Best-One of Indy named 2022 Best Places to Work finalist

INDIANAPOLIS — At Best-One of Indy, the secret of a solid workplace is simple.

"The reality for us — always has been, still is and always will be — everything begins and ends with caring for our people," Best-One of Indy President Rich Elliott said.

Best-One of Indy — part of the multi-statewide Best-One Tire network — is a finalist in Tire Business' 2021-22 Best Places to Work survey. The dealership also earned that distinction in 2020.

The Best Places to Work survey is conducted by Best Companies Group (BCG), an independent research firm specializing in identifying and recognizing great places to work.

In order to participate in the survey, each business must be a retail, commercial, OTR, retread or wholesale tire dealership in the U.S., and have at least 15 employees. Each owner submits an online survey detailing company policies, practices, benefits and demographics. Employees, meanwhile, are asked to complete, a series of questions,rating the company.

Tire Group International was named the overall winner, while other finalists include (in alphabetical order): Best One of Indy, Indianapolis; Big O Tires, Columbia, Mo.; Monteith's Best One Tire & Auto Care, Elkhart, Ind.; SimpleTire L.L.C. of Trevose, Pa.; and Sun Auto Tire & Service Inc, Phoenix.

The dealership, heading into its 36th year in business, now operates 16 stores and has about 190 employees, serving central Indiana and greater Indianapolis, up from nine stores five year ago.

Best-One of Indy expanded by one store in 2018 and again in 2020. In 2021 — an "exhausting, but a very challenging and a very rewarding year" — the firm added five locations through four acquisitions.

Elliot hopes to continue that growth, as long as the dealership has the people to support it. It's been a challenge to find and retain employees — as it has for everyone — though Best-One has fared better than most, he said, adding that the firm has focused on welcoming and getting to know its 80 new team members.

The new staff came to Best-One of Indy from dealerships that "loved them and cared for them very well," Elliott said, and Best-One of Indy is committed to caring for them just as much.

"Our people are our culture," he noted.

"What sets us apart really begins with our people and how we try to take care of them," he added.

The dealership offers a combination of retail and commercial sales and auto care, but its real product is customer service, he said.

Best-One of Indy calls employees "internal raving fans" to match up with the dealership's mission statement of creating "raving fans" of its customers, and the company believes that if the employees are having a good experience, they'll carry that into their interactions with customers.

Employees, or team members, are family and the dealership strives to provide a family atmosphere.

The firm's six-member leadership team works to have a "full access" culture, a philosophy that has the team visiting stores to get to know team members and hear feedback, he said.

Some of that feedback has led to employee-focused changes at the dealership.

Last year, Best-One of Indy bumped the company's contribution to the employees' 401K pension program to 4% from 1%, driven by employee feedback. Management also made the paid-time-off policy easier and better, Elliott said.

When team members asked for better communication, the dealership launched the Quarter-Mile digital newsletter.

Twice a year, a "shoemobile" visits Best-One of Indy locations for employees who are given a $100 voucher every year to purchase work shoes.

The company also organizes employee outings to Indianapolis Indians baseball games and holds an annual employee celebration where prizes are given out and employee milestone anniversaries, starting at five years of service, are recognized.

Last year, five employees hit 25-year milestones and four hit 30-year, Elliott said.

"We really feel that it's important that when they speak, we listen. And we do," he added.

Team members also respond well to the company's commitment to giving back to the community, he said.

In 2021, Best-One of Indy donated $15,000 to local charities and partnered with local school districts to support teachers and students. The business also collected more than 1,400 jars of peanut butter and jelly for local foodbanks and donated toys to local Toys for Tots and area nonprofits.

"All that stuff ... just really fits into who we are as a big family working together to help each other, to help others and to make our lives better through the work that we do," Elliott said.

Best-One of Indy takes an "attitude of gratitude" with employees, he said, focusing not just on recognizing and celebrating accomplishments, but making available training and apprenticeship opportunities for those who want to grow their skills.

While all of this shows that Best-One cares for its people, the dealership also aims to "care more broadly and deeply," Elliott said.

That means doing a better job of being with employees, getting to know them and exploring ways to make their lives better at work, he said.

"There's a constant focus for businesses to make money so they can stay afloat. But if the focus is on that, the focus is misplaced. The focus has got to be on your people," he said.

"We're not perfect — nobody is — but based on the feedback we get from our people, I think we do a pretty good job of taking care of them."