BEST DEALERSHIPS TO WORK FOR IN CANADA 2018

Location: Prince Albert, Sask.

Dealer principal: Trent Hargrave

Number of employees: 35

2017 new-vehicle sales: 416, up 6.6%

2017 used-vehicle sales: 265, up 9%

General Manager Trent Hargrave on unusual methods developed to reward employees and show they are valued: One of our biases when it comes to recognizing and rewarding employees is that it should be tangible and meaningful. For example, the dealer principal writes a personal message on every employee's monthly paystub. We also personalize rewards — a technician who hit an alignment goal received a case of his favourite soup and soda.

Hargrave on staff diversification and attracting more women to the workplace: We do not take any exceptional steps to ensure our dea ership's staff reflects our community's diver sity ... We hire the applicant that best fits the culture of Riverside Dodge ... Currently 37 per cent of the staff is female .... We don't believe practices that would attract and retain female employees are fundamentally different from what every employee wants — a respectful workplace, performance feedback and a prioritization of family over everything.

Hargrave on helping employees develop a career path: We see part of our mission as being a place for people to develop and refine skills that will serve them wherever their career takes them. We have spent nearly $3,000 per employee per year on formal training, and we only promote from within. We also try to remove administrative duties from managers to allow them to focus on staff development.

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