“There is no question about it, we are better today because of our people. The Predictive Index® is a big part of that. PI® gives you the insight to make a good hire” —Howard Tenenbaum, Vice President and Partner
Keyes Motors is a privately held dealer group consisting of nine dealerships in three states – California, Arizona and Nevada. It started as a used car dealership in the late 1940’s. Today they employ approximately 900 employees and generate over a billion dollars a year in s les.
The Challenge:
“Success in the auto industry all comes down to people. People are what separate one dealer from the next. Before you can have the right inventory, the right advertisement, the right systems and procedures, you have to get the people who can do the job and do it together. Retaining these people is critical to the organization’s success.”
Howard Tenenbaum, Vice President and Partner of Keys Motor Group
The Process:
It all starts with the Predictive Index (PI). Every new hire at Keyes Motors is required to complete a PI® survey. Mr. Tenenbaum states, “Without PI, you are going strictly on a conversation in that interview. Keyes Motors uses the Predictive Index® to ‘read between the lines’. The Predictive Index® can tell me if a candidate is going to be uncomfortable in the sales environment or if they will have the patience to handle an office job. It’s an invaluable tool.”
Once a strong hire is made, the next challenge is constructing the right team balance at the specific dealerships. Using PI®, the General Mangers select the PI profiles of the salespeople to build cohesive teams in support of the team leader’s managerial style.
The Results:
Against industry norms, Keyes has been able to achieve an overall retention rate of almost 50% a year by “putting the right person in the right slot.” Management has such confidence in the difference the Predictive Index® makes in retention that they are rebuilding one dealership based upon its insight. This location had not used PI® to build the team and continued to have a high turnover rate of over 125% — not unusual for the auto industry but out of the norm for Keyes Motors. So Mr. Tenenbaum decided to “start from scratch.” He is in the process of looking at ALL the employees and their PI® patterns. With this information, Keyes will rebuild a collective team that will be able to work to each other’s strengths, providing an environment which will result in the best experience for the employee and customer.
