‘Best Places' honor provided morale boost for 2019 winner; 2020 deadline July 17

CUYAHOGA FALLS, Ohio — Maybe you've read the stories ... or seen the emails ... or noticed the advertisements in Tire Business and on tirebusiness.com.

But maybe you still don't feel motivated enough to sign your business up to participate in the Best Places to Work survey that is being conduct by TB and Best Companies Group (BCG), an independent research firm specializing in identifying and recognizing great places to work.

TAKE THE BEST PLACES TO WORK SURVEY

Too much of a commitment, you might think. We've had enough disruption already this year, you might believe. Or it really wouldn't matter to the employees, the thought process might be.

If that has been in your thought process, you might consider rethinking it, at least based on the experience of the winner of the inaugural Tire Business BPTW contest last year, St. Louis Wholesale Inc.

The family-owned business, with around 20 employees, specializes in supplying specialty and odd-ball tires.

St. Louis Wholesale CEO Joe Inchiostro Jr., whose father and uncle co-founded the company, said winning the award was a huge morale boost, providing employees with an increased sense of team unity and pride.

"It was a validation to our people that their belief that we really have something special at St. Louis Wholesale Tire was accurate," Mr. Inchiostro said. "It also gave everyone a sense of personal ownership in the culture of our organization.

"Winning created a psychological benchmark I think as well, that everyone holds themselves to now, that we must live up to the title. They love to tell people when we are on the phone, too."

The rules are simple. Businesses 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
• Have been 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.)

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.

Mr. Inchiostro outlined the reasons why he thought it was important to enter last year.

"We knew that our organization had a unique style of management and that our internal culture, while surprisingly simple, is difficult to maintain and is increasingly lacking in today's society," he said.

"We wanted to share that mission statement and vision with the rest of the industry to hopefully make a positive impact and help other companies thrive, succeed and create a positive team work environment."

Plus he said, he wanted "to compete for that title as a way of honoring my father, who had recently passed away."

Mr. Inchiostro said the process doesn't monopolize much time. Each employee needs about 30 minutes to respond to the survey, while the employer may need several hours to complete his or her portion.

"It was primarily employee driven," Mr. Inchiostro said. "However, from a management standpoint I felt that the process was very logical and straight forward. It did not take an excessive amount of time."

Mr. Inchiostro said filling out the survey forces a manager to assess the organization in terms of policy, procedures and culture, as well as what benefit and training programs the business currently offers employees.

"It also forces you to do an introspective analysis to answer a most important question for successful businesses; 'What makes us different?' " he said.

He said becoming a finalist provides a benefit for hiring.

"Every person we have hired since winning the award has referenced seeing that accolade when doing research on the company," he said.

And he said, the nationwide exposure "cannot be understated."

"In addition to the exposure on a nationwide scale, you have the unique opportunity to 'pull back the curtain' on your organization and share your core values, which helps create a relatability with other companies that are having the similar challenges and opportunities every day, " Mr. Inchiostro said.

"I think this helps develop the business relationship that is so critical in our industry as well as validate to future potential customers that you are a trustworthy company to do business with."

The deadline to enter is fast approaching: July 17. To apply visit tirebusiness.com/bestplaces.

Organizations with 25 or more employees must have a response rate of at least 40% in order for the results to count, meaning not every employee is required to participate.

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

Would Mr. Inchiostro recommend a dealership to sign up?

"Yes," he said, "for all the reasons stated above."

Tire Business will announce the winners in September.