Successful recruitment and staff retention is a key topic of the AM People Skills Conference on September 17.

Speaker John Maguire, Phoenix Car Company managing director, now takes a different approach to recruitment to that when he launched the dealer group.

“When I started the company 15 years ago, I was able to put my ‘dream team’ around me.

"But today we are recruiting people we have no experience of – and who are often new to - the industry.

“I now conduct the first interviews. It’s that important, I think.

"I set two days aside for this each month, and I’ve devised my own scoring system. It’s the single most important role I have.”

Fellow speaker Duncan Wilkes, Nationwide Autocentres’ chief executive, said it also does some things differently.

“We measure attrition and conduct exit interviews which a lot of organisations don’t do.

"We have also developed a bonus scheme for technicians, linked to the amount of work done weekly, and pay a percentage of the gross margin on the jobs that they do.”

Sponsored by the Institute Of The Motor Industry, the AM People Skills Conference takes place at Sopwell House, St Albans.

Visit the AM People Skills Conference website for the full programme.