OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MONTANA AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION

The Hidden Bottleneck in Dealership Growth

Outdated People Operations

If you’re tired of losing good people, fighting fires or wondering why your team isn’t hitting its stride, let’s talk.

When we talk to dealers across North America, we hear the same refrain: “Inventory’s tight, margins are thinner, and it’s harder than ever to find and keep good people.” These are real challenges, but what if the biggest growth barrier isn’t market forces at all? What if it’s the way your dealership runs its people operations?

Many dealerships still manage HR like it’s 2005. Hiring is done through a stack of paper resumes or scattered job boards. Onboarding means handing a new hire a binder and hoping they figure it out. Performance problems surface only when they hit customer experience or CSI scores. None of this is malicious; it’s just the way things have always been done.

But here’s the truth: Outdated HR practices are stalling dealership growth. They’re costing you time, revenue and your best people. And in today’s competitive landscape, that’s a cost most dealers can’t afford.

What Manual HR Is Really Costing You

Let’s say a technician leaves. You post the job, but your service manager doesn’t have time to review resumes until the weekend. By the time you reach out, your best candidate has already accepted another job. Now your open bay is costing you upwards of $1,500 a day in lost revenue.

Or you finally fill the role, but the new tech isn’t properly trained on your systems or processes. Productivity lags for weeks. Warranty errors creep in. Frustration mounts. A few months later, they quit, and you’re back to square one.

Sound familiar? These aren’t one-off events. They’re symptoms of people operations that weren’t built to scale.

The Reality: Lean Teams, Big Responsibility

Most dealers don’t have a full HR department. Often, HR duties fall to a controller, office manager or even the GM. These are smart, capable people, but they’re stretched thin. When you’re juggling 10 different priorities, building a structured onboarding process or performance tracking system just doesn’t rise to the top.

But it should.

Because while the market dictates what you sell, people dictate how well you sell it. A structured, efficient people operation doesn’t just reduce compliance risk; it drives performance. It gets techs in the bay faster. It helps you keep top performers. It ensures every employee knows what’s expected of them and how they’ll grow.

Rethinking People Operations: A Better Path Forward

So, what does modern people ops look like for dealers?

  • Speed and Visibility: Hiring workflows that help your team move fast with dashboards that track time-to-hire and flag bottlenecks.
  • Structured Onboarding: Day-one checklists, automated paperwork and training paths that build early momentum.
  • Performance and Retention: Playbooks that guide managers on how to coach, develop and recognize employees.
  • Compliance Built In: Digital policies, automated signature capture and auditable records so you’re ready for any inspection.

This is a long way from how most dealerships are currently operating, but that’s the point. If your competitors are modernizing and you’re still handing out binders on day one, you’re going to fall behind. The right software solution doesn’t just save time. It creates leverage. It frees up your service managers to lead instead of chase paperwork. It empowers your GMs with visibility into who’s thriving and who needs support. It builds a better workplace, and in this labor market, that’s not optional.

You don’t need a 10-person HR department to make this happen. You need the right systems. The right workflows. The right support.

Let’s Talk in Person

Montana dealers are known for resilience, grit and community. We believe those values should extend to your people systems, too. At this upcoming MTADA Convention, I’ll be there and ready to dig deeper into how even the leanest teams can modernize their HR without adding headcount or blowing up your culture.

If you’re tired of losing good people, fighting fires or wondering why your team isn’t hitting its stride, let’s talk.

Let’s make sure your people operations aren’t the reason your dealership isn’t growing. See you at the convention. 

Bri Newman is the CEO of HR4, a leading human capital management platform helping dealerships transform their workplaces. She oversees company growth and product direction, ensuring HR4 drives real impact in clients’ day-to-day operations. Bri previously led the development of a national customer experience strategy for U.S. Acura, resulting in the brand’s largest J.D. Power SSI improvement in a decade. She collaborates with dealers across North America on brand, HR, and continuous improvement strategies. She is passionate about building cultures where teams are inspired to grow and the finish line is always moving. Meet her at the MTADA Convention or learn more at hr4.com.

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