How Employee Satisfaction Can Drive Customer Loyalty and Retention

Transcription

1 How Employee Satisfaction Can Drive Customer Loyalty and Retention With Mike Esposito, President & CEO of Auto/Mate Dealership Systems Moderated by Mike Bowers, Executive Editor of DealersEdge Mike Esposito is President & CEO of Auto/Mate Dealership Systems. During his tenure at Auto/Mate, Mike has grown the company's auto dealer client base to more than 1,000 rooftops. Auto/Mate has one of the highest customer retention rates in the retail automotive industry. It has enjoyed an average 20% growth rate for the last five years and its DMS was ranked the top DMS in NADA's most recent dealer satisfaction survey. Mike's previous experience includes being General Manager at a large multi-line new car dealership, and the Director of Marketing for a Fortune 100 technology company. Visit for more info.

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26 References A Better Way to Customer Loyalty HOW EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION CAN DRIVE COMPANY LOYALTY & RETENTION by Mike Esposito, President & CEO Auto/Mate Dealership Systems CORE VALUES EXERCISE DECIDE IF YOU RE COMMITTED to running a values-based company. This requires more patience with revenues and profits in order to lay the foundation. Make the decision sooner rather than later. FIGURE OUT YOUR PERSONAL VALUES It s surprisingly harder than you think. Be honest with yourself. GET KEY PEOPLE S PERSONAL VALUES Partners, managers, and/or influencers. Zappos sent out in 2005: Companies have core values, and we re working on defining them explicitly for Zappos so everyone is on the same page But the purpose of this is to ask what everyone s personal values are please me 4 or 5 values that you live by (or want to live by) that define who you are or who you want to be (do not cc everyone) each value should be one word or at most a short phrase (but ideally one word) please me the values that are significant and meaningful to you personally, not necessarily having anything to do with the company s values COMBINE PEOPLE S VALUES Don t do this by committee just 1 or 2 people employees is covered by the 10 core values proposed below. Conversely, think about any employees that you think do not represent Zappos well, and whether the reason behind it is due to them not representing one or more of the core values below. This is a very important document, as we will give the final version to all employees. It will be more or less permanent for all the future years of Zappos, so your input is very important. Please make sure you set aside the time to read and think about it. TEST YOUR COMMITMENT Are you willing to hire/fire people based on whether they fit your core values, even if an employee adds a lot of value in the shortterm? SEND TO ENTIRE COMPANY, AND ASK FOR FEEDBACK COMBINE PEOPLE S VALUES (again) Don t do this by committee just 1 or 2 people. You can t make everyone happy. ROLL OUT CORE VALUES TO ENTIRE COMPANY INTEGRATE CORE VALUES INTO EVERYTHING YOU DO Especially hiring, firing, and performance reviews. 5 ASK MANAGERS TO TEST VALUES AGAINST EMPLOYEES & EX-EMPLOYEES Zappos sent in 2006: We ve been working on a Zappos Core Values document, and the first draft of it is below. Please take the time to read it over and me (do not cc everyone) any suggestions, additions, subtractions, or other feedback. In particular, think about any employees that you think represent the Zappos culture well, and whether what you like about those

27 References A Better Way to Customer Loyalty HOW EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION CAN DRIVE COMPANY LOYALTY & RETENTION by Mike Esposito, President & CEO Auto/Mate Dealership Systems RECOMMENDED READING Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek The Ultimate Question: Driving Good Profits and True Growth by Fred Reichheld The Southwest Airlines Way by Jody Hoffer Gittell Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't by Simon Sinek Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink RECOMMENDED RESOURCES Candidate Resources, Inc The Achiever Assessment Candidate Resources, Inc. (CRI) is a human resources company dedicated to helping employers attract and screen applicants for job fit. Its main personnel assessment, the Achiever, has been widely used by business, governmental facilities, government contractors, educational facilities and associations for well over four decades to select employees that fit the organization and the job for which they are being considered. Auto/Mate uses "the Achiever" as a tool to help select the right employees for their company and culture. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... And Others Don't by Jim Collins The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value by Fred Reichheld