Dealer: Harry Faulkner

Dealership group: Faulkner Organization

Full-time employees: 48

General Manager Doug Jones on lessons from the pandemic about being a better employer:
“I think the biggest thing is that we are better communicators. COVID forced us to constantly stay in touch with our staff — whether they were working at the dealership, working from home or if they were furloughed.”

Jones on evolving compensation structure in the COVID era:
“The Faulkner Organization made sure all employees were taken care of, whether they continued to work or not. They made sure that employees could take care of their families through these tough times.”

Jones on how the accelerated shift to digital retail changed staffing strategy:
“We shifted some of our staff into our BDC to handle the customer inquiry flow. It has forced us to look at marketing to our customers in innovative ways.”

Jones on making work schedules more balanced or flexible:
“Flexible schedules is something we implemented many years ago. We have the attitude that if an employee has 40 hours to get their job done, does it matter what hours of the day they do it? Obviously, the dealership needs employees at certain times due to retail hours, but when we can, we will accommodate employees’ personal schedules.”