This week we here at Service Dealer Towers have been putting the finishing touches to the latest edition of your magazine, before sending it out into the big wide world (via the printers).

In all modesty, the amazing production team and the top-level unit of crack editorial contributors have fashioned another absolutely barnstorming issue - dedicated, of course, to the interests of the UK independent dealer network.

Waiting for you within the covers when your copy drops onto your mat, is a series of fascinating and helpful articles. For example, industry expert Keith Christian offers us his take on the thorny issue of succession for dealers. He considers how difficult it can be for a small business when the founder chooses to retire.

Elsewhere, Laurence Gale visits dealers Hopkins Machinery who have four branches across Wales and the west of England. Loz speaks to Evan Hopkins, third-generation operations director, to discuss the business’s structure, new technologies, and future plans. Meanwhile, I conduct a Q&A with Mark Earles of Makita about how the company has progressed since moving to solely producing battery-powered products, as well as hearing what his year as AEA president has entailed.

This latest issue also contains run-downs on trade shows from around the globe. Our agricultural machinery editor Martin Rickatson, reports from both LAMMA at the NEC and Agromek in Denmark. Dealer Jo Balmer, tells us that all UK dealers should visit the gimungous Equip in Louisville, Kentucky at least once in their careers. Whilst I round-up a successful, pro-turfcare focused, BTME in Harrogate.

Also included are all our regular features you've come to expect - including this time around, the results of our recent Winter Servicing Survey.

Attracting candidates

Regarding these survey results, I'm sure it'll come as little surprise to hear that the difficulties faced in recruiting are mentioned by dealers. This area was bound to come up when our readers are talking about what factors are inhibiting the running of workshops to their fullest potential. It's a perennial problem and one that we have spoken about a lot within our pages. It's also one that industry bodies such as We Are Land-based are taking seriously. They are clearly working hard trying to find practical solutions that help dealers, whilst at the same time actively promoting the sector.

I think it is important though, not to forget that this is not simply a parochial problem that only we in the UK are facing. It's clearly a difficulty that dealers worldwide are grappling with.

I recently saw our friend and columnist Sara Hey of dealer training experts in the States, BCI, answering an American dealer's question around this subject. Interestingly it was from angle I don't recall us discussing specifically in great detail. The dealer was looking for Sara's advice on what she believes to be the best way to write a job description that actually attracts the right people?

Sara sums up the predicament faced by dealers saying how it's understandable to want a "rock star employee" who can solve every problem and never complain. "But here’s the thing," says Sara, "nobody’s perfect." She goes on to stress that dealers should make sure that their job description is realistic, that it clearly outlines the role, the skills required, and the expectations, but not to "..overload it with impossible standards.".

Her other couple of key pointers are that the yearly salary should be clearly stated because omitting this can be instantly off-putting and you should also sell the growth opportunities that the role represents - because "Great hires aren’t looking for a dead-end job."

You can read Sara's whole response here - and she even offers for dealers to email them to request a free copy of a service advisor job description template that they've put together. I guess it may be U.S-centric to a degree, but I'm sure there will be universal information within there that UK dealers could find helpful too.

As I'm sure Sara would agree, a well-crafted job description can not only help to ensure that dealers attract decent people but it also sets clear expectations for the potential employees. One sincerely hopes that if the time is taken to craft a well-thought-out advert, an improvement should be seen in the quality of applicants applying to your business.