Best Dealerships To Work For in Canada 2019

Location: Winnipeg, Man. 

Dealer principal: Steve Chipman

Dealership group: Birchwood Automotive Group

Number of employees: 67

General manager: Derek Witty

2018 new-vehicle sales: 1,006, up 10%

2018 used-vehicles sales: 661, up 25%

Chief Human Resources Officer MaryAnn Kempe on helping employees develop a career path: Birchwood offers a mentorship program for its team members to help them develop and grow their skills and become a more engaged work force. All job opportunities are posted, allowing for all team members to compete fairly. Our recruitment team supports our team members by providing value-added recruiting services and coaching to all team members who are interested in exploring a change to their career path. [We also] have an interactive platform that allows team members to not only see what role they are in, but view their profile and their career path. 

Kempe on how the image of working at a dealership has changed in the last five years: In 2019, Birchwood started a rebranding process to update our corporate values, mission statement and purpose, not only as a company but as part of our community. The process includes updated core values: Personal Leadership, Continuous Improvement, Trust and Respect, and our latest addition, Generosity. To celebrate this new chapter, we introduced the “Day of Gratitude” where each team member will receive $25 to donate to the charity of their choice. 

General Manager Derek Witty on the manufacturer’s practices designed to promote or incentivize better hiring and retention: Nissan and Infiniti have a [variety] of programs in place to promote our high performance and work quality. The rewards vary from monetary prizes to social recognition, sport tickets and others.