Automotive News - September 21, 2020 - Best Practices Supplement - S26

26 | SEPTEMBER 21, 2020
MERCEDES-BENZ OF OKLAHOMA CITY

Store gives its employees a workout
In-house gym, training
classes seek to make
staffers happy, healthy
Published in Automotive News Sept. 2, 2019

Urvaksh Karkaria
ukarkaria@crain.com

odd Bondy likes to keep employees at
his suburban Oklahoma City Mercedes-Benz store on their toes - literally.
The 80,000-square-foot dealership,
which opened in spring 2018, includes a
$100,000 gym stocked with Peloton exercise
bikes, treadmills, elliptical machines and racks
of free weights. It even has showers and lockers.
"You can work out pretty much every body
segment," said Bondy, operating partner at
Mercedes-Benz of Oklahoma City, which sold
about 1,700 new and used vehicles last year.
Inspiration for the gym came from a BMW
store in Denver that offered a similar perk.
"I wanted an amenity that would improve
employee morale," said Bondy, a cyclist and
fitness enthusiast. "I frequently hear from employees that they want to join a gym, but they
think it's too expensive."
The dealership gym is also available to customers, some of whom come to the Edmond,
Okla., store for workouts even if their vehicles
aren't in for service.
"To me, anytime you have frequency of visits that's a good thing," Bondy said. "Customers see new product, which helps with new
sales and service center retention."
Despite Bondy's good intentions, the gym
initially failed to gain traction with employees.
"For most people, the most difficult step in
working out is walking through the door,"
Bondy said. "Maybe they were intimidated to
work out at the dealership."
To help employees shed their inhibitions,
Bondy offered high-intensity training classes at
the dealership gym. What started as six classes a
week has mushroomed to 10 classes a week
consisting of 40-minute sessions that combine
cardiovascular exercises and weightlifting.
The exercise routine frequently spills beyond the gym and includes warmup laps
around the vehicle lot, which helps get others
at the dealership involved.
After each session, group photos are taken
and posted on the dealership's Facebook
group page.
About 20 staffers across all departments reg-

Mercedes-Benz of Oklahoma City staffers, left,
use the dealership's gym. Operating Partner
Todd Bondy, above, said he wanted an amenity
that would help boost employee morale.

ularly participate in the program. The employees are using the classes to prepare themselves to participate in a dealership-sponsored team for the St. Jude 5K run.
"There's a lot of team building in these classes," Bondy said.
Executive assistant Kim Malone said the
classes have helped her bond with some of
the dealership's roughly 100 employees.
"It has made us work as a team, with people
that we don't normally work with," Malone
said. "It has helped us build camaraderie."
Tiffany Haunschild, who has shed 15
pounds since March, appreciates the convenience of a gym steps from her desk.
Mercedes-Benz of Oklahoma City
offers employees exercise classes at
its in-house gym to boost morale and
productivity and, over time, lower
long-term employee health care
costs.

"Not many workplaces have a gym to work
out in, let alone personal trainers hired to
work with you," said Haunschild, the dealership's loaner car administrator. "When you
work the hours we do, it doesn't leave a lot of
time for other things."
The monthly expense of $2,400 to provide
trainers for the class is well worth the investment, Bondy said.
"Healthier employees have fewer visits to
the doctor," he said "Anytime you get people
involved with physical activity and they lower
their blood pressure and lower their weight,
they are going to be healthier."
Participants in the group classes have lost 10
to 20 pounds, on average.
Bondy hopes a healthier work force will,
over time, help slow the dealership's annual 5
to 10 percent increase in health insurance
premiums.
But dampening health care cost inflation
isn't the only reason for the program. A
healthier work force also means reduced absenteeism and improved productivity.
"When you work out, you release endorphins, and you're happier and less likely to
have depression," Bondy said. "I'm sure we
are reaping the benefits of that."
For parts adviser Tim Back, the on-site classes
have made a visible difference. He quipped, "I
went from dad bod to beach bod." a

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