Best Dealerships To Work For in Canada 2019

Location: Scarborough, Ont. 

Dealer principal: Chris Gauthier

Dealership group: Roadsport Auto Group

Number of employees: 90

2018 new-vehicle sales: 2005, down 1%

2018 used-vehicle sales: 754, up 14% 

General Sales Manager Jonathan T. Kam on how dramatic changes in technology are affecting the dealership workplace: The hiring standards bar has been raised because of the introduction of tablets, cell phones, computers and customized auto industry software, which are now integrated into the sales and services workplace processes. Employees must be tech savvy when entering the dealership workforce. Therearemanymore, new nontraditional sales competitors that entice potential dealership recruits. However, in the final analysis, it does not matter how many cars you sell or what processes you use to sell them; it’s about innovation and customer satisfaction. 

Kam on how the image of working at a dealership has changed in the last five years: Surveys say that millennials believe that car dealers have an outdated approach to selling that doesn’t always fit their values, even if the jobs have the potential to pay well. They do not want to haggle with customers. Roadsport offers a professional selling and servicing workplace. Roadsport conducts employee reference checks, has clear code-of-conduct policies as well as many management best practices checks and balances to improve and monitor the customer experience. Roadsport’s employee goal is to have every customer become a lifelong sales and service customer. 

Kam on steps taken to ensure the dealership reflects the community’s demographics and cultural diversity: We try to recruit and hire in the communities that we sell in. There are over 15 different languages spoken by our staff, and we understand that there is more to the auto industry than merely selling vehicles. We sponsor many local sports teams, food drives, pet shelters, cultural events and charity organizations.