'You take care of the client, so I take care of you'

Tommy Baker, owner of Baker Motor Co. of Charleston, claims his method for achievement and retaining workers happy and successful is quite straightforward. "I tell my folks, 'You look after the customer, and so i take good care of you.'" Baker stated that additionally means "we've the very best working conditions." Baker Motor Co. of Charleston consists of Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Infiniti, Jaguar, Land-Rover, Maserati, Rolls Royce, wise and Sprinter franchises. The Baker Motor Co. team additionally contains Buick, GMC and Cadillac franchises in Charleston, S.C. Baker Motor Co. of Charleston, with 130 full time workers, is No. 1 among big car dealers -- these with 100 or more workers -- on this year's listing of the 100 Greatest Car Dealers To Work For. And it's No. 1 total. Groups of workers through the business meet frequently to talk about their demands. The dealership group pass the thoughts along to direction, and Baker attempts to apply them. Saturday work programs are massaged to permit workers time for tasks like training children's sports groups or attending a household occasion, Baker stated. With week-day programs additionally, "we strive to be adaptable. Some come in before and some later and keep afterwards," Baker said. "You strive to be adaptable to allow them to appreciate their life besides the 9 to 5 stuff." Salespeople who meet their month-to-month quatas get setting their particular work schedules.'Tell them every thing'

In a company-wide quarterly meeting, workers are told who continues to be encouraged, corporate objectives and sales objectives, client satisfaction scores as well as other info. Technicians that are certified are recognized, and "we give employees," Baker said. "Everybody looks forward to it, and we tell employees everything from promotional material to whether we have been completing a car dealer. We keep employees abreast." Workers and staff receive element of the settlement in efficiency bonuses, gained with a mixture of client satisfaction scores, units offered and special versions sold. In the support division, bonuses are made by fulfilling customer satisfaction targets on the foundation of hours and dollars per-repair purchase. The car dealer group h as a voluntary turnover rate of 2 1%. "For the auto company, it's less than most car dealers everywhere," Baker stated. "Quite few abandon us." After his dismissal in the US Marines in 1967, Baker attended The Citadel and offered Oldsmobiles component time during college. Few graduated in 1972. Few purchased a Toyota shop in 1977 in Clinton, N.C. Few was informed it'd an yearly new-auto sales potential of of fifty automobiles annually. However, from the time few sold it "around 1982," he'd developed sales to 3,000 new automobiles a year. After attempting to sell that shop, Baker moved back to Charleston and started Baker Motor Co. in 1988.
Baker Motor Co. held an event for workers and clients at the Charleston Cup steeplechase last October. Tommy Baker, right, and his wife, Victoria Baker, are with expenses Hall, possessor of Halls Chophouse.

Baker loves to keep workers fiscally and physically fit. Financial professionals arrive at the shops and give workers guidance so "they learn the best way to test their credit," Baker mentioned. "Financial demonstrate them the best way to get a house, obtain a car and spend less." The guidance extends to the the organization 401(k) retirement-plan. "We make sure that the workers save and invest -- as when they were our own kids," Baker stated. To keep workers physically healthy, the car dealer group runs the Baker Healthy Challenge. Workers contend in-groups, together with the team that loses the most fat making points which can be placed on various prizes: money, paid-time off, product and gift-cards. "Workers motivate groups to drop some weight by exercise and diet. A coach and nutritionist calculate their diet as well as their quality of workout," Baker stated. The up-side for the company: "in the event that you've got a wholesome worker, you've got a joyful worker. By do-ing these exact things, Mercedes-Benz make certain the employees are fitter and they have been a lot more productive." In a fitness center in the Buick-Cadillac-GMC shop, appointments may be produced having a fitness expert. Group workout sessions can be found occasionally. A nurse practitioner comes in month-to-month to offer health-related counselling and medical examinations also to give flu shots. The organization also sponsors a smoke-cessation program which costs about $600 per worker. Baker says conditions for engagement are obvious: "If the employee stop, I am going to buy it, and when they they do not, they'll."

'Insurance-loaded'

Workers receive reductions on their health insurance insurance costs when they whole health instruction quizzes on-line. "Baker believe our software is among the most effective in the business. Victoria take good care of it to make certain employees and customers have an insurance-loaded plan," Baker said. Baker estimates the business's insurance plan "reaches the 99th percentile of plans." According to study advice supplied to Automotive News, Baker pays "75 to 99-percent" of the premium for medi cal, prescription, dental and vision coverage for workers as well as their dependents. Workers pay the same for wellness, dental and vision coverage no matter their age, place, career tenure or the kind of coverage they choose. The organization offers no cost life insurance to any or all workers registered in the rewards package. Worker career courses are summarized early on. "Employees say the most effective drawing card would be to get them while they're in school as shipping professionals or in our car shipping facility," stated Baker. "If the employees do a great job, they are able to move up." About 3-5 University of Charleston graduates began that manner and so are now in sales or direction. Baker recruited College of during an entrepreneurship class in the university, which he's taught for 22 years. "We're constantly training and re training" workers as soon as they have been hired, Baker stated. "Our own children go to the producers' college, and we do lots of in-house-training ourselves. A educated worker is the most precious thing you have," Baker said. "I'm proud of observing people develop and progress in the organization."

It's possible for you to reach Diana T. Kurylko at [email protected]. -- Follow Diana on

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14.10.2015
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