Case Study

Suttons Automotive
Driving Performance

How a 24-dealership network with 1,800+ employees unified engagement, recognition and KPI performance through Suttons Way — powered by ShoutOut.

0 Yrs

Embedded Across 24 Dealers

KPI Performance Improvement

Employee Adoption Rate

0K+

Peer Recognitions

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The Challenge

Scaling Performance Across 24 Dealerships

Suttons Automotive operates 24 dealerships in NSW with over 1,800 employees across sales, service, finance and administration. In a high-pressure, sales-driven industry, performance visibility and accountability are critical to maintaining competitive advantage.

📡

Communication Lacked Reach

Internal communication channels lacked visibility, particularly for frontline sales and service teams across dispersed dealership locations.

📊

No Standardised KPIs

Dealer initiatives operated independently rather than as a unified strategy with standardised KPIs — making it impossible to benchmark performance.

🏆

Inconsistent Recognition

No formal framework existed to ensure employee effort was consistently recognised and valued across the network.

🔗

Fragmented Systems

Resources and operational information were dispersed across multiple systems, reducing efficiency and creating navigation friction.

🚪

Retention Pressure

Competitive automotive market conditions created constant pressure on employee retention, requiring a proactive engagement strategy to keep top talent.

The Solution

Suttons Way: One Platform to Engage,
Perform & Recognise

Suttons required a unified engagement and performance framework to create synergy across dealerships, standardise KPIs and directly connect recognition to measurable commercial outcomes.

Driving Measurable Performance (Perform module)

Dealer of the Year (DOTY), Manager of the Year (MOTY), and Sales & Service Guild programs were standardised across roles with real-time leaderboards, individual dashboards and automated reporting.

Recognition That Reinforces Results (Encourage module)

Suttons Way became the central engine of recognition. The ShoutOut Wall surfaced contribution in real time across dealerships, while milestone badges formalised organisational wins and key achievements.

Network-Wide Communication (Connect)

Suttons Way replaced fragmented communication with a single, measurable platform. Personalised Home Screens, targeted articles and push notifications ensured leadership communication reached frontline teams consistently.

Operational Efficiency (Empower)

The One Hub widget provides central access to core systems and operational information, reducing navigation between platforms and improving workflow efficiency across dealerships.

Achievements & Badges

Formalising Wins Across the Network

Over 1,700 milestone badges have been awarded across Dealer Programs and Work Anniversaries — turning achievements into visible, lasting moments of pride.

Dealer of the Year

Top-performing dealership in the network

Manager of the Year

Top-performing manager across key roles

Milestone Achiever

Celebrating loyalty & tenure milestones

ShoutOut Star

Most recognised teammate of the month

Community Champion

Recognising community impact

Quiz Master

Top knowledge performer

📈

KPI-Linked

Badges tied directly to measurable performance outcomes.

✈️

Premium Incentives

Top performers earn incentive travel experiences delivered via ShoutOut.

📣

Achievements Wall

All badges visible org-wide, amplifying recognition across dealerships.

🎁

Paired with eRewards

Combine badges with digital vouchers for tangible rewards.

The Results

Six Years of Measurable Commercial Impact

After six years, ShoutOut is fully embedded as the engagement and performance engine of the network.

KPI Improvement

Employee Adoption

Peer Recognitions

Employee Retention

QBox Response Rate

Milestone Badges Awarded

Performance & Engagement Metrics

Key outcomes across the Suttons network

Adoption

87%

Retention

84%

QBox Response

75%

KPI Uplift

+15%

Recognition Breakdown

How 35,000+ recognitions are distributed

Peer-to-Peer (59%)

Milestone Badges (25%)

Leadership (16%)

KPI Performance Growth Over 6 Years

Sustained performance uplift since ShoutOut implementation

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5Year 6Current

KPI Achievement

Employee Engagement

Why It Matters

The Business Case for Employee Engagement

Research consistently shows that engaged employees drive measurably better business outcomes — especially in high-turnover industries like automotive.

Impact of High Employee Engagement on Organisations

Gallup research: Engaged vs. disengaged business units

+78%

Profitability

−65%

Turnover

+23%

Productivity

−81%

Absenteeism

+10%

Customer
Loyalty

−58%

Safety
Incidents

$450B+

Cost of Disengagement

Annual cost of actively disengaged employees to the Australian economy.

Source: Gallup State of the Global Workplace

3.5×

Revenue Growth

Companies with high engagement grow revenue 3.5× faster than those with low engagement.

Source: Hay Group Research

87%

Less Likely to Leave

Highly engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their organisation.

Source: Corporate Leadership Council

Key Outcomes

Engagement Was the Lever.
Performance Was the Outcome.

Engagement was the lever — performance was the outcome. By integrating communication, recognition, KPI visibility and rewards into one platform, Suttons strengthened alignment and performance across the network.

📈 Sustained KPI Performance

Structured and transparent KPI programs have delivered a measurable 15% improvement in KPI achievement since inception — across all dealerships and roles.

🏆 Recognition at Scale

Over 35,000 ShoutOuts sent with sustained visibility of performance behaviours. A further 1,700 milestone badges formalised achievement across Dealer Programs and Work Anniversaries.

📡 Network-Wide Communication

More than 850 targeted articles generated over 30,000 reads, with an 87% employee adoption rate — reflecting strong, sustained user engagement across all 24 dealerships.

🗣️ Employee Voice & Insight

Over three years, QBox surveys generated 12,965 responses with an average 75% response rate, providing leadership with reliable insight into engagement and employee sentiment.

⚡ Increased Productivity

The consolidation of communication and reporting within one platform has reduced manual administration and improves efficiency for HR and leadership teams.

🤝 84% Employee Retention

Structured visibility and engagement contributed to 84% employee retention in a competitive automotive market — well above industry average.

Suttons Automotive Driving Performance