Long-Lewis of the Shoals was honored to rank 15th among large dealerships and 46th

overall out of more than 18,000 dealerships in the U.S. and Canada recently at a conference.

The award was recognized as Automotive News celebrated the100 Best Dealerships To Work For at an event on Oct. 17 in Chicago.

The half-day conference and evening awards program attracted more than 350 participants and included a panel discussion and keynote speeches. The dealerships were honored at a gala dinner that evening.

“Our employees are equally as important to us as our customers. The fact that our employees are happy and therefore positive and productive, lead to us being rated the number one dealership nationally by Ford Motor Company in customer satisfaction,” states Todd Ouellette, President of Long-Lewis.

The 2012 Automotive News list of the 100 Best Dealerships to Work For was compiled

from the ranks of U.S. and Canadian dealerships that applied for the honor. Management

at those dealerships filled out an extensive survey on employee benefits and practices.

Then employees were surveyed in seven categories in including pay and benefits;

leadership and planning; corporate culture and communications; role satisfaction;

work environment; relationship with supervisor; training and development; and overall

employee engagement. Best Companies Group, which has created similar rankings for

other industries, reviewed the surveys and developed the rankings.

Long-Lewis, like many other top 100 dealerships, is thriving by doing a few key things right – communicating with their employees, paying attention to their needs and creating boatloads of good will.

-from staff reports