The client
Our client is a global automotive manufacturer with an extensive dealer network. Many are large, multi-brand businesses, with workforces of more than 1,000 people spread across multiple locations.
Introduction
Our client was running a national transformation programme for its UK dealer network. One key priority area was People, with an emphasis on broadening the focus from solely sales results and KPIs to encompass employee experience, capability development, and engagement.
The aim was practical rather than aspirational: to build people’s capability across the dealer network to reduce attrition, improve engagement, and strengthen people processes.
The logic was simple: strong employee experience supports better customer experience, which in turn drives sustainable business performance.
The challenge
The dealer groups were under pressure on several fronts:
- Sustaining viable business models in a shifting and highly competitive market
- High staff turnover and rising recruitment costs across the network
- Limited succession planning and inconsistent induction
- Ensuring teams had the right roles and skills to deliver new products and services, including EVs and expanded aftersales
- Meeting changing customer expectations across increasingly complex, omnichannel journeys
What we did (in brief)
Working alongside each dealer group, we:
- Delivered tailored people and culture interventions at Group and site levels
- Provided hands-on support across recruitment, engagement, leadership, and capability
- Focused relentlessly on the link between employee experience, customer experience, and commercial performance
Below, we describe three examples of this people-led transformation in practice.
Case Study 1: Delivering for customers through talent attraction and retention
Case Study 2: Maximising fleet opportunities through clear role and process design
Case Study 3: A holistic approach to business transformation
Case Study 1: Delivering for customers through talent attraction and retention
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. Recruitment costs were high, customer experience expectations were rising, and management capacity was stretched.
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.
Actions included:
- Improving the way the business attracts, onboards, and retains people
- Developing a structured training and mentoring programme to support development
- Launching an apprenticeship scheme to build future sales capability
- Clarifying roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities to ensure each role added value
- Increasing management capacity by freeing time for insight and decision-making
- Reintroducing Kaizen working groups to involve teams in customer-focused improvement
The results
- 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
Case Study 2: Maximising fleet opportunities through clear role and process design
The challenge
Fleet sales represented a significant growth opportunity. For one dealer group, with multiple centres across Wales, the opportunity was clear, but the structure, roles, and processes to deliver it were not.
Challenges included:
- Inconsistent fleet knowledge across centres, impacting customer experience
- Manual and fragmented admin processes leading to delivery errors and cancellations
- Reactive handling of customer enquiries
- Limited senior management sponsorship of Fleet sales
What we did
With support from their Change Associates’ Change Manager, the group focused on putting the fundamentals in place.
These included:
- Creating a new Group Fleet Director role to lead growth and represent fleet at a senior level
- Training and coaching to embed consistent ways of working
- Introducing fleet knowledge as part of induction for all staff
- Designing clear order structures and processes to capture customer requirements accurately
- Setting up a central admin function to remove unnecessary workload from centres
- Developing pay plans that reward fleet activity and outcomes
- Introducing new offerings to strengthen customer relationships
The results
- A stable fleet team with clear targets and accountability
- Fleet was recognised as a strategic priority across the group
- Improved customer satisfaction through clearer timelines and expectations
- Faster quote turnaround and improved conversion rates
- Increased prospecting capacity as teams were freed from admin
- All staff completed a core business training programme, building future fleet capability
Case Study 3: A holistic approach to business transformation
The challenge
A multi-brand dealer group needed to balance day-to-day performance with longer-term transformation. While operational performance was strong, the business lacked the capacity to focus on strategic change, respond to market shifts, and build a sustainable model for the future.
A new Customer Experience Director role was created to lead this agenda, supported by a cross-functional transformation group that sets direction and oversees delivery.
The approach
Over a two to three-year period, supported by a Change Manager from Change Associates, the group:
- Redefined the Centre Principal role to embed both Perform and Transform responsibilities
- Introduced new leadership ways of working at the senior level
- Developed a targeted training programme to support General Managers in their redefined roles
- Clarified and reshaped department manager roles to maximise contribution
- Invested in additional capacity, including new customer retention roles aligned to forecast demand
- Refreshed succession planning and talent management across the group
The results
- Customer retention improved to above network average
- Strong Customer Relationship Score performance, consistently in the top quartile
- Employee engagement scores significantly above national benchmarks
- Recognition from the brand for excellence in people processes and overall performance
If you’d like to discuss our work in the automotive sector, please contact Charlotte Gatehouse.
Images (c) Shutterstock AI | ChatGPT | Shutterstock | Standret
“I just wanted to say a big thank you for the patience, tenacity and expertise you have shown with the Network. You have collectively helped them to translate transformation into their businesses, providing guidance, inspiration and challenge to encourage them to make and implement change.”
“Your input and support have been nothing short of amazing. Thank you”