A previous winner of this award, the judges had no hesitation in voting eStar once again as the What Van? Van Dealer of the Year. This year, the Mercedes-Benz truck and van dealer, based in the North West of England, and founded in 2020, focused its entry on how the business takes care of the wellbeing of not only its employees and families, but also others in the wider community.
In addition to partnering with industry charity BEN, the business has introduced mental health first aiders within its team of 340 colleagues, and all 35 managers have had mental awareness training, meaning that they are able to recognise when a colleague may be suffering with an issue, and know how to respond to this.
In recent times, anyone can find themselves financially struggling, and eStar has introduced ‘Kettle’ packs in the dealership’s community kitchens. These provide free hot food for any colleagues that are in need, with no questions asked. Other benefits that have been made available include wellbeing programmes, free fruit, discounted gym membership and a sick pay scheme, ensuring that staff have time to recover from any issue.
The company is committed to inclusivity, equality and diversity and more women were promoted to middle management positions than in previous years. There are female only changing rooms in workshops, even where there are yet to be any female technicians, and eStar offers what it claims is an industry leading maternity package. Mandatory training has covered subjects such as menopause, banter and bullying awareness and training, dignity at work, together with disability and mental health awareness. This has been extended to cover foundation training on LBGTQ+ for the management team.
Keen to address the issue of absenteeism, eStar has overhauled its internal processes and now has more insight into reasons for staff absence resulting in additional and targeted support for those who need it. The absence rate of 2.82% in 2022 reduced to 1.73% in the following year, demonstrated by a 33% reduction in days off for sickness and long term sickness being down by 38.7%.
Highlights from a staff survey prove that team members value the support the business provides, making eStar a good place to work. Some 73% said that the benefits on offer were ‘good’, compared to 34.6% in 2021. eStar does enough to support mental health at work, according to 70% of employees (54.6% in 2021), and two-thirds feel that they are supported in the workplace when feeling unhappy, a rise from 50% of team members in 2021. In addition, 97% said that they got on well with their colleagues. Often the proof of staff contentment is in the retention level achieved and, with staff turnover of 23.54% in 2023 compared to a motor trade average of 31%, eStar is clearly achieving its goal.
The van sales division of the business continues to thrive. 2023 saw a rise of 9% in new van registrations compared to the previous year in a challenging landscape, particularly with electric vehicles, and all manufacturer targets were either achieved or surpassed. eStar continues to nurture new starters to the business under the Van Talent Development scheme operated by Mercedes-Benz, and now more than 70% of van sales team members are either working under the programme, or have graduated from it. A further three joined in 2023.
The achievement of a successful culture of a team working together for each other and the customer is the result of a driven management who have recognised the benefits that this brings. As the company states, “at eStar we win as a team”.
Highly Commended: Van Monster
Highly commended in this category is Van Monster, a dealer backed by industry giant Northgate. Claiming to be the UK’s largest independent retailer of used LCVs, customers have the reassurance of aftersales backup from Northgate’s national network of workshops and licenced mechanics. As Van Monster is not tied to any single manufacturer, customers have a choice of vehicles from a wide spectrum of makes and models, the majority being low mileage and under three years of age. A price match guarantee is also offered, and all vehicles have a complimentary 6 month/10,000 mile warranty as standard together with roadside assistance, with upgrades available.
In addition, Van Monster remarkets vehicles for third party vendors, and ensures that when they have been sold, the seller is paid promptly. Any outstanding finance is settled as part of a streamlined process designed to make disposals simple and stress free for the vendor.
