Best Dealerships To Work For Canada 2021

Location: Winnipeg

General manager: Dom Trotta

Dealership group: Birchwood Automotive Group

Number of employees: 32

General Manager Dom Trotta on how the pandemic changed productivity of sales staff: Our team is like a big family and our team members really came together and focused their efforts on delivering exceptional service to our customers. Everyone helped each other during this time and by doing this, they were able to achieve sales excellence and increase customer satisfaction.

Fixed Operations Manager Ian Cook on steps taken to improve employee retention: We try to hire the right people for the right job. A good fit with our culture and the right person in the right seat seems to have a strong connection with retention and engagement. With the help of HR, we optimize the onboarding experience. We try to make new hires not only feel welcome, but also that they are able to contribute immediately. We also have a follow-up schedule that lasts many months, so new hires have a structured opportunity to provide feedback on their job process, and the workplace culture.

Parts Manager Aidan Thevenot on steps taken to offer new hires or existing employees a long-term career path: Our in-house apprenticeship and skilled-trade programs are largely based on Apprenticeship Manitoba’s skilled-trades certification programs. In 2020, there were over 119 technicians participating in Apprenticeship Manitoba programs. We offer specialized oneon-one training oriented towards moving up to the next job on the career path. Work culture incentivizes movement within the company to pursue the career best for the employee.