General manager: Mark Clifton

Dealership group: Lithia Motors

Full-time employees: 81

Clifton on evolving compensation structure in the COVID era:
“There were no pay reductions during the pandemic; actually, most of my employees saw a pay increase compared with the same time the previous year. For the employees that were furloughed, they received additional paid time off that they could use while on furlough. We made a decision to pay their PTO at each employee’s daily rate of pay, which is much higher than the normal $15 per hour for PTO. Also, I covered my technicians’ hours even though our hours of operation were reduced. I made sure my management team did not see a reduction in pay during the shutdown. The last thing I wanted was for my employees to have additional stress of not being able to pay their bills.”

Clifton on changing hiring and training because of the pandemic:
“We are doing more phone and video interviews than in-person interviews. Our onboarding process is now all digital; each employee has their own portal provided by Workday. Ninety percent of training is now virtual and 10 percent is on-the-job training. We are more open to hiring employees with zero automotive experience. Most of our recent new hires come from a different industry like the hospitality industry.”

Clifton on making work schedules more balanced or flexible:
“We went to a work schedule that we call flex time. It allows employees to vary their arrival and departure times, not your traditional bell-to-bell schedule. We also allow designated employees to work remotely with a reduction of hours. This promotes teamwork, improved employee morale and reduced employee burnout. We have seen their productivity increase while working reduced hours.”