Are you as privileged as me?

What a great week, apart from some really great jobs, I’ve had some amazing conversations, emails, texts etc. around recent Linkedin posts, especially the ones around Salespeople’s salaries and introducing shift patterns, and this weekend just emphasised my point.

I had a fabulous weekend last Saturday and Sunday! A long walk with Mrs P in the glorious summer sunshine, followed by a lovely BBQ with friends and family. Sunday involved cutting the grass and then golf with a few mates – perfect!

Now, there’s a good chance, if you are; a Dealer Principal, MD, CEO or if you are in Accounts, Admin, Service Reception, Parts, or maybe a Technician, you probably had a similar weekend.

But what were the Sales team doing? The majority were in the Dealership waiting for the general population to go and buy a new car. But although I’m sure there were a few people doing just that, the majority were spending time relaxing with their families, enjoying the weather, heading for the coast and not thinking about buying a car.

My point is, most Salespeople are working Saturday and Sunday whilst the rest of us are enjoying time with the family. They do get time off in the week, but their family and friends are more often than not at school, and at work – so even on their days off they do not necessarily spend it with their loved ones.

I wonder how many kids football tournaments they miss, how many dance shows they don’t get to? I wonder how often they get to do the school run, how often are they in for bath time? What sacrifices do we ask them to make in those early years of the kids development? How much do we really appreciate those sacrifices, and ultimately what impact a poor work/life balance has on their motivation and performance?

Plus, is it really necessary? Yes, we need to ‘man’ the showrooms, but surely we can be more creative with our work rotas? Shifts are a definite possibility, perhaps look at 2 or even 4 half days in lieu of weekends, what about a split part time team?

Too often I hear people say “we can’t attract good people.” The clue is in the sentence, “attract”. Is that because of the culture and demands of the industry? Generation X and Z employees are much more sensitive to the demands of work life balance and are much more technology ‘savvy’. As well as many more flexible options in the modern work environment.

Another regular comment is “even when we get good people, they don’t stay”. Well it’s time to look in the mirror! Ask yourself why they don’t stay? Working conditions? Environment? How engaged are your team?

The solution to recruitment and retention is ‘Employee Engagement’. Create an environment and culture where people really relate to what your business is about!

Good Luck and Good Selling!

Rob