Part 4 of 14: The Employee–Customer–Profit Connection, a series examining why dealerships that treat employee experience as strategy (not HR) outperform their peers.
In this article, you'll learn:
– What top-performing dealer groups prioritize differently when it comes to employees
– How leadership consistency drives workforce stability
– Why employee stability compounds into stronger customer and financial results
When Roger Penske says "Human Capital is the most important asset on your balance sheet," he's not delivering a feel-good talking point.¹ He's stating a business philosophy that has made Penske Automotive Group an outlier in an industry defined by workforce instability.
The numbers tell the story. Penske routinely has more dealerships on Automotive News' Best Dealerships to Work For rankings than any other publicly traded dealer group.² Their Glassdoor rating sits at 4.4 out of 5, compared to an industry average of 3.4.² Their employee recommendation rate is 86% — while competitors like AutoNation sit at 50% and Lithia Motors at 38%.²
This isn't happening at a boutique operation with unusual advantages. Penske has 350+ locations globally, employing over 11,000 people. They compete in the same markets, face the same labor pressures, deal with the same customer expectations as everyone else.
They've just made different choices about how to treat people.
Scale Doesn't Have to Mean Losing Culture
The conventional wisdom says culture gets harder to maintain as organizations grow. Penske has proven that's not inevitable.
The company invests systematically in employee development through structured training programs that go beyond product knowledge. They build management talent internally rather than constantly recruiting from outside. They create advancement pathways that people can actually see and pursue.
This shows up in employee reviews. People describe meaningful career development opportunities. They mention management that actually supports growth. They talk about being treated like professionals rather than interchangeable parts in a sales machine.
What's striking is the consistency across locations. This isn't a case where one or two stores happen to have great managers. The approach is systematic—built into how the organization operates at every level.
The Measurement Mindset
Here's something most people don't know: Penske conducts annual employee engagement surveys through ESi-Q.³ They don't guess about what their people experience. They measure it, track trends over time, and act on what they learn.
This matters enormously. When you measure employee experience systematically, you catch problems before they become crises. You see which departments are thriving and which are struggling. You can test whether new initiatives are actually working or just creating the illusion of progress.
Most dealers would never make a major capital investment without data to support it. Yet they'll implement new HR programs, change compensation structures, or restructure teams based on gut feel and hope for the best.
Penske treats workforce decisions with the same analytical rigor they bring to inventory management and financial planning. The result is a company that actually knows what's happening with its people—and can respond accordingly.
What This Means for Customer Experience
Penske's employee experience numbers translate directly into customer outcomes.
When employees stay longer, they build expertise that shows up in every customer interaction. A service advisor with five years at the same location knows the regular customers, understands the quirks of different vehicle systems, and can handle complex situations without escalation.
When employees feel invested in, they invest themselves in customer relationships. They're not counting days until they find something better. They're building careers—and that stability shows in how they engage with people.
When engagement is high, the energy is different. Customers sense it. They feel the difference between dealing with someone who's fully present versus someone just getting through the day.
The Penske model proves that employee experience and customer experience aren't separate initiatives competing for attention. They're the same thing viewed from different angles.
The Competitive Advantage That's Hiding in Plain Sight
Here's what's remarkable about Penske's approach: none of it is secret. They talk about their philosophy publicly. Their results are visible in rankings and Glassdoor ratings. The playbook isn't proprietary.
Yet most of the industry continues operating as if high turnover is inevitable. They watch Penske's performance and somehow conclude it's not replicable.
It is replicable. The question is whether you're willing to make the same level of commitment.
That commitment starts with deciding that workforce stability is a strategic priority—not an HR problem to manage, but a business outcome to achieve. It continues with measuring employee experience systematically rather than relying on assumptions. And it requires sustained attention, year after year, even when other pressures compete for focus.
Penske proves it's possible. The challenge for everyone else is deciding whether they believe it's worth pursuing.
What Would Your Numbers Look Like?
If you measured employee engagement at your dealership with the same rigor Penske does, what would you find?
Would the results surprise you? Would they confirm what you already suspect? Would they reveal problems you didn't know existed?
The dealers outperforming on retention have answered these questions. They know their numbers. They track them over time. They use the data to guide decisions rather than guessing about what their people need.
That's the difference between accepting industry-average turnover as inevitable and achieving results that look nothing like the average.
The dealers with the strongest employee retention don't guess about engagement—they measure it. ESi-Q powers the annual employee engagement surveys for Penske Automotive Group and other industry leaders. Want to know what systematic measurement could reveal at your dealership?
About The Author
Cathy Palochko has spent her career in learning and development almost exclusively in automotive, including senior leadership roles in training and development for multi-franchise dealer groups and extensive experience on the agency side supporting OEMs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Penske Automotive Group perform on employee experience compared to competitors?
Penske's Glassdoor rating of 4.4 out of 5 significantly exceeds the industry average of 3.4, and their 86% employee recommendation rate outpaces major competitors by a wide margin. In 2024, 79 of their dealerships were recognized on Automotive News' Best Dealerships to Work For list — more than any other group — marking 13 consecutive years of that recognition. These results reflect a sustained, systematic commitment to employee experience rather than a one-time initiative.
How does Penske Automotive Group measure employee satisfaction?
Penske conducts annual employee engagement surveys through ESi-Q, measuring what employees actually experience rather than relying on assumptions. This systematic approach allows them to track trends over time, identify problems early, and verify whether initiatives produce results.
What is Penske's employee recommendation rate?
Penske maintains a high employee recommendation rate on Glassdoor, meaning the vast majority of their employees would tell a friend to come work there. Their overall Glassdoor rating is 4.4 out of 5, compared to an industry average of 3.4.
Can large dealer groups maintain good employee culture?
Yes. Penske operates 350+ locations globally with over 11,000 employees while achieving retention rates far better than industry averages. Their results prove that scale doesn't have to mean losing culture—it requires building employee development into how the organization operates at every level.
Footnotes:
¹ Roger Penske, public statements on human capital philosophy
² Glassdoor, Penske Automotive Group; Automotive News Best Dealerships to Work For rankings
³ ESi-Q client relationship