Best Dealerships To Work For Canada 2021

Location: Etobicoke, Ont.

President: John Leeder

Dealership Group: Leeder Automotive

Number of employees: 34

General Manager Ameer Khan on lessons learned from managing the dealership through the pandemic: I have learned the importance of frequent communication. It reduces fear and uncertainty, keeps everyone on the same page and ensures that our team members have heard the message. I’ve also realized that team members need to hear these messages multiple times and that different people may need to hear messages in different ways.

Khan on steps taken to improve employee retention: In 2021, this is where we have made the biggest change. At the beginning of the pandemic we were forced to reduce staff count and hours of operation. As we journey back to normal hours, our focus has been on promoting team members from within. We want to ensure that we reward and develop those who stayed with us and worked through some very difficult times.

Khan on changes in productivity of sales staff during the pandemic: The productivity of sales team members has been higher during the pandemic as we have less staff delivering the same results. We eliminated low performers and provided our top performers with additional tools, i.e., enhanced technology, to be more efficient.

Khan on how the dealership has changed its approach to recruiting, hiring and training staff: We’ve invested in and implemented a psychometric assessment platform, which helps us to identify, develop and evaluate both new hires and current team members. Using this technology, we have set job profiles and are able to hire the right candidate for the right role as well as develop and promote the right team members to roles that they will both thrive in and be successful in.