Automotive News - October 16, 2017 - Supplement - S36

36 | OCTOBER 16, 2017
F R E E M A N M O T O R S , S A N TA R O S A , C A L I F.

BABIES ON BOARD

Dealership welcomes
employees' newborns
Printed in Automotive News June 19, 2017

Hannah Lutz
hlutz@crain.com

t's not out of the ordinary to see a baby cruising around the showroom floor or snoozing
in an F&I office at Freeman Motors.
Three associates at the Santa Rosa, Calif.,
Toyota and Lexus stores had babies around the
same time about two years ago. Dianna Freeman, the dealer principal, didn't want to lose
her employees, but she recognized that day
care could be a challenge.
It's expensive, "and you don't see [your babies] or interact with them when they're at
day care," she said.
The idea to bring the babies to work arose
from a conversation with Shelly Khan, the finance director, sales manager and first of the
three employees to become pregnant.
When Khan told Freeman the news, Freeman
suggested an experiment:
Khan could bring her
daughter to work until she
was about 1 year old.
"I
was
completely
Freeman: Moms shocked," Khan said, and
and babies bond. "overwhelmed that [Freeman] cared enough and
would allow it to happen. I thought she was
kind of crazy."
When Freeman's children were young, she
worked as an independent contractor and
brought them to client meetings.
As a mother herself, "I had compassion for
employees that have to leave a baby behind,"
she said. "That bonding experience is quite
important."
Freeman said the babies were allowed only
in safe areas of the stores, not in parts and
service areas, for example. But she knew that
having babies at the dealerships could still
come with challenges.
In any position, "it's a little harder on the
mother to try to get your work done because
you have to take time out to feed them and
change them, but they sleep a good portion of
the time," Freeman said.
She made it clear to her employees that this
was an experiment. If it didn't work, the ex-

At left, Brylee, Finance Director Shelly Khan's daughter, scoots toward the showroom.
Meanwhile, Grant, Contract Clerk Rebecca Huber's son, sorts through the filing cabinets.

were] having a bad day, the employees would
periment would end.
tell me that they would go in and pick up the
After Khan found out she was having a bababies and laugh and smile with them."
by, two of her colleagues also became pregAll the babies had birthday parties at the
nant.
stores and their mothers' colleagues gave them
Luckily the experiment worked. Soon there
presents during the holidays, Huber said.
were three babies in the dealerships at the
"The general feeling in the dealersame time. In addition to Khan's daughship and how people took to
ter, Brylee, Finance Manager Melissa
Employees
[Brylee] was absolutely wonderAlyas brought her son, Carter, and
can bring infants to
ful," Khan said.
Contract Clerk Rebecca Huber
work for one year,
In 2016, the Toyota and Lexus
brought her son, Grant, to work.
helping mothers
stores sold a combined 2,826
Huber didn't have that option
to manage
new vehicles and 1,734 used vewhen her daughter, who is now
child care.
hicles. Freeman never received a
11, was a baby. This time around,
single customer complaint for
"it was so reassuring to know I
having babies at the stores. One cuscould see my kid myself and bond
tomer even asked to hold one of the bawith him in the beginning more," she said.
bies during the F&I process.
The women didn't have to choose between
The babies were "well-socialized," Freeman
their careers and their babies, she added.
said. They didn't fuss much because they were
"We could come to work and still provide for
accustomed to being around many people.
our families and be productive members of
Khan said being in the dealership's envithe household."
ronment was part of her daughter's routine.
Freeman and the mothers didn't know how
She had been in the stores since she was 6
customers or colleagues would react, but
weeks old, so being there was natural for her.
having the babies around created a positive
The three babies are all around 2 years old
atmosphere for both customers and dealernow and come to the stores only on occasion.
ship employees.
But another F&I manager is pregnant. Anoth"Employees were over the moon for these
er baby may make his or her dealership debut
babies," Freeman said. "It actually lifted their
soon. c
spirits. When [they] didn't make a sale or [they

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - October 16, 2017 - Supplement