Case Study Summary

The challenge

A dealer group operating across the North of England and Scotland faced persistent challenges in attracting and retaining people. They were competing for talent against large global brands in a tight labour market. 

At the same time, the business needed to increase capacity to meet customer demand, prepare for volume growth, and build a sustainable pipeline of future talent.

What we did

The group was supported by a dedicated Change Manager from Change Associates. Together, we identified the key barriers and developed a clear, practical plan. We then:

• Improved the way the business attracts, onboards, and retains people
• Developed a structured training and mentoring programme to support development
• Launched an apprenticeship scheme to build future sales capability
• Clarified roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities to ensure each role added value
• Increased management capacity by freeing time for insight and decision-making
• Reintroduced Kaizen working groups to involve teams in customer-focused improvement

The result

• Increased sales team capacity to meet customer demand
• Improved staff retention
• Business results in 2024/25 exceeded the national average performance


“The biggest game-changer was attracting and retaining the right people.”

Finance Director

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