F&I Spotlight F&I Turnover We examine the problem of F&I manager turnover rate in this issue hoping to shed some light and offer up solutions from both sides of the table. By: Marv Eleazer L ong the bane of car dealers since the position gained prominence and importance to the bottom line, Finance & Insurance Manager employee turnover creates some of the biggest headaches for dealers. For the April-May issue of F&I 20/20, we tackle this complex problem and offer thoughts from some front-line experts who’ve been working with dealer groups for decades. So, the question on the minds of many is, ‘Can the dilemma of F&I turnover ever be solved?’ In a word, Yes. However, there are a few caveats that would need to be addressed and dealt with before an impact could be realized. We’ll identify and discuss them later on. For now, let's talk with a few experts on the front lines who have reams of data on the subject. Tony Dupaquier is the Training Director for The Academy-an F&I training facility under the IAS umbrella of companies based in Austin Texas. We reached out for his opinion and solution on the matter: “We’ve witnessed tech worming its way through dealerships and without doubt, it speeds things up with efficient design. These flashy and cool tech toys that dealer staff use today including Ipads, tablets, and DocuPad desktop systems not only marvel customers, they also help manage compliance as well as ensuring the 300% rule is observed”. He continues “But tech can only take you so far. No device or process managed by technology can ever compensate for a skilled F&I practitioner. It’s simply not the answer. Do we need it, yes but don’t expect it to lift a subpar or mediocre producer to greatness because it simply won’t happen”. “This is still a people business and skilled professionals are needed to relate to customers”. Dupaquier reflected on last year’s downturn as one of the reasons. “In dealing with the many dealership groups that we do, we saw most decide to cut training budgets last year because of a downturn in sales due to the pandemic and wondered if that contributed to FIMs changing stores”. He added “Other reasons F&I managers are replaced in stores is the tenure-pay disparity. Experienced managers who don’t keep up with changing trends can easily fall behind the learning curve and get replaced by younger up-and-coming ones for less pay. It’s fair to say that being set in one’s ways can be a negative”. 5
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