The Loss of Institutional Knowledge

The Loss of Important Knowledge: Why It’s Hurting Car Dealerships Online

Car dealerships are having a tough time selling parts online. One of the big problems is that when long-time workers leave, they take all the knowledge they’ve built over the years with them. This knowledge is important for the dealership to keep running smoothly and sell parts online. When dealerships lose this knowledge, it becomes harder to do business online. Let's look at how losing this knowledge is causing problems and how dealerships can keep it for the future.

The Problem: How Losing Knowledge Hurts Dealerships

When experienced workers leave, dealerships lose knowledge about the products, parts, and customers they serve. This makes it harder to do things like online sales, take care of customers, and keep everything running smoothly.

1. Workers Leaving: Replacing What They Know Is Hard Experienced employees know everything about the parts, how to help customers, and what people like. When they leave, it’s hard to replace what they knew.

   Problems When Workers Leave:

   • Losing Important Knowledge: When workers leave, the dealership loses valuable information, like what parts fit with which car and what customers like.
   • Losing Customer Relationships: Workers who have been there a long time often have strong friendships with regular customers. If they leave, it can make customers feel like they don’t get the same care.
   • Slower Work: New workers take time to learn everything, which can slow down orders and make mistakes more likely.

2. No Written Records: Knowledge Is Only in People’s Heads Many times, the knowledge workers have isn’t written down anywhere. This means when they leave, it’s lost.

   Problems from Not Writing Things Down:

   • Losing Knowledge: If it’s not written down, when someone leaves, that knowledge is gone.
   • Inconsistent Work: If there’s no clear guide to follow, employees might do things in different ways, which can confuse customers.
   • Hard to Grow: Without written instructions, it’s hard for dealerships to grow and sell parts online.

3. Training Gaps: New Employees Struggle Teaching new workers is already hard, but it’s even harder when they have to learn how to sell parts in a store and online. Many dealerships still use older ways of selling, and they don’t teach new workers how to do online sales.

   Problems from Not Training Well:

   • Hard to Learn: New workers might not know how to do both jobs, which can make things slower and cause mistakes.
   • Confusing Sales Models: Without clear instructions, new employees might get confused between selling in the store and online.
   • Not Moving to Online Sales Fast Enough: If workers don’t get trained on online tools, they might resist the change, making it hard for the dealership to sell parts online.

The Solution: How Dealerships Can Keep Knowledge and Improve

To fix these problems, dealerships need to write down important knowledge, train workers well, and use technology to help new employees do their jobs.

1. Create a Knowledge Base: Write Things Down So Everyone Knows A knowledge base is a place where dealerships can write down how to do important things, like managing parts, helping customers, and fixing problems. This way, when someone leaves, the information is still there.

   How to Build a Knowledge Base:

   • Write Down Processes: Record how to do tasks like keeping track of parts and helping customers. Make sure it’s easy for everyone to find.
   • Catalog Parts: Make a list of all parts with information like what cars they fit and common problems.
   • Troubleshooting Guides: Write guides for fixing common customer problems so new workers can help customers quickly.

2. Invest in Training: Keep Workers Learning Dealerships need to spend time teaching workers everything they need to know, including how to sell parts in the store and online.

   How to Train Workers:

   • Teach Both Skills: Teach workers how to sell parts both in the store and online.
   • Update Training Regularly: Keep training materials fresh, so they include the latest technology and ways to sell parts.
   • Use Online Learning: Let workers learn at their own pace with online classes or training videos.
   • Encourage Learning: Give workers rewards or certificates for learning new skills.

3. Use Technology: Let Computers Help Technology can help fill in the knowledge gaps. Dealerships can use tools like robots and smart systems to help workers do their jobs better and faster.

   How Technology Can Help:

   • Chatbots for Customers: Use robots on the dealership’s website to answer common customer questions and guide them through buying parts.
   • Inventory Management: Use systems that automatically track parts, so workers don’t have to do it by hand.
   • Customer Management Tools: Use systems to keep track of what customers like, which helps new workers give better service.

Conclusion: Turning Lost Knowledge into a Chance to Improve

Even though losing knowledge is a big problem, it’s also a chance for dealerships to improve. By writing down important information, training workers well, and using technology, dealerships can make sure they don’t lose valuable knowledge. They can also get better at selling parts online. With online sales becoming more important, making these changes will help dealerships keep customers happy and grow their business in the future.