Ron Marhofer Auto Family's approach to
Despite this being easier said than done, the company has figured out how to do it very, very well.
"It starts with, from day one, creating open dialogue with our team members to make sure that we have relationships with everybody, that they know we're here to support them, and that we have them and their families best interest at heart," says Robert Hamer, the company's CHRO. "We incorporate that into decisions we make across the board."
This philosophy has served the automotive retailer and its employees for more than a century. The business has
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Building community
The automotive retail business can be fast-paced and stressful, with Forbes research noting the industry has a 46% turnover rate. Given this, it would be easy to prioritize profits over getting to know employees, but Ron Marhofer Auto Family's management is taught to do the opposite. The employee experience is what matters most, and leaders have doubled down on this mentality as the community around them — and therefore their workforce — becomes more diverse.
Employees are a mix of five generations with different socioeconomic backgrounds, family dynamics and cultural experiences, Hamer says, citing additional influences such as a large Hispanic population and tens of thousands of refugees from Nepal who now live in the area. Welcoming employees with disabilities is also a focus; inspired by the hiring of an employee who is hearing impaired, the company has partnered with Ohioans with Disabilities and adopted a training program that helps coworkers and managers understand best practices for communication.
"We've not only reached out and embraced those communities, we've also encouraged our employees to become an active part of their communities," he says. "One of our employees does a local radio program in his native Nepalese language, which we sponsor. We encourage people to talk about who they are and what their lives are like."
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From workplace activities highlighting different customs, such as recognizing various holidays and lunches where employees bring in their home country's traditional foods, to hosting events such as trunk-or-treats, picnics and group outings at baseball games, there is an ever-present emphasis on getting to know one another. The company also has a rewards and recognition program that publicly acknowledges employees who demonstrate its values, such as respect of others in the workplace.
"This has been the key to our success at managing a very low turnover rate," Hamer says. "In fact, we have a lot of second, third and fourth generations of employees working for the company." This includes Hamer's own family — his daughters, son, niece and nephew work or have worked for the company.
The bonds developed through these practices are never more apparent than when someone in the organization faces extreme hardship, Hamer explains. Employees have rallied around and provided assistance to a fellow employee who lost his home in a fire, another who was kept out of work due to injury, and others who were injured by gun violence during protests that took place in 2023.
But the positive impact of forging relationships among peers and management goes beyond retention and camaraderie — it also builds mental fortitude. And when an employee needs any kind of additional support in terms of benefits or accommodations, the comfort level needed to come forward has already been established, says Hamer.
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Benefits as supplemental support
Asking for help is hard, however, and Ron Marhofer Auto Family's employee population of 75% men and 40% racial minorities presents unique challenges when it comes to workers seeking care or treatment, especially in the area of mental health. Data from health research organization KFF shows that men are nearly half as likely as women to seek mental health treatment, and Hispanic and Black Americans seek out mental healthcare at about half the rate of white Americans, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The company provides mental wellness benefits for those who need them, but it's the pre-established trust with leaders that makes employees more likely to voice that they would like to access them, Hamer says.
"We're not saying we're helping our employees with their mental health or their personal challenges or their personal concerns by having these programs," he says. "These programs exist because we're already helping our employees, and that's everything from knowing people on a first-name basis, talking to people on a first-name basis, approaching people, asking them about their kids, asking them about their family, [and] allowing people to be comfortable sharing at work."
Every few months, leadership evaluates if it's offering all of the benefits that employees need. When a gap is noticed or an employee comes to them with a request, the response is not, "We don't have that," it's "Let me see what I can find," Hamer says.
It's this commitment to employee well-being that drives all of the company's actions and has made it the community's employer of choice.
"All of the business decisions we make are based on that type of culture of trying to make sure that this is the place people want to be," says Hamer. "There's a line of people wanting to get in versus us having to go out and recruit, because people want to be part of this organization."
