Tests by Industry

Pre-Employment Tests
For Auto Retailers

In order to improve sales and reduce turnover, many auto retailers trust pre-employment testing to help identify capable, productive employees.

The Statistics

Nearly 3.3 million people were employed in the auto retail industry in 2016
It’s estimated that turnover costs the auto retail industry $8 billion annually
Auto retail employment grew by over 39,000 people between September 2016 and September 2017

Why Use Pre-Employment Testing

Many auto dealerships commonly use pre-employment tests when hiring for salespeople, support and administrative personnel, managers, and technicians. Pre-employment testing highlights the kinds of candidates who have the aptitude to learn the job quickly and the personality to be comfortable and effective in the role. For auto retailers this can mean improving productivity, employee retention, and overall sales.

What Tests to Use

The most pressing hiring need for most dealerships is salespeople, and many dealerships use the Sales Achievement Predictor (SalesAP) to identify highly effective salespeople. The SalesAP is a personality test designed to select applicants who are a good fit for a sales role by measuring traits that are predictive of sales success, such as competitiveness, achievement, extroversion, and sales disposition. (Read our whitepaper to learn more about how to hire top salespeople.)

The SalesAP is often paired with a general skills test such as the Criteria Basic Skills Test (CBST). The CBST identifies salespeople with the learning ability and decision-making skills to do the job and take to the training quickly.

Auto mechanics or technicians are another common position for hiring in auto retail. The CBST is also recommended for this position since it measures the critical thinking and problem-solving ability required to diagnose and fix vehicles. The Wiesen Test of Mechanical Aptitude (WTMA) is also used for hiring these roles because it measures a candidate’s ability to learn about and apply mechanical concepts that are critical to auto repair and maintenance.

When hiring for administrative and clerical staff, the CBST is generally administered as a measurement of basic math and grammar skills, as well as attention-to-detail. The Employee Personality Profile (EPP) is a personality test that is also recommended for these roles. The test uses position-specific benchmarks to evaluate the traits that are correlated with success in administrative or clerical roles.