DCH Kay Honda in Eatontown, N.J., is no stranger to accolades for its employee-friendly environment.
It was among the top 20 dealerships in the Automotive News Best Dealerships To Work For ranking back in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic hit. And it was in the top five last year as it worked to protect employees from the worst of the health crisis.
The dealership's rise to the top of the charts this year in the medium category — and fifth overall — comes from a thoughtful combination of its core philosophy pre-COVID-19 and the lessons it has learned over the past 19 months.
That includes a greater focus on flexibility. The store was able to develop a work-at-home model as it navigated lockdowns, social distancing and, more recently, a careful return to mostly in-store work for its 74 employees.
DCH Kay Honda is now using a hybrid model, offering work-from-home days on request with flexible hours. That allows employees to telecommute if they need to take care of family or other personal matters and return to the office for most of the week.