Motor trade consultancy MotorVise Automotive has revealed that demand for its recruitment services soared by 400 percent during May and June.
The company, which is based near Richmond, North Yorkshire, said that dealerships are staging recruitment days in an attempt to gain an advantage as hiring activity intensifies across all sectors.
Fraser Brown, managing director of MotorVise Automotive, said that dealerships are having to compete with other sectors, including hospitality and leisure, to secure the right calibre of staff.
As demand for workers rose at the fastest rate in May for 23 years, he said dealer groups are particularly looking to recruit public-facing roles, including sales staff.
He said: “The number of recruitment days MotorVise has held at UK dealerships during May and June is 400 percent up on the usual level for this time of year and reflects the sudden growth in consumer confidence.
“We are currently recruiting for 260 jobs in dealerships nationwide, whilst last month we filled almost 180 positions. That highlights the huge demand within the motor trade.”
The situation is also exacerbated by the reduced availability of EU workers and the fact that the motor trade has a reputation for long hours.
“Dealerships are changing,” added Fraser. “Many are unable to increase salaries as, they are largely based on commission. However, they can improve their employees’ work life balance by adopting a more flexible approach.”
Dealerships found themselves needing to recruit more staff following a surge in demand for both new and used vehicles following the easing of Covid restrictions in April.
He said: “Dealerships are recruiting staff based on their attitude and personality. It’s easy to teach skills, but not everyone has that natural ability to connect with customers.
“The days of cajoling and controlling customers during the buying process are long gone. We now need to train people to support and advise customers, so they feel valued and looked after.”
MotorVise manages the full recruitment process, from vacancy advertising and booking a venue, to supplying an event manager to organise the day, which includes strict Covid-secure procedures.
Fraser added: “More and more dealerships recognise the value of holding recruitment days in terms of saving both time and money, by ensuring they make their selection from a pool of candidates with exactly the right attitudes and behaviours.”
