Reward yourself, dealership for all your hard work

I recently entered my third year as editor of this esteemed publication, and if there is one thing I have learned in the previous 24 months, during the many trips I've taken and the countless people I've talked with, it's this:

Tire dealers are hard-working, dedicated, driven individuals who not only love their business and the community they serve, but who also are proud of the team that works so hard to achieve success in a crowded marketplace.

I've heard it repeatedly: "We have the best group of employees," or "I couldn't succeed without them," or simply, "We're a family."

Well, it's time to reward yourself and your workers.

I encourage you to sign up for our inaugural Best Places to Work survey competition. And it's free for any business to participate.

Tire Business, in conjunction with Best Companies Group (BCG), an independent research firm specializing in identifying and recognizing great places to work, will be seeking the best employers our industry has to offer.

The most rewarding part, perhaps, is, should you be named a Best Dealership to Work For in the U.S., it will be because your employees rated your business that highly.

How rewarding would that be for you and your business, to know you rank among the best of the best?

The rules are simple. In order to participate, a business must:

• Be a retail, commercial, OTR, retread or wholesale tire dealership in the U.S. (publicly or privately held);
• Have a minimum of 15 full- or part-time permanent employees working in the U.S.; and
• Be in business a minimum of one year.

Among companies eligible are online tire businesses (such as Tire Rack, Simple Tire, etc.); franchise tire businesses (such as individual Tire Pros, Big O Tires, etc. franchisees); mass merchandisers with tire stores (such as Walmart Tire & Lube Express, Sears Tire Centers, individual stores not eligible); and wholesale clubs that sell tires (such as BJ's or Costco.)

To sign up, go to tirebusiness.com/bestplaces.

The process is simple. Each business is asked to fill out two surveys.

The owner or representative of the dealership must fill out the Employer Benefits and Policies Questionnaire, an online survey detailing company policies, practices, benefits and demographics.

Employees, meanwhile, are asked to complete the Engagement and Satisfaction Survey, a series of questions, using a scale of 1 to 5, ranging from "agree strongly" to "disagree strongly."

The survey includes seven demographic and two open-ended questions. Employees can fill out this survey online or on paper, if a full company employee email list is unavailable.

It should take an employee 10 to 15 minutes to complete the survey.

The deadline to register is fast approaching: May 17. A week later, questionnaires will be available, and they must be completed no later than June 7 (for the Employer Benefits and Policies Questionnaire) and June 28 (for the Engagement and Satisfaction Survey).

Organizations with 25 or more employees must have a response rate of at least 40 percent in order for the results to count, meaning not every employee is required to participate. However, the higher the response rate, the more representative the analysis will be.

Organizations with 15 to 24 employees must reach an 80-percent or higher response rate for their results to count.

Tire Business will announce the winners in September.

What's the catch? That's up to you. Participating businesses may purchase the employee feedback report, detailing the company's employee responses. That might help your strong business become even stronger.

The early-bird cost for the report ranges from $720 (for businesses with 15 to 20 employees) to $1,005 (for businesses with 2,500 employees or more), as well as a 30-minute consultation call with a BCG survey specialist.

Consider telling the world how much your employees enjoy working at your dealership. You will be glad you did.

Mr. Detore is editor of Tire Business.