Larry H. Miller Hyundai Peoria champions ‘helping culture,' employee empowerment

At Larry H. Miller Hyundai Peoria in Arizona, all employees have a job to do, but they're never alone in striving to achieve their personal goals.

The dealership's 106-person staff leans on one another like family. When the store gets busy — or upended by the unthinkable, as seen this year with the coronavirus pandemic — all employees take on multiple responsibilities to help each other out.

"That helping culture is something you can't even put a price on," said Rick Trinkl, the dealership's general manager since August 2016. "Everybody wants to help the person next to them and isn't working at their expense. They're working with them — and for the betterment of everyone."

The store, which sold 1,678 new and 932 used vehicles in 2019, is once again being honored as an Automotive News Best Dealership To Work For, after first receiving the award last year.

For 2020, Larry H. Miller Hyundai Peoria tops the large dealership category — stores with 100 or more U.S. employees. In the overall ranking, it came in at No. 2. The Hyundai store is joined on this year's list by one other store from Larry H. Miller Dealerships, which operates 64 stores in Utah, Colorado, California and several other states.

Trinkl said his store — the highest-volume Hyundai dealership in Arizona — has increased its sales and service revenue by a 17 percent annual rate over the past three years.

Its secret to success?

"A clear vision of what we want to try to accomplish and a customer-centric approach to the business," he said. "Everything we've done is to provide the best possible customer experience, but it starts with happy employees."

Trinkl attributes employee satisfaction to the workplace culture, which he describes as structured, fun and collaborative.

A generous benefits package and myriad other perks help employees achieve career goals and a healthy work-life balance. Staffers can earn bonuses by participating in internal contests, and they have flexible schedules that accommodate personal needs.

Sales reps, for example, have a 45-hour workweek with two days off each week and are noncommissioned. Instead, Trinkl said, they're paid based on performance and meeting customer satisfaction goals.

They also receive longevity bonuses each month after hitting certain milestones — for instance, $250 per month after one year or $750 per month after three or more years, he said. Through the store's Top Gun program, salespeople can qualify for bonuses based on annual performance — $2,500 for selling 175 vehicles, $5,000 for 200 vehicles, $10,000 for 225 vehicles and $30,000 for 300 vehicles.

Technicians and detailers participate in quarterly "clean stall" contests, where winners — the tidiest employees — are awarded cash prizes up to $250.

Employees also receive one-on-one life planning, where managers provide mentorship as well as guidance on financial topics such as purchasing a first home or vehicle. CEO Gail Miller pays $10,000 a year, plus the cost of books, for four years of accredited college education for the children of all full-time employees who have worked for the company at least two years.

"They all want to get to where we are as managers, and we all want them to," Trinkl said. "We want this business to be vibrant for years to come, and it takes long-term, committed employees to do that. So we work on planning, and we encourage training and outside support."

Community outreach and charitable giving are also important at the dealership, which has spearheaded local food drives and partnered with nonprofits such as One Step Beyond, an organization that provides programs and employment opportunities to people with intellectual disabilities.

On April 26 — the birthday of dealership group founder Larry H. Miller, who died in 2009 — the entire company dedicates a day of service to volunteering in the communities where stores are located.

Miller had a phrase: " 'Go about doing good until there's too much good in the world,' and our dealership is certainly trying to live that as a guidepost," Trinkl said.

Kevin Naylor, the store's fixed operations director, said employees feel empowered.

"All of our employees have a voice, and we encourage them every day," Naylor told Automotive News. "Most of our best ideas come from the folks that are in the trenches."

Naylor, who has worked at the dealership for two and a half years, said employees appreciate the five-day workweek, college tuition reimbursement and monthly luncheons. He also touted the availability and open communication style of the store's upper management, referring to the work environment as "a culture of sharing" where no door is ever closed.

"You know they appreciate you every day, and you're treated with respect," said Naylor, who has spent 35 years in the auto industry. "Your opinion matters."

That commitment to a broader level of communication has helped the dealership navigate the uncertainty and disruption caused by the pandemic.

"It's had a profound impact on the store," Trinkl said. "We've had to figure out how to be a better community partner. We've had to figure out how to protect our employees, how to protect our customers. It's caused us to look at every single process in the dealership."

The dealership established a COVID-19 playbook to ensure all federal, state and local guidelines are followed. It has implemented storewide protocols such as sanitizing vehicles before and after service visits, weekly deep cleanings, and temperature check stations with face recognition for all employees.

Store operations have been streamlined, improving overall efficiency. In service, the dealership's concierge pickup and delivery, for example, now is being used for more than 20 percent of the department's transactions. The dealership also adjusted its sick and vacation policies to allow for more flexibility during the pandemic, ensuring employees who have symptoms can stay home while still being paid and those with children can work around new school schedules and other requirements, Trinkl said.

"It's the intangible things," Trinkl said. "I'm not sure I have the whole formula on how we got that worked out, but we've been pretty lucky to have an entire team that's all committed to where we're going."