Best Dealerships To Work For in Canada 2019

Location: Tilbury, Ont. 

Dealer principal: Vince Lally

Dealership group: Lally Auto Group

Number of Employees: 80

2018 new-vehicle sales: 1,003, up 4%

2018 used-vehicle sales: 405, down 7% 

General Manager Adam Lally on attracting and helping young employees chose a career path: Promotion from within and staff training have helped to ease a tight market for skilled workers on both the technical and sales sides. We’ve had success recruiting people with a desire to get into the trade at a young age for other positions in the dealership, and then graduating them into technician roles. We need nice people who care about other people, who possess a good work ethic and a positive attitude; the rest can be learned through training and experience. 

Lally on challenges faced to entice/ recruit staff: More people are applying for dealership jobs, but the number of quality, qualified applicants has decreased. A benefit of having multiple dealerships in our group is that we are often able to promote from within the [broader] organization where there are always opportunities. 

Lally on the unusual methods developed to show staff they are valued: Fun contests and something as simple as a nice lunch together goes a long way. 

Lally on lessons learned from hiring/ employment-related mistakes: When a new hire doesn’t fit the company culture or takes advantage in some way, it hurts the business and other employees. In the past, we have taken too long to part with people who aren’t the right fit.