CMETRICS are not data points on a chart. I won’t be boring you with big data or complex theories. The CMETRICS I’m talking about are specific things that you should be looking for when attempting to find your next hire. CMETRICS is simply an acronym to help you remember the following things you need to look for in your hire:
Competent
Mission Motivator
Enthusiastic
Trainable
Reliable
Inspired
Compatible
Solution Driven
These are the individuals you want as managers in your store. Let’s look at these individually, and how to uncover them in the interview process.
T=Trainable
You can hire the most intelligent person in the state, but if they aren’t willing to learn or are highly resistant to change it won’t work long term. NO amount of training, coercing or other action will turn them into an effective member of your team. The individual you are looking for has a track record of learning and adapting.
I recently ran across a blog post that addressed this issue from a slightly different perspective and I loved it.
“A leader who is not humble cannot educate himself. Such leaders also do not know how to listen to their followers because they are not in tune with anyone’s needs apart from their own personal wants.” – Kwamina Ekremet
I love that first sentence because it is so true. Those that are egotistical or overly cocky often believe they know it all, therefore are not open to learning anymore.
How do we ask questions to uncover this in the interview?
Start by asking about education opportunities they have taken advantage of. “When was the last course or workshop you took and what was it about?” Notice I didn’t say anything about auto, auto is not important in this question. Was every opportunity forced upon them or did they find some things on their own or even take training outside of work? If they have taken courses, how long ago. Sometimes I interview someone bragging about taking some F&I course but when pressed about when they did that I find that it was 10 years ago. A lot of compliance issues have changed in 10 years, is this candidate not concerned with staying current?
“What was the last thing that you had to learn to do, that you had no experience in and how did you learn it?” Be wary of candidates who have nothing to say or reach too far back in their past. Regardless of how experienced or inexperienced, your new hire is there are things they must be taught about your operation. Those that are not trainable will always fall back to their old patterns, even if they are in direct conflict with your needs. This is the epitome of a retread you don’t want in your store.
Today’s dealership requires trainable staff.
Next week, I’ll discuss reliability and how to look for it in potential employees. If you missed last week’s post about the mission motivator, click here to catch up!