The Reynolds and Reynolds Company has introduced Reynolds and Reynolds University (RRU), a newly consolidated learning organization which it says offers a complete portfolio of educational and best practices/processes solutions to automotive industry professionals.

According to the company, RRU embraces the best-in-class training materials and delivery mechanisms available today. Offering a full spectrum of courses covering every area of the dealership, RRU helps retailers increase their profitability by enhancing the people, processes and technologies that affect the bottom line, says Reynolds and Reynolds.

"In a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey, 70 percent of Fortune 1000 companies cited the lack of trained employees as their number one barrier to sustaining growth," said Ed Bolka, vice president of Reynolds and Reynolds University. "Now, with RRU, retailers have the opportunity to provide employees with the on-going training they need to be the best at their jobs - offered in a flexible, blended learning environment that has proven to be the most effective way to deliver training."

Bolka said that according to a study conducted by the American Society for Training and Development, there is a distinct correlation between training investment and financial performance. In comparing the top training investors to companies that spent 60 percent less, the top group achieved:

• 57 percent higher net sales per employee
  

• 36 percent higher gross profits per employee
  

• 20 percent higher ratio in market-to-book values

"As more automotive retailers are realizing the value of quality training," said Bolka, "RRU is there to help."

The company says RRU is divided into five major schools, each of which is organized by job role and discipline to address the key areas of a retailer's automotive operation. These schools, which take into consideration the job roles and topics covered, from general office skills to specific product knowledge, include:

• Automotive Operations School: Develops job-specific automotive skills that provide the basics for working in the automotive retail industry. Courses cover clerical through management roles.
  

• Business Professional School: Builds a high-performance culture to attract and retain associates by developing the business knowledge and skills needed for success. Courses range from customer service skills training to human resource management essentials.
  

• Information Technology School: Develops technology skills essential for business today, covering everything from introductory PC courses to networking administration.
  

• Dealership Management System School: Provides the training and certification needed to improve employee productivity and effectiveness on the Reynolds system.
  

• Automotive Process School: Process management skills and tools training that prepare a dealership's people, process and technology to maximize revenue and profit opportunities. Solutions range from loyalty management to business development center implementations.

"These five schools and their accompanying coursework were developed with a retailer's business results and objectives in mind," said Bolka. "We found early on that flexibility was a key issue for dealerships, so we designed RRU with a well-balanced mix of classroom, in-dealership, remote and e-learning training solutions."

This flexibility is provided, in part, as a result of Reynolds' partnerships with automotive training and consulting firms, including Dixon Odom's eautolearning.com, Northwood University and SkillSoft. The company says these firms deliver proven quality materials and accreditation through best-in-class educators, adding to a dealership's credibility and higher customer satisfaction.

Bolka added that RRU now encompasses Reynolds internal training organization as well. "By bringing our internal and external learning organizations together, we are leveraging our skills, increasing our market competitiveness, and building an important learning business for our company," he said.

Reynolds and Reynolds (www.reyrey.com) is a provider of integrated solutions that it says help automotive retailers manage change and improve their profitability. The company's software, service and training solutions include a full range of retail and enterprise management systems; networking and support; e-business applications; Web services; learning and consulting services; CRM solutions, document and data management and leasing services. Reynolds serves more than 20,000 customers comprising 90 percent of the automotive retailers and virtually all car companies in North America. It conducts CRM consulting services on five continents.