Automotive News - September 21, 2020 - Best Practices Supplement - S45

SEPTEMBER 21, 2020 | 45
DAV I D D O D G E - C H RY S L E R - J E E P - R A M , G L E N M I L L S , PA .

Navigating tough times, together
Aiding employees now
key to retention after
shutdown, dealer says
Published in Automotive News April 20, 2020

Larry P. Vellequette
lvellequette@crain.com

s millions of Americans have discovered the hard way over the last several weeks, there are tons of euphemisms for laying people off -
sacked, made redundant and the freshly popular furloughed. Most of these are interchangeable to those suddenly without a job
in the midst of a global pandemic. But for 70
employees at David Dodge-Chrysler-JeepRam in Glen Mills, Pa., there's at least one that
doesn't apply: cutting people loose.
When the suburban Philadelphia dealership's president, David Kelleher, was forced to
shut down most of his operation because of an
emergency declaration in his state, he jumped
into action so his employees knew they would
go through the crisis together, that Kelleher
would continue to provide for them as best he
could and that they would emerge together on
the other side.

David Kelleher, by the Jeep, passes out meals to employees of his David Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram
dealership in Glen Mills, Pa., which halted most operations during the coronavirus pandemic.
David Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep-Ram in
Glen Mills, Pa., has 70 furloughed
employees who received help
attaining their unemployment
benefits, are continuing to be carried
on the dealership's insurance at least
through May and receive weekly
catered meals for their families.

Showing appreciation
From the first days of the crisis - when
workers filed for unemployment benefits together, with help - to weekly catered meals
for their families, to uninterrupted dealership-paid health insurance coverage, to the
$50 American Express gift cards for those still
struggling, Kelleher has maintained nearconstant communication with all the members of his team. He wants them all back at
work when this is over.
"Right now, it's a great opportunity to show
your employees how important they are to
you," said Kelleher, a finalist for 2020 Time
Dealer of the Year. "I've talked to a lot of dealers out there who are afraid that their employees won't come back. But I know that all
of mine will come back."
His commitment to his employees has not
been cheap. Continuing health insurance is a
$45,000-a-month expense, including covering what would have been shared costs had
his employees still been on the job.
And the tab for the weekly catered meals
runs to four digits per week, depending on
the number of meals ordered. But the meals

were a way to not only help out the dealership's employees, but also a friend whose catering business was collapsing because of the
pandemic.
"In the big scheme of things, you know, it's
the best money you could spend, especially at
a time like this when they need their health
care more than ever," Kelleher said.

Adapting quickly
Once it became clear what was happening,
Kelleher and his employees jumped to action.
"Immediately upon furloughing them, we
actually took it upon ourselves to learn about
the unemployment system, and we had our
office help put them through the entire program," Kelleher said.
The dealership had 35 other employees still
working, primarily in service, though at reduced hours because of the falloff in business.
They, too, were eligible for state and federal
help and signed up to receive benefits. "We
wanted to get them the benefits that they paid
in for and that I paid for on their behalf for a
long time" Kelleher said.

Using an existing employee Facebook group,
Kelleher keeps in constant touch with his furloughed employees. And when the dealership's
regular caterer said his business was in trouble
from canceled events, Kelleher saw an opportunity to lend a hand.
"He lost every event till June. He's a very successful caterer, and he's the same as everyone
else; it's crippling to him. He came up with
this idea [for his catering business] to do deliveries to people's house once a week, where
he would send out the menu, they will put in
their orders and he'll drop off their meal every
week," Kelleher said. He jumped on board.
"So we put out the menu, and we had 201
dinners we ordered. It cost me, like, $3,000,
but you know what? Everybody came by ...
and picked up their meals, and I never saw
people so happy."
Kelleher said the experience gave him some
insight into his employees' lives away from
work. He repeated it the day before Easter,
passing out another 364 meals to his furloughed employees and their families.
"A lot of these people live paycheck to paycheck, and the first one was when they were in
that period between getting their last paycheck and getting their first unemployment
check, and I think that meal came in really
handy for everybody," he said.
"I think that right now is a great opportunity
to show your employees how important they
are to you, to really bond with them and not
be the guy that says, 'Hey, listen, you're on
your own and I'll see you when you come
back.' " e

Automotive News - September 21, 2020 - Best Practices Supplement

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