Reynolds & Reynolds takes car dealers back to school via the web

When it comes to learning how to use the web as a sales tool or as a means to communicate with others such as manufacturers, automotive dealers, arguably, need all the help they can get.

Despite the evolution of e-commerce technology and the fact that car buyers are basing their new or used vehicle purchase on the Internet, many dealers still are reluctant to embrace the web because they aren’t trained on how to use it.

But Reynolds & Reynolds Co., a developer of dealer management systems technology, sees a growth market in web-based training and it’s launching a new product for dealers.

The new product, Reynolds University Online, is a web-based learning environment that offers both free and low-cost training classes via a virtual classroom, enabling dealerships to train new hires and refresh current employees in utilizing the Reynolds dealer management systems and other software applications.

As part of the offering, dealerships have access to a learning management system from SumTotal Systems. The learning system recommends appropriate role-based training and tracks a dealership’s training history by employee. The system makes it easy for dealerships to identify and select training for its employees.

With access to RU Online, dealership employees can schedule and receive online training via a PC as schedules permit, with no travel costs or disruptions to the dealership. RU Online delivers training through an interactive classroom that provides multimedia-rich content and enables students to interact in real-time with Reynolds training professionals and other students. Research has shown that application training will increase system utilization and results for the dealership, Reynolds & Reynolds says.

"Dealers have told us this is what they want. They want their employees to have access to a first-class learning experience that is flexible, convenient, and cost-effective," says Terri Mulcahey, vice president of Reynolds Customer Services. "Now with the availability of RU Online, dealership employees can easily access application training and benefit from real-time interaction with an instructor and other peers."