Best Dealerships to Work For

General manager: Shane Gault

Dealership group: Garber Automotive Group

Full-time employees: 60

Office Manager Kim Barrineau on improving employee retention: “We are always looking for new and fun team-building ideas to foster a culture of inclusion and kinship amongst our team. We try to get input from the team for new ideas and always to choose activities that everyone can participate in. We also try to include spouses in our activities to encourage greater participation. We are always looking for ways to improve work conditions for all of our employees. We have completed several upgrades in our service department in the past year that have made the technicians’ workspace cleaner, brighter and safer, which has translated to improved morale in the shop. We have several more upgrades planned for other parts of the dealership as well.”

Barrineau on offering a long-term career path: “We offer continuing paid training for our technicians, which leads to increased pay as their knowledge base increases. We are always trying to identify sales personnel that are managerial candidates and will foster those ambitions with on-the-job training.”

Barrineau on diversity, equity and inclusion: “With the challenges in finding talent, we will be seeking out creative ways to attract the best talent from all walks of life. [General Motors] and the Garber organization have superior training for all managers on the importance and expectation of fostering an environment of diversity, equity and inclusion.”

Barrineau on recruiting and retaining women: “We are always looking for the best talent our area has to offer, and recruiting female employees definitely fills that need. We have just hired a female military veteran as a lube technician, and she will be shadowing one of our top technicians to receive topnotch on-the-job training. One of our newest salesperson hires, who happens to be female, is quickly becoming one of the top sellers in the dealership.”