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TRANSPORTATION COMPANIES invest millions of dollars in the purchase and maintenance of their equipment. They may not, however, be making the necessary investment in the hiring and retention of good employees, said Chuck Udell of Essential Action Design Group.
"The difference in your business versus the competition isn't about your products, services, or tools," Udell said during the Heavy Duty Aftermarket Week 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. "It's about people. Hiring and retaining good people is an investment, and high employee turnover is one of the most expensive costs of doing business.
"How much you invest in your employees is part of the cycle of success, and that's the name of the game for any company," he said. "If we start with good customer relations and services, that will give us satisfied customers. If we have satisfied customers, we will have lower customer turnover. If we have lower customer turnover, we will have higher sales margins. If we have higher margins, we will have satisfied employees. And if we have employees who maintain good relationships with your customers, we will be able to maintain good customer relations and wonderful profits.
"We often say our people are our greatest assets," Udell said. "Let's look at ourselves in the mirror. Compared with other industries, we don't invest in our people, and we don't train our people. We always find reasons not to invest in them. When they hear through their friends that not all companies are like us, they're gone. And it takes a ton of money to replace them."
Demographic changes in the United States point to an extreme shortage of qualified people in the future. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that by 2010 as many as 10 million more jobs could be available than qualified employees.
"People have choices," Udell said. "Industries that don't have the most glamorous image, such as trucking, will be even more challenged to fill job vacancies. Other reports show that job hopping will continue to increase."
In September 2006, the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association sponsored a town hall meeting in Bethesda, Maryland, focusing on the graying of America and the coming workforce shortage. Kathleen Schmatz,...