Author: Amber Hash, Recruiting Manager
Date: 4/15/2026
Hiring is no longer a “people problem.” It’s a profit problem.
According to internal dealer research, 65% of dealers say recruiting and hiring great people is their #1 operational challenge — ranking higher than increasing store traffic or maximizing revenue. And when the wrong hiring decision is made, the impact is immediate and expensive. In fact, every Poor Hiring Decision® (P.H.D.) costs a dealership an estimated $75,000 in lost productivity, missed sales, turnover, and disruption.
The question isn’t whether hiring mistakes impact your bottom line. The question is whether your recruiting process is designed to prevent them.
People are every dealership’s greatest asset — and, too often, its greatest operational risk.
With nearly 50 years of dealership recruiting experience, EFG’s Recruiting Services has placed hundreds of Top Performers across dealerships nationwide using a deliberate, data‑driven approach to sourcing, evaluating, and placing talent.
Rather than relying solely on resumes and interviews, EFG has built its recruiting model around a simple goal: The right person in the right place. That philosophy drives every recruiting engagement — from sourcing and screening to selection and long‑term performance support.
Many dealers turn to personal and professional contacts to staff their stores, relying on an existing level of trust and familiarity. Nationwide online recruiting company Indeed identifies many of the pros and cons of this approach, noting that while friends and family may be familiar with the dealership culture, they may not be an optimal fit for the position. Dealers need team members who perform at the highest level. Taking a DIY approach is time-consuming, costly and operationally unrealistic in many cases.
EFG treats recruiting as a core business function, not a side service for its clients. Our recruiting approach is intentionally thorough, multi‑dimensional and substantiated every day in real dealerships. By partnering with EFG, dealers have access to experts that deliver only Top Performers.
EFG’s proprietary modeling tools to identify four core behavioral traits which define true Top Performers:
In successful dealerships, every team member brings different strengths. Understanding those strengths allows candidates to be placed into roles where they are most likely to succeed.
For example, high‑conformity individuals thrive in detail‑driven, compliance‑sensitive roles such as accounting and F&I. High‑extroversion individuals excel in customer‑facing, team‑oriented environments including service and sales. This insight goes far beyond what an interview alone can reveal.
In addition to behavioral traits, EFG evaluates work styles — including:
By combining behavioral traits with work‑style analysis, EFG dramatically increases the likelihood that new hires will succeed — not just start.
Using our research-based assessment tools, EFG created Top Performer Profiles based on the most successful automotive F&I professionals in the industry. These composite profiles allow EFG to recruit candidates who match proven performers, increase candidate quality, reduce turnover, and evaluate real‑world performance potential.
For example, F&I Top Performer criteria include:
Guiding the right candidate into the right role is another component of our recruiting expertise. A series of industry and specific job function aptitude tests further refine the search criteria. Our goal is not simply to fill positions — but to build durable leadership and performance strength across the dealership.
the customer didn’t purchase protection products when they bought the unit, the Spring check-up is a perfect time to remind them that they still have options to protect their ride.
The documented value of EFG Recruiting Services is significant:
When recruiting is done right, it stops being an expense — and becomes a competitive advantage. If you let your competitor keep making Poor Hiring Decisions®, the numbers work in your favor. But if your dealership continues to hire based on urgency and familiarity instead of fit and performance, the cost compounds quickly. Don’t just interview – hire with 96% accuracy!
