice President of Education Liz Walz
Develop a Culture Prime for Recruiting & Hiring
Want your dealership to stand out in a hyper-competitive job market? Develop and maintain a culture that will attract potential hires. Discover four ways interviewees learn about your culture and one way you can learn about it in this blog from MRAA Certification Manager Liz Keener.
5 Ways to Advocate for an Improved Labor Market
When MRAA Members talk, decision makers listen. You have firsthand experience and information about the way the workforce crisis is affecting you and your industry colleagues in your area. That makes you the advocacy expert. Here are 5 ways you can share your expertise to advocate for relief of your workforce pains. By MRAA Government Relations Manager Chad Tokowicz and Director of Workforce and Foundation Development Wendy Mackie
Mini-Guide: Why Your Dealership Needs an Org. Chart & What It Will Tell You
Being great at workforce recruitment and hiring often comes back to mastery of the basics: things like creating crystal clarity for prospective and current employees about how your dealership defines success and how they will work with your team to achieve it. This can be made easier by developing some simple resources like job descriptions, an employee handbook, and yes … a dealership organizational chart.
Mini-Guide: Staffing Your Sales Department
Different dealerships have different philosophies and ideas about the optimum number of salespeople needed to staff a marine dealership. The MRAA Mini-Guide: Staffing Your Sales Department was created to help retailers debunk sales staffing myths that may limit future business growth.
Dealer Conversation: Tyson Townsend, Human Resources Director
Let’s face it: You didn’t get into the dealership business because you love HR and you’re looking to use your wisdom on recruiting and hiring and all the secrets for employee retention. On the contrary, this month’s guest on MRAA Dealer Conversations, Tyson Townsend, is indeed an HR expert and has brought his knowledge and experience to the dealership world. Check out this one-on-one conversation for some insights into how Tyson and the Tommy’s team navigate the ups and downs of today’s labor market.
5 Tips for Building a Great Team
You’re neck deep into your hiring season — not to mention coming off two of the most challenging years as a business owner you’ve ever witnessed — so adding to your team ahead the summer boating season is at the forefront of your mind. A recent Pulse Report conveyed some interesting thoughts and feedback from dealers that participated in the survey on staffing challenges.
Hire Learning
You’re neck deep into your hiring season — not to mention coming off two of the most challenging years as a business owner you’ve ever witnessed — so adding to your team ahead the summer boating season is at the forefront of your mind. A recent Pulse Report conveyed some interesting thoughts and feedback from dealers that participated in the survey on staffing challenges.
Mini-Guide: Mastering the Interview at Your Dealership
Great management begins with hiring great people. And it is this skill – recruiting and hiring great people – that can turn your business from an also-ran to market leader. A critical element in bringing this to life is found in-between recruiting and hiring in the oh-so-crucial skill of interviewing. This free MRAA mini-guide on hiring and interviewing has been real-world tested, as it is largely built on the process use by our team here at MRAA.
Mini-Guide: Mastering the Interview at Your Dealership
Great management begins with hiring great people. And it is this skill – recruiting and hiring great people – that can turn your business from an also-ran to market leader. A critical element in bringing this to life is found in-between recruiting and hiring in the oh-so-crucial skill of interviewing. This free MRAA mini-guide on hiring and interviewing has been real-world tested, as it is largely built on the process use by our team here at MRAA.
MRAA Guide to Apprenticeship (MRAA Members ONLY): One alternative to filling an open position through a traditional job posting is apprenticeship, a strategy with proven results for many dealers and their apprentices. Learn more about success with this strategy.
Guest Blog: How to Support Remote Employees
4 Tips to help employers support their remote workforce
A growing commonality within today’s workforce includes more employee working remotely, so offering them support is critical for your boat dealership’s overall success. In this guest blog, MRAA Education Champions Dealership Advantage offers its top tips to help employers support their remote workforce.
Hiring: You’re Doing It Wrong
Staff turnover is expensive and exhausting. It’s time for a change. The traditional model is to hire, then train. The new model is to train, then hire. Learn how to put this strategy into place and watch your employee performance headaches and turnover rates decline.
MRAA Silver & Gold Members ONLY:
Not an MRAA Silver Member yet? Become one today.
Dealer Case Study: Onboarding
During a Dealer Case Study at Dealer Week, Alpin Haus shared several workforce best practices, including a handout with a Sample Boat Product Specialist Hiring Process, Training Process and Schedule.
MRAA Silver & Gold Members ONLY:
Not an MRAA Silver Member yet? Become one today.
Dealer Case Study: Combating a Local Tech Shortage
How Colorado Boat Center used a one-week, on-the-job working interview to hire three marine technicians from outside its area.
Job Descriptions
The MRAA features more than 50 job descriptions for common marine dealership positions. Use this link to craft your dealership’s own job descriptions and better communicate the expectations you have for each employee? Is there a lack of clarity or too much cross over between positions in your shop? Job descriptions can help. Get started today.
Guide: Job Descriptions That Amp Up Productivity
Want to take your job descriptions to the next level to make them a better tool to attract, onboard, retain and boost the results of your employees? Download this guide for step-by-step instruction on how to incorporate key result areas that can lead your people and your dealership to next level performance.
MRAA Members ONLY:
Employee Handbook
The MRAA offers this sample employee handbook to be used as a template for creating your own employee handbook, and modified in accordance with local, state, or federal law in effect at the time of its creation or revision. Please consult with your legal counsel before implementing any policies contained within this sample employee handbook or distributing this employee handbook to employees.
MRAA Members ONLY: