Ken Larson can’t help but laugh as he talks about when he started working at Princess Auto Ltd. as a part-time cashier 20 years ago. “I made a lot of mistakes early on,” he recalls, “but people invested in me after those mistakes.

“You can grow from those moments,” continues Larson, who now heads the company. “I don’t think I could have made it to CEO if I didn’t have all of those leaders and team members with me throughout the process, who were allowing me to make those mistakes.”

Based in Winnipeg with stores across Canada, Princess Auto has 3,500 team members who are largely full-time employees, working in the tools and equipment seller’s retail locations and warehouses. They’re people like Michael Bloomquist, an assistant team leader at the Winnipeg distribution centre.

A year and a half ago, he was selected for a leadership certificate course that combines a university education with relevant experience, sponsored and paid for by the company. He took it, and says it helped him with both personal growth and work skills.

“When I’m working with my team members and going through our feedback process – what we call a pit stop – I talk about what they want to do, where they’re at in their current stage of life.”

Interviewing for new employees, Bloomquist says, “I try to find out a bit about their personal values, if they mesh with those of the company – things like teamwork, ownership, people, integrity and community.”

Larson says that work culture at Princess Auto isn’t so much about following rules as much as “doing the right thing.”

“The quality we look for the most is empathy. We really look for that person who, when they have an issue, they’re just going to do the right thing and solve the problem. We look for people who aren’t striving to be perfect.”

Larson says that Princess Auto values the “unconventional,” and that it’s “not trying to be this cookie-cutter organization.” So in addition to an extensive benefits and training program, it has programs like Surprise and Delight.

This could involve workplace celebrations around holidays, or six-packs of craft beer given to each employee at the Victoria Day long weekend. Bloomquist describes “awesome celebrations” like one on Canada Day, with food trucks and games.

Princess encourages volunteer work, from charities linked with the Princess Auto Foundation and the Dream Factory, a Manitoba-based charity for children battling illnesses. The large Ukrainian community in the province saw teams like Bloomquist’s doing a Christmas hamper for a Ukrainian family. The company also offers an extra day for team members to do community work or volunteer at a charity they support. “Choosing something that’s important to you,” as Bloomquist describes it.

“We allow people to choose their own adventure,” says Larson.

As a retailer supplying the trades, agricultural and transport businesses among others, Princess Auto was deemed an essential business and retail and warehouse employees didn’t do much remote work during COVID-19 lockdowns. But at the home office in Winnipeg, they did a complete renovation, tearing down walls and opening a sit-down restaurant, a hair salon, a golf simulator and a convenience store for employees, to facilitate a work culture that valued leading “by walking around,” Larson says.

“Since our team works in the office, we wanted it to be a place where they could connect and have fun.”