Training in the Auto Industry: What’s Next?

Special Guest - David O’Brien

Training programs are a value-add for individuals at dealerships looking to advance their careers and teams aiming to reach higher levels of success, but courses are often seen as a luxury item for many dealers. In this podcast episode we explore how thoughts on training are changing within the automotive industry, the correlation between employee retention and customer satisfaction, appealing to different generations and more. There’s even talk on the role of artificial intelligence in modern training!

In this episode you’ll hear:

Why continued training is important for dealership success
The correlation between employee retention and customer satisfaction
Differences in event-based and continuum-based learning
The challenges of training content that appeals across generations
Balancing technology (like artificial intelligence) and human-to-human interaction in training and more!

Episode Breakdown

0:00 - Intro
1:29 - Meet David
8:28 - The importance of dealership training
9:28 - What does Quantum5 do?
11:14 - Event-based vs continuum-based training
15:41 - Evolution of training
19:31 - Generational differences in training
21:28 - Soft skills in dealership training
24:58 - Are dealers’ mindsets changing?
29:19 - What dealers should do now
33:49 - The evolution of training
35:36 - AI & training
36:46 - Schor Thing or not?

David O’Brien is President and CEO at Quantum5, a learning sustainment technology company. Growing up in the automotive industry – his dad was an automobile dealer – David eventually joined the industry in sales and management positions. His love for training and the auto industry ultimately led David to Quantum5, where he developed a training solution that brings personalized learning to dealerships in an effort to disrupt the traditional LMS approach to learning.

In 2022, Quantum grew by 500%. Previously, David was a partner in a training company that was acquired by AON Consulting/ Resource Group and a partner at Predictive Index, a global strengths assessment and sales training company (Predictive Index is one of JM&A Group partners too!).

For more about David, visit his LinkedIn.