Boating Industry

December 2015

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[ Dealer of the Year ] 26 | Boating Industry | December 2015 www.BoatingIndustry.com Finding a brand that matches the culture of the dealership is pivotal for Gordy's in the decision-making process when it comes to adding boat lines, because the culture is ul- timately what sets Gordy's apart. Tom and Steele agree the culture has been crucial in retaining customers and excellent employees. "The family culture is what you get with a family business that you don't get with a non- family business. I feel like the family is what's helped create the culture that we have. I don't think we'd have the culture that we have if it was a non-family business," said Steele. "We really have a 'work hard, play hard' attitude and I think employees see that and they adopt that, and they're willing to put in the time and the extra effort." Those hardworking employees are given plenty of opportunity at Gordy's to be re- warded for their efforts and the dealership actively promotes from within. Gordy's promoted Kurtis Boss to service manager in 2014; Boss worked at Gordy's for 15 years, starting on the seasonal pier staff and working his way up through several positions. "When we see really hard workers, people that fit our culture and people that love the boat business, we really try and do what we can to win those [employees] back when those kids get through high school [and] col- lege to see if there's opportunity where we can bring them on full-time," said Steele, "be- cause we've seen a lot of success with that and it helped build the culture we have today." In 2014, the dealership also moved a ser- vice team member to the sales team after a position opened up and the employee showed interest. The leadership encouraged the move and has seen positive results. "Moving that person to the sales side that [had] the service background was an immedi- ate success and that also opened up more op- portunities for new member to grow existing members in the service department or bring in new team members," said Tom. The dealership also continues to offer ex- panded training opportunities for its employ- ees, part of which has meant bringing more and more members to the Marine Dealer Conference & Expo every year. Those em- ployees present two or three items at the company's annual meeting that they think would be beneficial to implement in the com- ing business year. "If we brought two people and they did that, that might be three or six things that we're implementing," said Steele, "but if we're bringing five [to] 10 employees that are all implementing change in our business for the better, we see a lot of value in that." Growing the team will always be a focus for Gordy's; as the company's biggest asset, the business cannot grow if the employees are not growing with it. "Great teams are made of great players and I just think of all the great players we have on our team, and I just think that's a huge part of our success. The great job they're doing every day – not just one time or some time, but every day and everything that they do so all of our customers have that great experience," said Tom. "I'm just so proud of our team and privileged and honored to have the opportu- nity to work with them every day."

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