As quickly as the primary wave of coronavirus-related authorities shutdowns started in March, Hendrick Automotive Group CEO Rick Hendrick started taking a look at methods to guard staff’ paychecks.
Dealership staffers have been affected in numerous methods, relying on their job description and placement, Hendrick Automotive President Greg Gach informed Automotive Information. Some enterprise growth middle staff may proceed to observe up on leads remotely, as an illustration, however technicians couldn’t work if their retailer’s service division was closed.
What began in California would grow to be a coverage throughout all the privately held group’s dealerships in 11 states, Gach stated. Workers have been assured at the least 80 p.c of their common pay in January and February, a program that ran by means of June. Since then, Hendrick has provided supplemental pay for workers who’ve examined optimistic or been uncovered to COVID-19 and are required to self-quarantine and may’t come to work, he stated.
“We’re pleased with what we have been in a position to take action far to assist our people as finest we will,” Gach stated.
Hendrick, with 15 shops on this yr’s Automotive Information Finest Dealerships To Work For checklist, is amongst a number of retailers within the 2020 class that acted to protect worker pay throughout state-mandated enterprise restrictions within the spring. Some dealerships — significantly their gross sales departments — have been thought-about nonessential companies in quite a few states, which means gross sales typically needed to be performed on-line or remotely or by no means through the early weeks of the pandemic.
Even in states that allowed showrooms to remain open, some sellers stated enterprise fell sharply within the early spring, affecting staff’ earnings. A number of of the Finest Dealerships To Work For winners stated they assured pay primarily based on previous earnings, elevated hourly wages or moved commission-based employees to a wage mannequin to help them by means of the pandemic-induced downturn.
Adam Robinson, CEO of dealership recruitment know-how firm Hireology, stated that he has heard of dealerships on each ends of the spectrum, from these reducing pay and furloughing staff to these guaranteeing compensation if staff’ earnings dropped beneath a set degree. These actions diverse by dealership group and geographic market, he stated.
“One supplier we all know — that we have labored with for years, truly — gave a one-time bonus when COVID hit to offer a security web and help the workers,” he stated.
Hireology stated it plans to survey sellers this yr about compensation and advantages within the wake of the pandemic to collect concrete information, which may very well be launched in early 2021.
Among the many Finest Dealerships To Work For winners, offering a pay enhance or assure to staff affected by the pandemic was widespread.
Patriot Auto Group, with three dealerships in three New England states, elevated compensation for workers who continued working through the early months of the pandemic and coated well being care premiums for workers’ relations — which generally had been staff’ accountability — for 3 months, supplier principal Adam Arens stated.
Two of Arens’ shops — Patriot Subaru of Saco, Maine, and Patriot Subaru of North Attleboro, Mass. — are among the many 100 dealerships on this yr’s Finest Dealerships To Work For checklist.
Enterprise started to gradual in March, and Arens stated he allowed some staff to choose to remain residence on a furlough if that they had well being considerations or wanted to care for youngsters or mother and father. About 30 staff out of a complete 170 in Patriot’s three shops selected to take action. Those that continued to work in individual, no matter whether or not they have been sometimes paid hourly or on fee, obtained a wage for 12 to 16 weeks beginning in April earlier than returning to their conventional pay fashions in the summertime, Arens stated. Workers’ pay elevated throughout that point, as effectively, to compensate for the additional danger related to working in individual, he stated.
Patriot’s high managers took 30 p.c pay cuts for about three months till enterprise rebounded, he stated.
“The management staff was going to take the brunt of it — me first, after which different folks,” Arens stated. “We weren’t going to let COVID maintain meals off of anyone’s desk.”
The federal Paycheck Safety Program, which provided low-interest loans that may be forgiven if employers meet sure necessities, helped some dealerships cowl the additional bills.
Arens stated PPP loans helped his dealership group pay for compensation adjustments early within the pandemic when retailer income additionally dropped.
Hendrick Automotive, which opted to not take PPP loans, self-funded its pay assure. Gach stated Hendrick used current sources, together with price financial savings from decreased promoting through the pandemic.
Hendrick’s senior management additionally deferred pay till enterprise picked up, he stated.
Iowa supplier Dave Wright stated his resolution to protect staff’ pay through the pandemic was partly primarily based on hiring wants.
Wright, supplier principal of Dave Wright Nissan-Subaru in Hiawatha, Iowa, stated it has been difficult to seek out sufficient certified candidates to fill a number of wanted positions, from gross sales to service to the BDC.
So early within the pandemic, Wright determined to maintain all staff working and assure their pay whereas he continued to attempt to rent. These decisions carried his work drive by means of the pandemic. Additionally they helped throughout an April hailstorm that shut down the gross sales division for shut to a few weeks and an August derecho — a sequence of intense windstorms — that left his dealership with out energy for 9 days.
Gross sales reps, service technicians and repair advisers have been assured to make at the least as a lot cash as they did on common final yr, Wright stated. Hourly staff, together with administrative and help roles, noticed their pay improve by 20 p.c as Wright raised base wages by the identical in a bid to make his dealership extra enticing in his native market. These adjustments will keep in place by means of 2020, he stated.
The Paycheck Safety Program helped offset the associated fee, although Wright stated he had deliberate to make the compensation adjustments earlier than the mortgage program was introduced.
“We’ve quite a lot of nice staff right here, and I undoubtedly cannot do that on my own, so I must maintain them,” he stated. “I wanted to deal with my very own folks first and maintain them employed regardless, earlier than I added anyone new.”
Hireology’s Robinson stated he heard much less about dealerships guaranteeing pay through the summer season months as car demand recovered and gross sales productiveness elevated.
Some sellers with variable pay plans found they might promote extra automobiles with fewer staff, and that particular person gross sales reps additionally may promote extra automobiles every than earlier than the pandemic, Robinson stated.
Arens, as an illustration, stated his common compensation per worker has elevated, however his group’s complete compensation bills haven’t. His work drive shrank barely as some staff left and as Arens redeployed different employees into totally different roles to function extra effectively.
An Automotive Information survey of the Finest Dealerships To Work For winners made clear that effectivity good points have been widespread. Almost 9 of 10 dealerships answering a query concerning the matter stated gross sales workers productiveness had improved through the pandemic.
Stated Robinson: “As a substitute of creating $500 a car, they will make $800 a car, and the individual truly sells extra automobiles and makes more cash. Sellers have discovered how you can function with fewer heads per unit in order that they earn more money, the worker makes more cash on the automotive they promote and everyone’s happier.”
Melissa Burden contributed to this report.