Dealer: Richard Garber

Dealership group: Garber Automotive Group

Full-time employees: 121

General Manager Kevin Parker on lessons from the pandemic about being a better employer:
“Our employees really stepped up to make everything run so smoothly for us and our customers. The dedication and efficiency has increased because of what we went through.”

Parker on evolving compensation structure in the COVID era:
“During COVID and the dealerships running at 25 percent (in service and parts), managers received 66 percent of their pay while furloughed employees received stimulus pay through the state. Many of our administration staff were able to perform their job remotely with no interruption to their pay.”

Parker on how the accelerated shift to digital retail changed staffing strategy:
“We offer a retailing process that can be entirely virtual. Our sales staff have produced videos on the technology and operation of vehicles that can be sent to customers to limit the delivery time at the dealership.”