AM Best UK Dealerships To Work For 2017

BEN, the motor industry charity, has become the latest organisation to support the AM Best UK Dealerships To Work For 2018 programme.

The charity is heavily engaged in promoting the well-being of motor industry employees and their families, so AM is proud to win its backing for our initiative, which highlights great workplaces in the UK’s franchised dealer networks.

Participation in AM Best UK Dealerships To Work For is free and the registration process is now open.

Best UK Dealerships To Work For 2017 - Register

Zara Ross, chief executive at Ben, said: “We’re delighted to be endorsing the AM Best UK Dealerships To Work For programme this year.

“We believe that this fantastic initiative is well aligned to our work in providing life-changing health and well-being support to the people working in the automotive industry.

“As a dedicated not-for-profit organisation which provides support for life to the industry, we are always looking at ways we can partner with businesses to add value by helping them improve the health and well-being of their workforces.

“We’re very excited to be working with AM and look forward to hearing about the best dealerships to work for in 2018. Good luck to this year’s entrants.”

Run with Best Companies Group, the AM Best UK Dealerships To Work For initiative wants to raise the bar among the motor retail industry’s employers, creating excellence and employee engagement in the workplace that will attract talented people for years to come.

It enables motor retailers to benchmark their performance and identify shortcomings in their employee policies, so they can make improvements that boost their staff retention and recruitment.

Dealerships that achieved the accolade in 2017 gained valuable media exposure.

Robin Luscombe, the managing director, of Best Dealership recipient Luscombe Motors, said: "We know we do things pretty well in terms of looking after our staff, but it still gave me a great sense of pride, a validation that what I’m doing around people is working and that people do enjoy coming to work. This award also supports recruitment. It’s a great initiative"

The programme also has the backing of the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) and the National Franchised Dealers Association.

It costs nothing to participate in the programme and become a Best UK Dealership To Work For. Employers will be offered the opportunity to buy a
comprehensive report detailing their strengths and weaknesses in their staff engagement policies.

Full reports on the 2017 AM Best UK Dealerships to Work For: Peter Vardy Vauxhall Edinburgh; Peter Vardy BMW/Mini Edinburgh; Peter Vardy CarStore Glasgow; Peter Vardy Vauxhall Aberdeen; Peter Vardy Vauxhall Kirkcaldy – Luscombe Motors – Clive Brook Volvo Bradford – Premier Ford – Chorley Nissan – Crewe Audi; Crewe Volkswagen; Volkswagen Van Centre Liverpool – Drayton Motors Kia Boston – Roadside Garages (Kia) – Southend Audi

Retailers can register their dealerships’ interest now at: www.bestukdealerships.com

 

>> How the AM Best UK Dealerships programme works

AM Best UK Dealerships To Work For is a two-part process designed to gather information about each participating dealership.

Part one: the employer completes the employer questionnaire, which details company policies, practices, benefits and demographics. This can be completed at group level for all the participating dealerships where applicable.

Part two: employees complete the employee engagement and satisfaction survey, an in-depth set of 76 statements based on a 1-5 scale of ‘disagree strongly’ to ‘agree strongly’. The survey also includes two open-ended questions and seven demographic questions.

Both surveys are completed online, although a paper option is available if email and internet technology are not available for use by employees.

Best Companies Group will combine the results of the two surveys to determine which companies make the list of the Best UK Dealerships To Work For.

Participating is free, and dealerships will have the opportunity of purchasing an employee feedback report from Best Companies Group, which will provide comprehensive details of the surveys, including employee comments and benchmarking against peers.

 

>> What are the benefits?

There are a number of benefits to the companies that choose to take part in AM’s Best UK Dealerships To Work For programme. They include:

1. Recognition as a top employer, including use of the AM Best UK Dealerships To Work For logo

2. A promotional aid for recruitment and staff retention

3. Promotion to potential customers; raising your profile in your local area

4. The ability to benchmark performance against peers

5. Understanding of employees’ views and areas to improve

 

>> Are you eligible?

To be eligible for consideration, companies must:
– Have a minimum of 15 employees working in the UK
– Be a franchised dealership
– Be a publicly or privately held business
– Have been in business for a minimum of one year

A 40% employee response rate is required (80% for dealerships with 15-24 employees). Temporary or seasonal workers, contractors, consultants, interns and volunteers are not counted as employees or included in the survey.

 

>> The AM Best Dealerships to Work For timetable

June 1: Registration deadline. Verification within 24 hours. Companies that pre-ordered reports will then receive an invoice within seven days

June 8: A web link for the employer questionnaire will be sent to the contact at each registered company

June 22: Completed employer questionnaires are due

June 29: Employee engagement and satisfaction surveys are emailed to dealerships

July 13: Deadline for all-online version of the employee survey

August 21: Notification letters sent to participating dealerships

September 4: Employee feedback reports are sent to dealerships that ordered them

November 8: AM Best UK Dealerships To Work For winners announced at Automotive Management Live, NEC, Birmingham

Register now at: www.bestukdealerships.com