A closer look at the chart showing changes by job title (below) shows the average for all positions has been pushed up by the large increase in just two positions – used sales manager and service manager. But even if these two rises were taken out of the equation the average rate of change for all positions would still be 7.56 per cent – the highest since January 2004. Looking at the chart of quarterly averages, it is now clearer than ever that the turnover in dealership personnel took a definitive and possibly permanent upward shift following the implementation of the last phase of the new block exemption conditions in Q3 of 2003. Taking the year as a whole, staff turnover in the franchised sector has been consistently much higher than in the independent sector – averaging out at around 8 per cent until the last quarter of the year. However, the independent sector experienced a fall in turnover in the second and third quarters, only to return to its high of over 4 per cent for the year-end – a possible indication that the independent sector is more seasonably affected. l Steve Raybould is an analyst with Autointel