McLEAN, Va. (Nov. 12, 2013) - The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has unveiled its second annual industry report on car and truck dealership employee compensation, benefits, retention and turnover, and hours of operation and work schedules.

The 2013 Dealership Workforce Study Industry Report was produced in partnership with DeltaTrends, and was designed to help dealers meet their No. 1 challenge: recruiting, hiring and retaining top talent.

The report helps dealers meet that challenge, with hard data culled from 290,000 car and truck payroll records, and cogent analysis by DeltaTrends, the automotive retailing industry's leading provider of workforce metrics, guides and trends, and HR best practices.

This year's report again includes both national and regional data. It also provides comparisons by luxury and non-luxury franchises, and addresses compensation by size of dealer group. Demographic issues such as the "gender gap" and generational differences among employees are also discussed, as is the impact of longer working hours on retention and turnover. More than 2,240 dealerships enrolled in the 2013 Dealership Workforce Study.

"This is by far the most comprehensive and timely study on the dealership workforce ever produced, and serves as a tremendous resource to help dealers 'step up their game' to gain an edge on the competition," said NADA Chairman David Westcott.

"Special thanks go to the many dealerships that made this study possible by participating, as well as the invaluable support provided by state and metro Automotive Trade Association Executives," Westcott added.

Among the key findings detailed in the 2013 Dealership Workforce Industry Report, based on 2012 data:

• On average, dealership employees earn 27 percent more than the average weekly earnings of all U.S. private sector employees
• F&I managers had the highest income growth (8.4 percent), followed by service managers (8 percent) and sales consultants (7.8 percent)
• The median income of individual dealership employees is nearly equal to the 2012 U.S. median household income ($51,017)
• Total dealership employee turnover in 2012 dropped one point (to 35 percent) from the previous year, lower than the estimate of employee turnover in the private sector (41 percent, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
• Sales consultant is the highest turnover position (62 percent)
• The percentage of females hired by dealerships increased two points (to 19 percent) over the previous year
• The percentage of Generation Y employees now in the dealership workforce (23 percent) is equivalent to the estimated ratio of employed Gen Y workers in the total U.S. workforce.

  The Industry Report noted some specific challenges for dealerships on the recruiting front, including:

• Creating staffing models that reduce the total hours that dealership employees are required to work.
• Shifting the focus from individual-based sales incentives to team-based awards.
• Taking steps to draw more women into dealership positions. 

A separate individualized report (Basic Report) is offered at no charge to participating dealerships to compare their numbers against data aggregated on a regional and national basis. Participants may also purchase an individualized report (Enhanced Report), which further compares their dealership's data against data for their franchise and state.

DeltaTrends, led by President and Founder Ted Kraybill, designed the Dealership Workforce Study, completed the data collection, and produced all customized reports in addition to the Industry Report.

"Finding and retaining talent is one of the greatest business challenges that dealers and OEMs face in today's retail market," said Kraybill. "NADA, with the support of its members, is taking a strong leadership position in tackling the problem.  DeltaTrends is proud to team up with NADA to make dealerships a greater place to work."

The foreword to this year's Industry Report was contributed by Dr. Keith A. Pretty, Northwood University president and CEO, and Dr. Timothy G. Nash, Northwood vice president for Strategic and Corporate Alliances and the Fry Endowed professor of Free Market Economics.

To purchase the 2013 Dealership Workforce Industry Report, contact NADA University Online at 800.557.6232 or complete the form at universityonline.nada.org.

The opportunity to participate in the 2014 study will open to NADA and American Truck Dealer (ATD) member dealers at the 2014 NADA Convention & Expo in New Orleans from Jan. 24-27.

Media Contact:

Jeff Beddow
PR Consultant
jbeddow@nada.org
703.304.8117