Automotive News Canada - October 2024 - 26

26
* OCTOBER 2024
Best Dealerships To Work For
BEST DEALERSHIPS START AT TOP
Great stores have great
leaders who bring out the
best in staff and make it a
priority to find and groom
more great leaders
By DAVID KENNEDY
T ORONTO BUREAU CHIEF
EMPLOYEE CONFIDENCE IN A
dealership's leaders is among the key differentiators
that set Automotive News
Canada's 2024 Best Dealerships To Work
For apart from nonwinners.
Leaders who have a long-term vision
for the business, who act on employees'
suggestions and who prove their commitment
to the dealership's core values
inspire greater loyalty among staff and
create workplaces that employees are
more likely to take pride
in.
Kempe:
Birchwood
University
provides
" experiential
learning and
a supportive
learning
community of
peers. "
FILE PHOTO
Among staff at winning
dealerships, 93 per
cent said they had faith
in the store's leadership,
compared with 79 per
cent for nonwinners.
Maintaining the
confidence of workers
appears particularly
challenging at large
dealerships. At winning
stores with 70 employees
or more, 90 per cent
of workers signaled
approval for their store's
leaders, compared with
71 per cent for nonwinners.
Gaining
the confidence
of staff - and
keeping it - comes from hard work and,
at many top dealerships, thoughtful programs
designed to develop or hone leaders'
skills.
SUPPORT FROM WITHIN
MaryAnn Kempe, chief human resources
officer at Birchwood Automotive
Group, said the company actively works
to instill staff with " transformational leadership
skills " at its in-house training program
called Birchwood University.
" The program offers multidisciplinary
leadership development, extensive experiential
learning and a supportive learning
community of peers while nurturing
a dedication to serving our community, "
she said.
The Winnipeg dealership group, which
We provide
continuous
learning
opportunities
for employees
who want to
grow and develop
in our dealership
through stretch
assignments
and on-the-job
training. "
Lucinda Helm
Director of people and culture,
Pinnacle Automotive
SUPPLIED PHOTO
has three 2024 Best Dealerships
To Work For, targets leaders
and up-and-comers for the program,
she said. Birchwood
owns 24 stores in Manitoba and
Saskatchewan.
Skills development is also a
key focus at Northwest Lexus
in Brampton, Ont., part of the
Policaro Group, which owns eight
dealerships in southern Ontario.
Every manager goes through
mandatory training on effective
leadership, motivation and strategies
to provide effective feedback,
said Marcin Freyberg, Policaro's
vice-president of human resources
and IT.
and meet their leadership goals.
The dealership, which employs 62
people, also holds regular management
meetings that devote " ample
time " to talking through leadership
challenges and opportunities, said
Dealer Principal Michael Norris.
Helm:
Pinnacle
Automotive
conducts
leadership
training
sessions
Ensuring that leaders know
how to build trust with existing
employees, effectively recruit new staff
and handle difficult conversations are
topics of ongoing learning opportunities,
Freyberg said.
every month.
PHOTO:
PINNACLE
AUTOMOTIVE
FINDING FUTURE LEADERS
Along with expanding the skills
of current leaders, identifying
future leadership candidates early
and then developing their skills is
another key tactic at Canada's Best
Dealerships To Work For.
" The path to a leadership role
is taken very seriously here at
Bruce, " said Dave Deveau, general
manager of Bruce Chevrolet-BuickGMC.
The dealership is a part of
Bruce Auto Group, which owns 11 stores
in Nova Scotia.
Managers at Volvo Cars Edmonton,
meantime, get assistance five times a year
from external experts to help them set
The company has a certified training
practitioner on staff who " designs individual
professional development plans to
prepare employees who are interested in
growing into management roles, as well
Lexus of Edmonton
Edmonton, Alta.
lDealer principal: Richard Kyle
lNumber of employees: 140
The Go-Baby-Go event at Lexus of Edmonton, hosted by Variety,
a children's charity of Alberta that supports children living with limited
mobility. PHOTO: LEXUS OF EDMONTON
General Manager Evan Schindel on departments/
positions facing the biggest staff challenges:
We're fortunate to experience fewer hiring challenges
than many in the industry, thanks in large
part to our strong reputation and long-standing
success. We've built a workplace culture that people
are excited to be part of and this has allowed
us to attract and retain top talent across all
departments. While certain specialized positions
may come with their own recruitment needs,
our team-focused environment, commitment to
employee growth, and the pride that comes with
as conducts a variety of leadership courses
for current management to keep them
on track and drive their success even further, "
Deveau said.
At West Park Chevrolet-Buick-GMC
in Altona, Man., 110 kilometres south of
Winnipeg, high-potential employees participate
in situational-leadership training.
The concept is built on the principle
that leaders must adapt on the fly, with no
two situations requiring quite the same
approach.
The dealership is part of Winnipeg's
Pinnacle Automotive, which owns three
franchised stores in Manitoba and one in
Ontario.
Lucinda Helm, the company's director
of people and culture, said Pinnacle carries
out leadership training monthly.
" We provide continuous learning
opportunities for employees who want
to grow and develop in our dealership
through stretch assignments and on-thejob
training. "
Stretch assignment allow employees to
temporarily test out new roles, she added.
- ANC
working for a recognized luxury brand have
made us a sought-after employer.
Schindel on best practices for improving hiring
and retention: Offering competitive compensation
and benefits. Creating clearly defined
career paths and offering 20 vacation days per
year for all employees, regardless of tenure.
Schindel on providing work-life balance to
employees: Our technicians enjoy a four-day
workweek, a schedule that provides them
with the opportunity to balance their demanding
work with more personal time. This setup
allows them to work slightly longer shifts but
take advantage of an additional day off each
week, which most of our technicians prefer.
The extra time off helps reduce burnout, allowing
them to recharge, which also contributes to
maintaining high levels of job satisfaction and
productivity.
Automotive News Canada - October 2024

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