Job seekers are willing to work at dealerships -- but not selling cars.

"Any role, other than salesperson, creates a lift in interest" among job hunters asked about working in auto retailing, said Isabelle Helms, vice president of research and market intelligence for Cox Automotive in Atlanta.

That is one finding in a new study by Cox. Cox partnered with Hireology, a Chicago hiring and retention technology provider, to conduct the 2017 Dealership Staffing Study. Helms presented the findings Tuesday at Elevate, a conference led by Hireology.

In its first such study, Cox surveyed about 800 job seekers and 393 dealership employees, of whom 50 were managers or owners, on hiring and retention. Cox collected the data between late in the third quarter of last year and midway through 2017.

"We did it because of the tremendous turnover in this industry," Helms told Automotive News. "We know this negatively impacts the consumer experience and morale of the staff."