The Summer

It’s no cliché, it’s our people who make us great
Brian Jessel BMW Achievements:
• First in Canada for New Car Sales -
4 consecutive years in a row
• First in Canada for Pre-owned
sales - 2 consecutive years
in a row
• First retailer in BC to be
QMA certified
• First retailer in Western Canada
to offer Express Service
96 brianJESSEL SUMMER 2007
Human Resources Manager John Cheng updates
us on the latest certifications, awards and exciting
HR initiatives at Brian Jessel BMW.
By John Cheng
QMA Project Manager / HR Manager
We’re the First BMW Retailer in BC to be QMA Certified
As a customer of Brian Jessel BMW, you likely aren’t familiar with the term “Quality Management
Autohaus” or QMA. However, I am sure you are familiar with the idea that when you take delivery
of your new BMW from us, you are entitled the highest level of service, regardless of whether our
dealership is delivering 50 or 250 vehicles that month.
Quality Management Autohaus is what helps us make this happen. QMA is a standardscertification
project initiated by BMW Germany that ensures a standard of quality for every process
a BMW retailer performs and conducts. Like ISO certification—but to BMW’s own stringent
standards—every BMW retailer is required to implement a QMA Project at an agreed-upon time.
In 2005, shortly after moving to our new state-of-the-artfacility, we implemented the QMA Project.
It was the beginning of a huge undertaking we are still working on today. Spearheaded by myself
as Project Manager, the Project was implemented by a voluntary team that represented the full
spectrum of Brian Jessel BMW employees.
In the first part of phase one of the Project, the team went into every department, interviewing
managers and staff and documenting how they conducted each process and procedure. The
team members learned how the dealership operates from a perspective other than that of their
own job positions and met other employees they would not otherwise have met, making the
process a win for both the team members and the dealership as a whole. The second part of
phase one involved carrying out internal audits on the over 100 documents we had developed,
to ensure they reflected on our actual practices.
I am proud to say that our QMA team completed phase one four months ahead of schedule. In
addition, Brian Jessel BMW was the first retailer in BC to be QMA Certified, and we achieved
the highest passing score in Western Canada.
Currently we are approaching the completion of phase two of the QMA Project. Dubbed the
“Continuous Process Improvement (CPI)” phase, during this time we continue to carry out internal
audits and to analyze our processes for improvement. In addition, we analyze on a regular basis
the Opportunity For Improvement (OFI) Log, which documents both customer and employee
suggestions, concerns and complaints, to identify repeated trends. Then we develop the
necessary policies or procedures to prevent such trends from happening or occurring again.
This year we are scheduled to be audited by BMW Canada in July, and I look forward to it, as I
believe the QMA Team and all of ourfellow employees will do a great job by performing to the Brian
Jessel BMW standards.
For the two years I have been involved with the project, I have found that the most difficult task is
trying to put in place new systems and procedures when the organization is growing at such a rapid
pace. However, as difficult as it is has sometimes been, our organization needs these reviews
and new systems in order to achieve managed growth, and the highest level of satisfaction for
customers and employees.
The reason Brian Jessel BMW successfully maintains a balance
between leading changes and managing growth is because, as a team,
we are not only open to change, but implement changes successfully.
I can assure our customers and employees that as part of this process,
we will never stop in pursuing the ultimate customer and employee
satisfaction.
I would like to recognize the following QMA Members for their
outstanding efforts and performance: Carol Anderson, Jim Krahn, Tim
Van Dyke, Elaine Harley, Denna Matthews, Kenneth Lee, Steve Lavides,
Tina Lalonde, Kristin Codrington, Tess Erickson, Brooke Waddell and
Breanne Yip.
Strengthening Employee Satisfaction
“To inspire ourteam at Brian Jessel BMW to constantly exceed
our customers’ expectations when dealing with every aspect
of their motoring needs.”
– Mission Statement, Brian Jessel BMW.
Customer satisfaction is Brian Jessel BMW’s mission, and employee
satisfaction is my department’s mission primary. I believe that without
employee satisfaction, employees will not able to take good care of our
customers. Therefore, the HR Department has one mission: to take
great care of our over 140 staff at the dealership.
Fostering a culture of satisfied employees always involves interesting
dynamics, as human beings are complex, with unique emotions,
personalities and distinct characteristics. As complicated as we might be,
however, the simplest way to achieve employee satisfaction is to always
listen to what each person has to say.
For example, I was once chatting with a member of our Service Wash
Staff. I asked him if there was anything he wanted or needed in order to
improve his satisfaction as an employee. I thought for sure he would
say—as would most of us—that he’d like to be paid more. To my
surprise, he replied that what he really needed were waterproof shoes
and uniforms. I discovered that his colleagues shared his opinion, so we
wasted no time in getting them all everything they needed for their work.
From this experience, I learned that creating satisfaction is as simple as
asking the right questions, listening to the answers you receive, and
then—most importantly—acting on what you’ve heard.
On the other hand, I do have to admit that with 140-plus staff my to-do
list is long, and sometimes it may take a while for an employee to see
their suggestions implemented. In order to stay credible with our staff, I
have to always do my best to make sure everyone’s needs and
suggestions are acknowledged and followed up.
Another critical element in creating employee satisfaction lies in emplyee
recognition. For the first time ever, at our 2006 Christmas party our
Departmental Managers handed out Loyalty Appreciation Plagues to
employees who have been with Brian Jessel BMW for 5, 10, 15 and
20 years.
In addition, we gave out ourfirst-annual Employee ofThe Year Award. All
employees were able to nominate a fellow coworker whom they believe
deserve the ultimate recognition. The nomination yielded three finalists:
Elaine Harley, Office Manager; Travis MacFarlane, Journeyman
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