The statistics about the importance of women as a consumer are very familiar to all of us. Women account for 85% of all purchases which includes everything from homes to groceries and control TRILLIONS of dollars of wealth in this country. For those of us in the Automotive Industry, we know how vital the women consumers are to all of us; after all, they represent over 65% of our business. The challenge for all of us is how to make our place of business a comfortable place for women to patronize and purchase our products and services.

It goes without saying that the place where business is conducted must be inviting to both the women and men who come through our doors AND it must also reflect the marketplace in which we do business. Having said that, many of us do not know how or where to find the women we need to hire.

GET THE WORD OUT

Based on my experience here are some suggestions:

Create awareness that your place of business is hiring women and what career opportunities it has to offer.

• Visit schools and colleges and participate in career days
• Offer intern programs which will help identify and attract talented people
• Offer scholarships in the name of your business
• Join local women’ organizations
• Invite women’s organizations to hold their meetings in your place of business
• Support women’s events in your local community
• Advertise in women’s magazines or trade publications
• Offer incentives to your own employee for referrals
• Speak at the local Chamber of Commerce to get the word out that you are looking for female employees
• Most real estate agents are women so connecting with the local Real Estate business is another resource for hiring women

The importance of word of mouth in addition to formalized advertising is very critical in attracting women employees so the more you can get out into the community, the better the success of finding and hiring talent.

THE WORKPLACE

Make certain that your work place policies are conducive to both men and women.

• The workplace should be clean and neat and an inviting one that works for all employees
• It should be inclusive environment where everyone is treated with respect and valued
• Offer not only full time employment but flexible work place policies such as part time, work at home, team selling, job-sharing for everyone not just women. After all, work life balance is an issue for everyone.
• Have a mentor or buddy system not just for women but for the all new hires
• Post “work week” schedules in advance so that employees can plan their “life week”
• Provide processes that will accommodate for input and feedback for workplace improvement
• TRAIN-TRAIN-TRAIN all of your employees to understand how to treat each other in the work place and also how to treat the female customers when they come into your business establishment.

The important key here is to make sure that ALL employees are valued, are treated with respect, and have opportunities for growth.

RETENTION

Turnover in any is business unwanted and it seems that in the Auto Industry there is a higher percentage than other businesses.

By having policies in place to attract and retain talented employees: it will increase your customer base, reduce absenteeism, reduce costs, improve employee morale, and very importantly it will positively impact your bottom line.

CONCLUSION

This compilation of best practices is my insight into what needs to be in place to attract and engage women but it is also important to remember that companies pursue programs and practices that specifically fit your organization, your workers, and your managers. What is most vital is to harness the skills, talents and hard work of everyone on your team.

Customers want to feel comfortable, respected, and trusted and so do your female (and male) employees.

Article written by:

Patricia J. Roberts
Director Business Development - AskPatty.com, Inc.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 at 11:48 am and is filed under Hot Topics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.