Driving Employee Success
Pacific BMW, in Glendale, CA, is a family-owned dealership that has been serving the greater Los Angeles Area since 1982. Pacific sells top of the line BMWs, sure, but they do a lot more than that.
"It's like we have three businesses in one," Ilse Kruger said. Ilse is a Talent and Development Specialist at Pacific BMW. "We don't have a general manager. What we have are three directors. We have the director of Administration that oversees accounting, people operations and anything related to technology, property, and safety. Then we have the sales department. They oversee the selling of vehicles, financing of them. Then we have the after-sales department. They take care of everything that has to do with after the purchase of the vehicle."
These three departments work together every day to create a collaborative and fun working environment. Communication is key at Pacific BMW. Ilse said, "Everyone here interacts with one another." Directors regularly meet to make sure that the workflow and process are as efficient as possible. Ilse also said that there is a lot of cross-training with employees because the level of collaboration is so high.
The owner, David Ho, is a really down-to-earth guy. He takes time to get to know his people. Pacific has New Hire Socials, where David comes and meets the new hires. This level of owner involvement can be rare these days. The level of investment in people from top to bottom is exactly why Pacific BMW keeps getting better.
Diving Into the Values at Pacific BMW
Steering Employees in the Right Direction
From the start, Pacific BMW makes sure that employees are taken care of and ready for their roles. "During the on-boarding process, we do a lot of check-ins with employees and set smaller goals. But on an annual basis, we do a performance review. We're basically making sure that everyone is transparent with what they're working on. That's how the individual employees work towards the department goals," Ilse said.
Pacific BMW leadership inspires employees through a core set of values. These values guide employees in everything that they do.
"We want to be known for being honest, innovative and inviting," Ilse said. One way that they keep an open and honest atmosphere is by posting everything that is happening in the dealership in the employee portal. This allows employees to always be in the know with the goings-on and never feel out of the loop. An example of something that gets posted here is company stats. Ilse said that this is great because you can see the ups and downs of the business.
Pacific also values people who believe in something. They have a Voting Day, where, if you wear your "I Voted" sticker to work, you get to dress casually for the day.
The People at Pacific BMW
Working Together For a Cause
The people at Pacific BMW are caring, hard-working and thoughtful. Ilse pointed to one instance where the employees all chipped in and worked together on a project for the owner of the company.
"Just recently they surprised the CEO and Owner by working on an old car that he had stored up on our roof. A lot of departments collaborated on this project. It was a surprise for him. They basically restored this car from the 70s. Every department helped to put this car together," Ilse said, adding, "For some reason, they were able to keep it a secret from the owner which is weird because he likes to walk around and talk to everyone. There were times that they had to distract him to not find out what was going on."
The Culture at Pacific BMW
One Big Family
Pacific BMW is one big family.
"You definitely feel like, in the family-oriented business, you're not just a number. People get to know you. People greet you by your name. There's a lot of camaraderie between departments. You walk in and everyone's just chatting with each other and getting to know one another and asking how their families are and they are talking about their accomplishments and things like that," Ilse said.
The building has a lot of open space which allows for easier and better communication opportunities, as well as more opportunities to say hi to your neighbor.
"Overall, we just want to make sure our clients have the best experience that will measure up to the reputation of the branch," Ilse said. That is why Pacific BMW's hiring process is so important. They make sure to hire cultural fits, those who share the same love for excellence that Pacific employees have. "Our culture is what makes us successful."
Pacific BMW enlists members from the different departments to plan events for the company. This is one great way, outside of the usual work that they do, that employees get to collaborate and grow closer.
Ilse said that one story that exemplified life at Pacific BMW was a time that the managers bought a bunch of food and barbecued for the employees, instead of paying someone else to do it. "Usually managers are so busy, they don't have a chance to interact with the whole company. So when they are doing that, it's nice. It's appreciated," Ilse said.
The Benefits at Pacific BMW
High-Class Benefits
Some of the benefits offered by Pacific BMW are:
Employees also have fantastic discounts with the company. They have a Center Employee Lease Program, where employees get discounts on parts, need service or whatever else needs to be done to their own BMWs.
"The Cake Day is a staple here. We celebrate everyone's monthly birthdays by buying a bunch of cake and cutting it, then everyone gets to enjoy it," Ilse said. Pacific also has a big employee appreciation week. "Every day of that week we are going to do something for our employees. We're going to have March Madness brackets. The winner will get Lakers Tickets. We're going to have St. Patty's day treats and we are going to have a food truck one day. Another day we are going to have ice cream."
Ilse said that doing things like that and getting creative with events, creates the tight-knit sense of community that makes Pacific BMW special.
