It’s tough enough being in the car sales business. Margins are tight and inventory can represent an enormous exposure. Building a top-notch staff makes it even harder to compete. All together, you have an unusual set of risks to insure.
But when it turned to Howalt+McDowell, one Sioux Falls dealership found a way to make insurance make good things happen.
Vern Eide Motorcars, one of the most successful auto dealers in its region, found more than it expected when it went searching for better employee benefits program. Their objectives were simple: simplify their benefits policy, reduce costs and deliver a program that would reward the staff.
“We have dealt with a lot of different insurance companies,” explains Jim Lake, President, Vern Eide Motorcars. “We wanted one house. In Howalt+McDowell, we’ve found not an agent but a business partner.”
In the auto industry, decisions-makers may have plenty of cause for frustration. They have three very different categories to deal with: inventory of vehicles, small-ticket parts and the service department. Each has completely different exposures and costs of risk. Add to this the difficulty of maintaining a strong staff in an industry well known for turnover.
“I know the exact moment I realized this was a relationship was going to succeed,” recalls Jim Lake, President, Vern Eide Motorcars. “It was when I was whining and they were listening.”
Howalt+McDowell showed Vern Eide how it could develop an employee health insurance program that would give employees a positive incentive — and the tools — to be proactive about their health. The secret? Ignite Wellness, a workplace program tailored to business owners’ health and cultural goals for their staff.
The concept of a workplace wellness program is simple: good health drives employee morale and productivity and reduces absenteeism. With Ignite Wellness’ online training and webinars and live, one-on-one planning with Howalt personnel, Vern Eide turned the expense of an employee benefits program into an investment in its human capital.
“Here we are today on an entire different path,” Lake says. “Howalt+McDowell brought us education, gave us multiple avenues and found one that really matched up with who we are.”
Today, half of the company’s staff is taking advantage of the Ignite Wellness program. And Lake says that’s improved productivity — an investment that has helped reward a staff with an unusual longevity and loyalty to the dealership.
“It has been a huge key to success because we can actually execute it,” he says. “The support from [our healthcare partner] and Howalt+McDowell staff has been outstanding.
“It really has been about people,” he adds. “They engage us in what our goals are.”
It’s tough enough being in the car sales business. Margins are tight and inventory can represent an enormous exposure. Building a top-notch staff makes it even harder to compete. All together, you have an unusual set of risks to insure.
But when it turned to Howalt+McDowell, one Sioux Falls dealership found a way to make insurance make good things happen.
Vern Eide Motorcars, one of the most successful auto dealers in its region, found more than it expected when it went searching for better employee benefits program. Their objectives were simple: simplify their benefits policy, reduce costs and deliver a program that would reward the staff.
“We have dealt with a lot of different insurance companies,” explains Jim Lake, President, Vern Eide Motorcars. “We wanted one house. In Howalt+McDowell, we’ve found not an agent but a business partner.”
In the auto industry, decisions-makers may have plenty of cause for frustration. They have three very different categories to deal with: inventory of vehicles, small-ticket parts and the service department. Each has completely different exposures and costs of risk. Add to this the difficulty of maintaining a strong staff in an industry well known for turnover.
“I know the exact moment I realized this was a relationship was going to succeed,” recalls Jim Lake, President, Vern Eide Motorcars. “It was when I was whining and they were listening.”
Howalt+McDowell showed Vern Eide how it could develop an employee health insurance program that would give employees a positive incentive — and the tools — to be proactive about their health. The secret? Ignite Wellness, a workplace program tailored to business owners’ health and cultural goals for their staff.
The concept of a workplace wellness program is simple: good health drives employee morale and productivity and reduces absenteeism. With Ignite Wellness’ online training and webinars and live, one-on-one planning with Howalt personnel, Vern Eide turned the expense of an employee benefits program into an investment in its human capital.
“Here we are today on an entire different path,” Lake says. “Howalt+McDowell brought us education, gave us multiple avenues and found one that really matched up with who we are.”
Today, half of the company’s staff is taking advantage of the Ignite Wellness program. And Lake says that’s improved productivity — an investment that has helped reward a staff with an unusual longevity and loyalty to the dealership.
“It has been a huge key to success because we can actually execute it,” he says. “The support from [our healthcare partner] and Howalt+McDowell staff has been outstanding.
“It really has been about people,” he adds. “They engage us in what our goals are.”
