Automotive News - October 16, 2017 - Supplement - S22

22 | OCTOBER 16, 2017
DCH MONTCLAIR ACURA, VERONA, N.J.

Manager pay plan preserves peace
Basing commissions
on store's performance
improves cooperation
Printed in Automotive News April 10, 2017

Jackie Charniga
jcharniga@crain.com

early a month into his job as general manager of DCH Montclair Acura, Tim Hlavenka gathered his
managers to talk about revising
their pay plan so that each of them would
have a stake in every department.
After hearing Hlavenka's idea, they were all
on board.
"We saw an impact immediately, especially
the service manager and the used-car manager working together," he said in a phone interview.
Two years later, the plan
remains in place.
The idea came when
Hlavenka, who had worked
in hospitality before switching to auto retailing, got fed
up with interdepartmental
arguments.
"I've been in many stores
Hlavenka:
prior
to DCH and have
Pulling together
seen fights between service and used car. Used car doesn't want to
give service the business," he said. "The effort
just isn't there. Eighty percent of the time they
don't get along. One thinks one is robbing
from the other. I don't see it - I haven't seen
it - since the plan."
How does it work? Managers at the Verona,
N.J., dealership are paid based on the performance of every department. The setup ensures that, while the managers' salaries are
fixed, part of their commissions hinge on the
store as a whole.

'Needed to care'
"I made it where I felt there was enough
impact [so] they needed to care about the
other departments," Hlavenka said. "Everyone needs to be conscious of everyone's department because it's going to affect their
pocket."
Borderline trade-ins used to be a problem
until Hlavenka inspired the we're-in-this-together mentality.
"Do they need brakes? Do they not need

Fortunato Papaleo, left, service manager, and Joe Fardella, used-car manager, confer over a trade-in
at DCH Montclair Acura. The store's pay plan for managers has lifted morale, the general manager says.

brakes? Do they need tires? Do they not need
Hlavenka said. "I don't take expenses out of
tires?" he said. "And maybe they don't need
anyone's pay plan, but it's more for me. I want
them now, but three months from now when
them to focus on selling cars, servicing cars."
the car does need tires, I don't want a cusThe switch to the pay plan has worked wontomer coming back and blaming us for sellders for storewide morale. Hlavenka cited the
ing a car with low tread wear."
sense of camaraderie as one reason why DCH
Today, the used-car manager knows he is
Montclair Acura was selected for Automotive
going to get paid on the service repair order
News' Best Dealerships To Work For the past
to make a trade-in retail ready. So he
two years. Three-quarters of the score
doesn't mind splurging a little on
that ranks dealerships applying for
the car, a move that ultimately
the award comes from a survey of
Managers'
benefits the customer.
employees.
bonuses depend
"And vice versa," Hlavenka
The bottom-up management
on the overall
said. "If there's a car that we
style supported by Lithia Motors
performance of every
need to step up on a trade to
Inc., which bought DCH Auto
department at the
make a deal, I'd own the car a litGroup
in 2014, helped Hlavenka
dealership.
tle higher than I'd like to."
craft the plan. He describes Lithia's
At his dealership, service is more
decentralized style as allowing each
than willing to work with sales, and maystore's managers to become entreprebe discount the work, to get a vehicle up to
neurs in their own dealerships.
snuff to market it properly and make a profit.
"I believe it's because they feel they're putThe pay plans have remained consistent
ting us in this position and we have probably
since their inception. The managers are salaa better pulse on our store, our employees
ried, but receive commission dictated by the
and our market than anyone so we should be
performance expectations for the year.
able to make those decisions," Hlavenka said.
"The better you do, the more they leave you
alone. But if you're struggling, they're not
Morale
quick to throw you out. They offer support.
"That way, if I exceed my expectations, the
It's a breath of fresh air, to be honest." a
managers get a little more but so does the store,"

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