“Not now I’m busy….” has become the most pervasive and widely used phrase in the modern car dealership, impacting morale, efficiency, and employee engagement all through the implied importance of not having idle time.

How did we get here?

As dealerships transition into the digital age, a premium has been placed on urgency and speediness. Lighting fast lead response, express lane service, engaged social media, and other initiatives have created an implied urgency at all phases of the business.  Add in the tools of communication (email, text, Snapchat, WhatsApp, etc.) and we have created an environment where employees are constantly receiving and responding to messages and action items from customers, co-workers, and outside partners.

Somewhere in this fire hose of communication came along the concept of “busy”, where constantly being occupied with work has been prioritized over being efficient.

Busy has become a badge of honor, implying that an employee has a lot going on and is somehow superior to those that have available time for new projects or improvements. Busy says to managers that this person is earning their keep and new tasks should be put on other less-busy employees.

At some point, we have to realize the obvious: Busy is a decision.

“I’m Busy” is the “No Vacancy” sign of the modern automotive dealership. It represents that the employee is closed for business with regards to helping co-workers and can’t possibly take on another customer issue. It represents an unwillingness to be helpful and creates a one-way street with colleagues.

We don’t want employees that can’t spare an extra second, we want employees that can help a customer or co-worker in a pinch or who can take on an additional need as it arises!

Instead of prioritizing activity we need to be prioritizing efficiency.

What are some things we can do to make our teams and dealerships more efficient?

Prioritize Tasks: Have every team member make a complete list of their responsibilities. First, have them order these activities by importance to their departments’ success. Then, have them order these activities by how much time they take. You’ll be surprised how many time-sucking activities end up being of low importance.

Schedule Everything: Most team members have appointments and meetings scheduled on a calendar. Take that a step further and completely schedule the day out. Taking ups in the afternoon? Schedule it. Ordering cars? Give it time. By budgeting out your time you can carve out available times to work on special projects or to be available to help others. Also – If you’re someone who is reading this and saying “that would never work for my role” – You need to do this more than others.

Quit Checking Email Constantly: Set 10 minutes every few hours to review your inbox but then close the application after. Don’t use your inbox as a “to-do” list as it will inevitably prioritize the most recent items (at the top) against others.

Avoid Meaningless Meetings: Before joining a meeting to be “in the know”, ask yourself if it is really necessary to be present. Also – Avoid or work to improve meetings that lack an agenda or a clear set of action items.

Avoid Busy/Negative People: Try to limit your time with those that never are available and keep co-workers who complain about being overloaded at arm’s length.

Say Yes: By taking the steps above to limit your time consuming low-importance activity you’ll be able to take on more. Help a co-worker, take care of a special project no ones wants to touch, and more. You might just help someone else become less busy.

By combating the cult of busy we can improve our dealerships by allowing those around us to be more productive while simultaneously freeing up time for customers, co-workers, special projects, and emergencies. By admitting that busy is a decision we can start purging it from our dealership’s culture.