Automotive News Canada - October 2023 - 42

42
* OCTOBER 2023
Best Dealerships To Work For
Birchwood Kia West
Winnipeg, Man.
lCEO: Steve Chipman
lDealership group: Birchwood
Automotive Group
lNumber of employees: 30
General Manager Michael Park on how
training is used to advance employees'
skills and careers: We offer a full learning
journey which starts with our new-hire
orientation and ends with Birchwood
University, our leadership academy.
Following the first 90 days, all team members
are signed up for the class called
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,
which is facilitated by our in-house learning
and development group. Our leaders
and future leaders participate in courses
such as Six Critical Practices of Leading
a Team, Managing for High Performance
(created in house) and Four Essential
Roles of Leadership. Following these
courses, employees can enter Birchwood
University's leadership academy. We also
participate in Georgian College's automotive
business program and have created
our own sales academy.
Park on preparing the dealership and staff
for increasing adoption of electric vehicles:
At the dealer level, we started by focusing on
completion of all OEM-supplied training, followed
up with increased sales and service
training. At a group level, Birchwood has created
an EV committee which is focused on
developing an in-depth training program for
all things EV, from sales, local charge station
infrastructure, servicing, cold weather expectations
and home charge station standards
and limitations.
Birchwood Kia West staff set off walking at the Annual Walk This Way
event for United Way. SUPPLIED PHOTOS
The United Way thank you event for Birchwood
Kia West team members who raised funds and
collected school supplies, which were donated
to a local school.
Park on whether the dealership has
retained its by-appointment model
since the pandemic: As the public is
more comfortable in the new normal,
we have evolved to serve them how
they choose to be served. We have developed
the capability for customers to complete
a purchase or book an " at home "
test drive entirely online, and we have
masks and gloves available on-site.
DEI is not just good, it's good business
Diversity opens the door
to talented individuals who
might otherwise have been
overlooked or missed; 'it's
a necessary thing to have'
By KELLY TAYLOR
WINNIPEG CORRESPONDENT
CANADIAN NEW-CAR DEALERS ARE
finding strength in diversity, and their
commitment to inclusivity is helping them
build successful workforces and earn Best
Dealerships To Work For honours.
" I think it started as more of an 'it's
the right thing to do' type of initiative.
However, it has certainly morphed into a
necessary thing to have, " said Peter Burke,
president of Workforce Research Group,
which conducted the survey for Automotive
News Canada's 2023 Best Dealerships To
Work For.
" Many [businesses] now believe that
diversity equals strength and advantage
as opposed to a core value that just felt like
the right thing to do. "
Organizations that hire staff whose core
values align with those of their employers
become better places to work for everyone,
Burke said. " These dealerships are getting
much better at that. "
At Mercedes-Benz Winnipeg, the diversity,
equity and inclusion strategy might
have begun in late 2021, but the dealerMany
[businesses]
now believe that
diversity equals
strength and advantage
as opposed to a core
value that just felt like
the right thing to do. "
Peter Burke
President, Workforce Research Group
ship by then had already taken strides
to increase representation by women in
upper-level positions.
" I came from outside the auto industry,
and I was skeptical of what I had heard
about it being a male-dominated business, "
said Lucinda Helm, the dealership's director
of people and culture. " I was pleasantly
surprised to see that at that time, there
was a female fixed-operations manager, a
female F&I training manager and a female
collision-centre manager. "
In late 2021, the dealership was 79 per
cent male and 21 per cent female. Thirtythree
per cent of employees were visible
minorities, while one per cent had accessibility
needs. Balancing those numbers was
key to doing business in a city comprising
many ethnicities, Helm said.
The question the dealership poses, she
said: " Could a customer walk into our dealership
and see themselves reflected here? "
Today, representation by women
remains at 21 per cent, but visible minorities
now make up 37 per cent of staff. The
goal over the next one to three years is to
be 50 per cent women and 50 per cent visible
minorities, " to more accurately reflect
the demographics of our customers and of
Winnipeg, " Helm said.
'MALE UNDERTONE' IN JOB POSTINGS
A key part of that effort is changing how
the dealership advertises openings
and creates its list of required
skills. " The fact is we were hiring
a lot of male candidates because
that's who was applying, " Helm
said. " We made a deliberate effort
to discuss transferable skills rather
than just looking at past experience,
and we revised some of our
job postings that included a lot of
words typically associated with a
male undertone. "
Mercedes-Benz Winnipeg has
also partnered with Direct Action
in Support of Community Homes
(DASCH), a Winnipeg organization
that helps people with intellectual
disabilities integrate into the workforce.
As a result, the number of
employees with accessibility needs
has increased to three per cent.
Ensuring there are accommodations
for staff with physical or
intellectual difficulties is core to at
ILLUSTRATION: GETTY IMAGES
least two dealerships that made the list of
2023 Best Dealerships To Work For: Volvo
Cars Edmonton and Volkswagen Waterloo.
Adhering to the provincial Accessibility
for Ontarians with Disabilities Act has
allowed Volkswagen Waterloo to retain
valued staff members suddenly confronting
accessibility challenges brought about
by knee or hip replacements and injuries.
It also opened the door to a talented segment
of the population that might otherwise
have been overlooked.
The dealership has also partnered
with The Shop, a Cambridge,
Ont., organization that helps
young people facing a variety of
difficulties - such as fetal alcohol
spectrum disorder and physical
and intellectual disabilities -
access training and employment.
Krause: A
diverse staff
" enables you
to be more
successful,
because we all
have different
backgrounds,
different
perceptions.
You learn
to be that
much better. "
SUPPLIED
PHOTO
'DIFFERENT' IS 'BETTER'
" For me, the big thing is when
you have a good variety of backgrounds
and diversity in your
team, it allows everyone to grow
and learn as well, " said David
Krause, Volkswagen Waterloo's
general manager. " It enables you
to be more successful, because we
all have different backgrounds, different
perceptions. You learn to be
that much better. "
Accommodations at Volkswagen
Waterloo include an elevator to
the second story, power-assist and automated
doors, and corridors wide enough
for wheelchairs. " There's
no portion of the store a
person with a disability
couldn't navigate to on
their own, " Krause said.
" Now, someone who
may have felt like retiring
or needing to change
their role, this takes
that out of the equation.
They're not limited by an
all-of-a-sudden incident in
their lives. "
Volvo Cars
Edmonton's dealer principal,
Michael Norris,
said hiring Special
Olympians - athletes
with intellectual difficulties
- " is the best thing
we do. "
Norris:
Hiring Special
Olympians,
who bring with
them " amazing
attitudes " and
a solid work
ethic, " is the
best thing
we do. "
FILE PHOTO
These employees have " amazing attitudes "
and a stellar work ethic, Norris said.
" For example, Neil Ivan, a lot attendant, is
often responsible in the winter months for
blowing snow off all the vehicles on the lot.
Not only does he do a sensational job, but
he has a smile on his face ... even when it is
minus 40.
" I would highly recommend other dealers
consider our Hire an Olympian program. "
- ANC
Automotive News Canada - October 2023

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