If you or one of your managers left the business today, has someone been identified who’s ready to step up and in? If you’ve been doing your job correctly, the transition to your successor should be seamless and almost unnoticeable.

Earlier this month, 219 attendees — including 45 dealerships from across the U.S. and Canada — joined us in Madison, Wis., for the 10th Dealership Minds Summit to work-shop how to plan and execute managerial transitions (p. 20). During his kickoff presentation, Titan Machinery CEO B.J. Knutson said, “10,000 baby boomers a week are exiting the workforce. We’re going to continue to need to build out our teams as we go, and as we do that, we’ll need to keep in mind the different characteristics of the different generations as we’re doing that.”

For Knutson, building an A-team — and making sure the bench is full to fill the inevitable vacancies — starts with recruitment. While that means being out in the community and engaging early and often with schools, Knutson places a large emphasis on specific qualities and characteristics.

“There’s a saying that you want to look for the kids who are coming off dairy farms because they’re the hardest workers,” he says. “I’ve certainly found that to be true, since work ethic is hard to teach.” Next on his list are passion — again something hard to teach; you either have it or you don’t — and personal integrity.

“Turnover is going to happen. It can be hard to predict, but it’s going to happen. That’s one of the reasons I start with recruitment,” he says.

Beyond Recruitment

Having the bodies to draw from isn’t enough. To prepare your people for the next step, time and energy must be invested into their mentoring and training. Some of that happens naturally and via leading by example, something this year’s class of Shortline Legends Hall of Fame inductees profoundly exhibited (p. 30). Yet not everything can be learned by osmosis. If you see potential in some people, take the time to share that observation, nurture them and give them the time and attention they deserve to grow. It should be a compulsory duty of every position, to prepare for the day the baton is handed off.

Ask the Right Questions

I picked up a great tip during a roundtable at the Summit about seeking new department managers. Instead of the limiting question of “Do you want to be the new parts manager?,” Moving Iron’s Casey Seymour relies on a less absolute line of questioning. He probes about areas one might be interested in growing into. For one, this doesn’t create a sticky situation if they prove to be a poor fit for the job. And at the same time, it lets them know you’re interested in their future in the business and want to see them grow.

Building your team is a job that’s never quite done, but getting the right people in the right spots is rewarding. And when done right, the transition of roles can be seamless.