CARY, N.C. -

For Mark Willey, general manager of Manheim Tampa, a grateful GM makes for satisfied employees.

“I thank our team for what they do each and every day,” said Willey, who oversees 124 full-time and 81 part-time employees. “I make an effort to explain that what they do is very important to our success as a company. We hold regular employee meetings where we acknowledge their accomplishments, share our successes, discuss future challenges, and ask for ideas and support in helping us to achieve our goals.

“Manheim has always believed that our success is driven by our people,” he continued. “This honor demonstrates how important it is to allow our employees to have a voice in helping to create that success.”

As manager of Manheim Tampa, which registers between 2,200 and 2,500 vehicles a week, Willey said his No. 1 priority is creating a safe and friendly environment for his team.

“I want them to look forward to coming to work each day,” he said.

Willey says that part of what makes Manheim Tampa stand out as a great place to work is that employees are given opportunities to explore various roles.

“We encourage cross-training by allowing our employees the opportunity to work in different areas,” he said. “This helps keep them motivated and develop strong working relationships.”

As far as how a positive workplace translates to a healthy bottom line, Willey said that basically, success begets success.

“Keeping our employees involved creates buy-in. When you recognize their contributions they in turn concentrate harder on being successful,” he said. “Ultimately their success is success for everyone.”

View the complete list of honorees here.