Women in fixed ops management roles create a supportive environment

Jennifer Lewis-Hodgson was working as an assistant in a body shop when an insurance appraiser she worked with recommended her for the collision center manager job at Grossman Chevrolet-Nissan in Old Saybrook, Conn.

"I came in here with zero management experience," said Lewis-Hodgson, who has managed that collision center since November 2019. "But when I had questions, [the Grossman management team] had the patience to really hear what I was trying to say."

Women aren't lining up to fill fixed ops job openings at dealerships, but some stores are successfully attracting women. Those that do are finding female managers enable a dealership culture that creates a great work environment for all employees.

"As we have had success hiring women, training women and finding women who stand out in this industry, we have realized women bring such an interesting culture to the dealership — one that is different than the traditional male manager," said Linda Grossman, president of Grossman Chevrolet-Nissan.

Grossman came up in her family's dealership working for male managers. Now, her comptroller, service manager and collision center manager are all women. Grossman said they approach their job and their fellow employees differently than many men might.

"Women tend to think more about what that person may have going on in other parts of their lives," she said, "[and] how they can manage all those different pieces of their lives."

The management team at Grossman is cooperative rather than competitive, which isn't what Service Manager Carrie Giuliano encountered at other dealerships. She said she felt male colleagues wanted to undermine her until she proved herself. At Grossman, the culture is supportive rather than competitive.

"I love that I never have to second-guess any decision I made," Giuliano said.

It's not that mistakes aren't made, but "there is never any shaming for mistakes or anything someone would do in a normal part of the business," Grossman said.

For example, when Lewis-Hodgson started as collision center manager, it was a "bumpy road," Grossman said. But when mistakes occurred, the team would discuss what was done incorrectly. They also worked with a female body shop consultant.

Grossman, comptroller Linda Sawyer and Lewis-Hodgson meet every Monday to go over the business. It's also a forum to air frustrations, Lewis-Hodgson said. "What happens on Monday stays in the Monday meeting," she said.

Grossman and Sawyer also have Monday meetings with the sales team.

Collaboration is key to managing the business and the women mentor each other based on their years of experience in different business areas, Grossman said.

"There are so many avenues for everyone to go to," she said. "I think that is the difference in the way we approach crises."

Veronica Dunford, co-owner and chief strategy officer of Women in Automotive, said the more women collaborate the better it is for everyone. The group works with dealerships to develop mentorships, including a mentoring platform, and hosts regional events to empower women in the automotive sector.

Women account for only 1 to 2 percent of employees on the service and parts side, said Dunford, but not because of a lack of talent. The paucity of women is because of a lack of support, she said.

If a woman is the "lone wolf" and isn't supported, it's easy to develop a "how do I know who I can trust" mentality, Dunford said.

"Women come in; they just don't stay," she said. "We are here to change that."

Dolan Auto Group, based in Reno, Nev., is working with Women in Automotive to support its female employees. The auto group includes six rooftops encompassing 11 franchises.

Each dealership contributes members to the group's women's leadership council. It meets once a month and organizes up to seven activities a year including guest speakers and other events for the group's female and male employees, said Kelsey Hicks, the group's logistics manager and a council member.

Kathy Gilbert, Women in Automotive's COO and senior director, minority dealer and women retail at CDK Global, recently spoke to the group.

The group's owners — Tom Dolan and his sons Ryan and Brady, come to every event, Hicks said.

"Management sees the value women bring to management positions," she said, including attention to detail and a "nurturing" element that provides balance to the male managers.

In the eight years she has worked at Dolan, the percentage of women working in the service drive has risen, Hicks said. When she arrived, it was male-dominated, she said.

Now, half of the assistance service managers are women, as well as half of the service advisers. A woman is assistant manager of the reconditioning shop.

Men also can be effective mentors to women. Hicks said that most of her biggest mentors were men and have given her confidence to grow.

"They not only make space, but they encourage confident women to step up," says Hicks of Dolan's male managers.

Not all male managers are so welcoming. When she began managing her family's dealership business, there was a "strong male" running fixed ops, Linda Grossman said. Her father wanted Grossman to make the fixed ops director a partner.

She and Sawyer, her comptroller, frequently talked about getting rid of him.

"I finally had the guts to do it," Grossman said. "It was scary, but it was literally the best thing I have ever done. It has completely changed the trajectory of the dealership over the last few years."

She could not have done it without Sawyer's support, Grossman said.

Like many dealership service departments, Grossman Chevrolet Nissan has trouble hiring female technicians. It currently has none, Giuliano said, though the service liaison in the service department for both franchises is a woman.

The dealership is introducing the idea of an auto retail career to local high school students, both male and female, through weekly tours for kids who express an interest in the technical field. Lewis-Hodgson and Giuliano also attend job fairs together.

"High school girls, their eyes get a little wide when we start talking about what we do during the day," Grossman said. "Hopefully, it will make some of them consider a career with a dealership."

While women may dominate upper management at Grossman Chevrolet-Nissan, the male managers and employees are overwhelmingly supportive and "that is cool," Sawyer said.

It's not about male or female hires, it's about the individual, Grossman said.

"We are trying to create a culture where everyone wants to have a quality of life working here," she said. "It has to work both ways. At the end of the day, they are here for a job."