Understand why you’re communicating. Employees need to
have the feeling that they’re
helping, that their opinions
count, that they know what is
happening at their company.
As I said, pay is important, but
more important is the fact that
they know what is going on,
that they feel they have control over their destiny.
Even now, with Ford Motor
Co. laying off people by the
scores, by the thousands, my
people have a very good feeling of where they stand. They
know the way that we are
going to scale our business
down, and we’ve done it mostly through attrition.
They know what we’re doing
about health care, how we’ve
had to change the plan three
times here. You can imagine
how that touches people and
what would happen if you didn’t give them a heads up on
why things are changing and
what is in it for them.
When I’m communicating, I’ll
tell my employees 90 to 95 percent of what I know. There is a
point that has to do with the
financial part of the dealership
that I can’t tell them, but it’s
pretty doggone open. If we
didn’t turn a profit for the
month, I’ll tell them.
To give a related example,
we’re redoing our showroom in
a couple of areas. Our waiting
area needed to be done. I knew
what was going to happen.
People tell me, ‘I’m not going to
get a raise, but Jim is putting
new stuff in the showroom.’
So I had to let them know
why I was doing that, where
that money came from, that it
was money I put into the dealership that goes toward capital
repairs and improvements,
and that it’s different from
operating profit. I explain that
to them in detail so they
understand it, so they get a
better feel, and it improves
their comfort level.
Hire managers to help you communicate. Select good department
managers, give them good
direction and encouragement,
and get out of their way; let
them take responsibility and
lead. That’s my leadership style
with my management team.
With my employees, I believe
in management by walking
around. I have 187 employees,
so it’s all about getting out
there, walking around every
day. You need to be walking
through the shop and walking
through the office, walking on
the showroom floor, getting to
know your people.
HOW TO REACH: Village Ford Inc., (800) 331-4909 or www.villageford.com
