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Everyone’s experience matters at Birchwood

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This article was published 25/11/2020 (1796 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

At Birchwood Automotive Group, experience is everything.

This notion remains a driving force that steers the success of the longstanding company — and makes it stand out as one of Manitoba’s Top Employers for years running.

For president Steve Chipman, the family-based company aims to create a positive experience for both employees and customers alike.

“We try to make sure our customers’ experience is really great, but we also know that our team members’ experience is everything,” he said. 

“It’s important that we make sure we focus on them and provide them with opportunities. We follow some basic principles of trying to look out for each other.”

As Manitoba’s largest network of automotive dealers, Birchwood Automotive Group encourages a culture of generosity.“We always run a big United Way campaign, and we’ve had our best campaign ever in the toughest year,” Chipman said.

“We try to promote the idea that we should look outward, and I think people appreciate being a part of giving back.”

At the same time, the company focuses on helping and supporting its own employees. For new mothers, fathers or adoptive parents, Birchwood recently introduced maternity and parental leave top-up payments to 100 per cent of their salary for 15 weeks. Employees also have the option to extend their leave into an unpaid leave of absence.

“We try to have programs for well-being,” Chipman said. “We have an employee assistance program that helps people with financial, physical and mental health advice. It’s not just for them; it’s for their families, too.”

With a focus on education, Birchwood ensures its employees have ongoing opportunities to learn. The company supports employee development with tuition subsidies for courses at outside institutions as well as online and in-house training, including paid internships and apprenticeships.

“We have mentorship programs, as well as a program called Birchwood University that helps our mid-management to improve their management skills. We enrol all our senior managers in a program out of Georgian College, which includes the Automotive Business School of Canada, so they’re getting a diploma in automotive business management,” Chipman said.

“We’re promoting growth and education and giving back to the community — all things that people appreciate.”

Employees also appreciate the fact the company is well poised for stability during these unstable times.

“We are a growing company and that’s attractive to people. It gives everybody lots of opportunities and a chance to grow. Our business is a stable one,” Chipman said.

“We just opened a new Lexus dealership in a brand new building. We’ve got a Jaguar Land Rover building opening in March as well as a brand new Volkswagen store opening in March. We’re also expanding and building a brand new Ford dealership and replacing the old one.”

In addition to more than 20 dealerships, Birchwood Automotive Group operates two large collision centres as well as a business called Birchwood Credit, which works with people to re-establish their credit at four Winnipeg-based locations.

“We also have a large IT department and we develop lots of our own software. In addition, we have our own marketing department with marketing specialists, as well as our own reconditioning centre for used cars,” Chipman said.

“We have a centralized accounting department, which is unique, and all of our accountants are working out of one building. So we have all sorts of opportunities and experiences available in various aspects of our business.”

With a focus on inclusivity and flexibility, the company is able to adapt to changing times.

“We’re diverse with about 15 different languages spoken. We’re also a young company, and the average age of employees is mid-30s,” Chipman said.

“During the pandemic, we’ve worked on how to adapt to the situation. We’re trying to look ahead down the road at how we can better serve our customers — and our employees, too.” 

For more information, visit https://www.birchwood.ca/careers/