General manager: Tracy Gurnett

Dealership group: Penske Automotive Group

Full-time employees: 30

Gurnett on learning how to be a better employer from managing through the pandemic: “Knowing my team and their families by name was the important tool I had. Being transparent and communicating about changes (furloughs, expense reduction, etc.) allowed a sense of stability and trust.”

Gurnett on long-term changes in hiring or employment practices because of the pandemic: “With the shift to more digital, we conduct a few interview questions via email or text to give a snapshot of grammar, spelling and how they might correspond with a client. We use FaceTime or Skype to allow the manager and applicant to become more familiar before the in-person interview.”

Gurnett on offering employees a career path: “The most important resource is to allow employees to shadow in other departments. Recently a veteran salesperson spent time training in Finance. The experience was eye-opening for his growth and in understanding how his portion of a deal impacts the person preparing the documents.”