McMahon's Best-One named 2024 Best Place to Work

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — McMahon's Best-One, a family-owned and -operated dealership with 13 locations in Indiana, is the winner of Tire Business' 2024 Best Places to Work, following two years as a runner-up.

President Kim McMahon was quick to share the glory, immediately crediting the dealership's 185 employees for the distinction.

"(Our employees) are always willing to go above and beyond. Whether that's for the company or for our customers, for the community," she said. "I'm sure everybody thinks they have the best employees, but we really do."

McMahon's was founded in Fort Wayne in 1969 by Kim McMahon's father-in-law. The dealership's 13 locations, all in northeast Indiana, include four commercial service locations, a distribution center and a retread plant.

The dealership has been growing the last few years, acquiring several new locations, McMahon said.

That growth hasn't come at the expense of long-time employees, who can, and do, rise in the ranks.

"There's constant and continuous growth," Travis Strock, president of retail operations, said. "They love to promote from within and always have."

Strock started with the company delivering tires part-time and rose to his current role with the support of his co-workers and the management team, he said.

"They really do, at the end of the day, care about all of the employees here. And it shows," he said, noting at McMahon's has a low turnover rate (30% annually according to the company's Best Places to Work submission).

It's not uncommon for employees in advising or management roles to have started their careers working in the shop, he said.

"They definitely want to give back to those who work hard and do well."

In recent years, McMahon's has put an increased emphasis on training. The company launched a tech center at the start of 2023, Strock said, that is used to train new and existing employees in everything from advising to freshening up on service basics.

McMahon's master tech Keegan Wentz — "absolutely the smartest man I've ever met in my life," Kim McMahon said — runs training classes at all different levels creating an all-encompassing training program that is "absolutely outstanding."

Every few weeks, the center offers a different class for employees. New employees, such as those without any experience in the field, take a class on tire basics and how to do things like oil changes. Other more experienced employees take more advanced classes, she said.

"It really helps us attract new employees," McMahon said.

"It's not inexpensive for us to do it, but it's absolutely worth it in the long run."

The training center began rolling out full scale this year, and they plan to launch classes for front-of-house employees soon, she added.

McMahon's holds some of those classes after hours or on weekends. Employees don't dread the extra hours, Strock said, and have given great feedback about the training program.

"When there's excitement and energy, specifically starting with the owners, that trickles down," he said. "It's not often you can say people are excited to stay after hours for training."

The training center also helps to on-board new employees, an important part of McMahon's acquisition strategy, McMahon said.

The start of the on-board training is all about the McMahon culture, she said. "That's a really good introduction to who we are and how we do things."

Dealerships should invest in their employees, McMahon said. "So many times, you spend so much time and money training them and then just expect that they're trained, they're done. Really, it's an ongoing process."

McMahon also emphasized the importance of being a hands-on owner. She makes it a point to visit each of the dealership's 13 locations at least every 10 days, if not once a week.

Employees like to see owners being involved and interacting with their business. It's easy to forget that when you're caught up in all the work you might need to get done, she said.

"I think that interaction and investment in the employees is super important," she said.

Strock said employees also appreciate that McMahon's has a culture of balance. Management is understanding of employees who may have things going on at home, and know that personal life can trickle into work, he said.

"Overall, the team here has a very family feel to it," he said.

McMahon's offers employees the flexibility to tend to family obligations — they can adjust their schedules to attend kid's school events or to attend medical appointments, for example.

The owners have made sure that employees don't feel like a burden, Strock said. It's led to an atmosphere where people want to come to work.

"Obviously, you're nothing without your customers, but at the end the day, without a team to service them .... you're nothing without your team," he said.

McMahon's family atmosphere extends outside of the shop floor. The company holds gatherings several times a year, including a large Fall Family Picnic for all employees and their families.

"One of the owners, Bubba McMahon, handwrites birthdays cards and milestones for every employee and also included a gift card to a local eatery," the company said in its Best Places to Work survey.

Other employee benefits include:

• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance for employees and their dependents;

• Disability benefits;

• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA);

• A stand-alone clinic that employees can visit at no-cost, as well as incentives for making healthy lifestyle choices;

• Pension plans (401(k), 403(b) or 457 Pension Plan) with an employer match; and

• Reimbursements for work boots and safety glasses.

Kim McMahon and her dealership are well-known for their community spirit. It's why McMahon won the Tire Business Tire Dealer Humanitarian Award in 2022.

The dealership has a long history of giving back, McMahon said. "That's always been a part of who we are."

Fort Wayne may be the second largest city in Indiana, but it's still a small town in many ways, she said. That makes it easy to see the results of the company's local charitable works and the difference it makes in the community.

Employees can participate in community service projects during work hours without losing pay or needing to take vacation time. McMahon's also matches employees' charitable donations.

"The McMahon family have established a working environment of positivity and support with a passion for developing their employees and supporting the local community," the company said in its Best Places to Work survey.

"...Each summer, we host a Charity Golf Outing in support of a different local organization and raised $26,000 in 2023. Over the holidays, we host an annual adoption event with Humane Fort Wayne, a local animal shelter, to help adopt out homeless pets."

Kim McMahon also mentioned their support of Kate's Kart, a northeast Indiana nonprofit dedicated to providing free books to hospitalized children.

"They are just bringing so much joy to these kids in the hospital. Imagine how many kids they touch giving them books," she said.

McMahon's also has a love for animals and is strong supporter of local veterans' groups, she said.

"We feel that it's part of our commitment to the community," she said.

"They bring their cars to us, they trust us, that's our way of giving back and saying thank you."