100 Best Dealerships to Work For

The first Automotive News list of the 100 Best Dealerships to Work For was compiled from the ranks of U.S. and Canadian dealerships that applied for the honor. Management at those dealerships filled out an extensive survey on employee benefits and practices. Then employees were surveyed. Best Companies Group, which has created similar rankings for other industries, reviewed the surveys and developed the rankings. To apply for next year's list, click here
 

The top 10 Best Dealerships To Work For, from, left: Mike Cuzzo, Jaguar Plano (Texas); John Evanicki, Land Rover of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.); Maria Laina Brody, Hillside Honda (N.Y.); Adam Arens, Patriot Subaru (Maine); Charley Engelfried and Brian Schindler, Capital Auto Group (Ore.); Joe Brown, Frank Leta Honda/Acura (Mo.); Don Faerber, Niello Porsche (Calif.); Matt McGovern, Prime Motor Group (Maine); Vadim Makhlis, Prime Volkswagen (Maine); Tamara Darvish, DARCARS (Md.); Ramin Robinson, DARCARS Chevrolet (Md.)
 

Loyal, happy and the best

There's a new business model emerging in the retail world. The good news: It need not cost anything.
Dealerships, such as the 100 places Automotive News recognized last week at its first Best Dealerships To Work For event, are thriving by doing a few key things right - communicating with their employees, paying attention to their needs and creating boatloads of good will.
Loyalty: Yes. High turnover: Not a chance.
These employees are empowered; their achievements are recognized.
What a concept.
What a model for dealerships in 2012 and beyond.
 
 
NOBODY DOES IT BETTER

Automotive News Best Dealerships to Work For awards ceremony

2:27 pm U.S. ET | Oct. 21, 2012
Automotive News celebrated the 100 Best Dealerships To Work For at an event last week in Chicago. The half-day conference and evening awards program, held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel, below, attracted more than 350 participants and included a panel discussion and keynote speeches. The dealerships were honored at a gala dinner that evening. PHOTOS: JOE WILSSENS... Read More »
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THE JAGUAR PLANO STORY

Texas turnaround: New owner arrives; staff thrives

12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 18, 2012
Just more than two years after Park Place Dealerships acquired Jaguar Plano in suburban Dallas, the turnaround is clear: Jaguar Plano ranks No. 1 on Automotive News' list of the Best Dealerships To Work For. For Park Place Chairman Kenneth Schnitzer, the ranking validates a business model that he says revolves around employees.... Read More »
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ATTENTION TO RETENTION

Kinder and gentler -- the new path to reducing employee turnover

12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 18, 2012
When an employee at Bill Gatton Honda in Bristol, Tenn., needs to leave early to catch a child's afternoon school football game or to take an elderly parent to the doctor, General Manager Trace Bratton has a stock answer: "I tell them, 'Of course,'" Bratton says.... Read More »
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Small dealerships get highest ratings

12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 18, 2012
Employees at small dealerships consistently rated their workplaces higher than those at medium or large stores.
Where was the gap widest between the 100 Best Dealerships To Work For and other stores that applied for the honor? Pay and benefits.
Those are some of the findings from employee surveys conducted as part of the screening for the 100 Best Dealerships To Work For.... Read More »
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PERKS AT WORK

Dealerships promoting culture that's healthy, motivating and fun

12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 18, 2012
Want a job where you can win a Rolex watch, earn a diamond ring, work with a nutritionist, go on an all-expenses-paid shopping spree, enjoy a paid vacation at a beach house or set your own work hours? Those are some of the perks that the Best Dealerships To Work For give to their employees.... Read More »
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A mixed bag of benefits

12:01 am U.S. ET | Oct. 18, 2012
Employees at the 100 Best Dealerships To Work For gave their employers high marks for pay and benefits. And they should. For example, 98 of those 100 dealerships offer some form of retirement savings plan, according to a survey of those employers. But that was a rare case of near-unanimity among the 100 Best Dealerships. The survey of those 100 dealerships found wide variations in what benefits they offer to their employees.... Read More »
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