How Arnold Clark is reducing the gender gap in its garages

Of Arnold Clark’s 11,000-strong workforce, 25% is female. Recently, Eddie Hawthorne, Chief Executive and Managing Director, has committed to increasing this number by 5% over the next two or three years.

The company has already made notable improvements in the gender split across all areas of the business in the past four years.

During this time…

• The number of women in sales has doubled.
• The number of women in apprenticeships has doubled.
• The number of women within aftersales has increased by 25%.

However, the company recognises that there is still work to be done.

We caught up with some of the women currently working for Arnold Clark, to get their thoughts on the company’s efforts to recruit more female talent and consequently close the gender gap.

Serving an increasingly diverse customer base

This commitment to reducing the gender gap in the organisation is a reflection of the changing landscape of the motor industry.

Linda McMenamin, Group Service Development Manager, has worked for Arnold Clark for 17 years. Over that time, she has noticed a change in the perception of some job roles within the industry that were once thought of as ‘for boys or girls only’.

Linda explains how this shift has had a positive effect on the link between staff and customers:

‘All of our customers are different, therefore our mix of staff should reflect that. It’s about looking at who’s best for the job and not putting gender first. This industry is learning that!’

Have the needs of our customers changed over time? Catherine Buchanan, General Manager of Falkirk Fiat/Abarth, certainly thinks so. Catherine has been an Arnold Clark employee for 23 years, and she spoke to us about how the company’s customers have become increasing more analogous.

‘I would have said that the needs of female and male customers varied back when I started selling cars, but not any more. Both purchase and negotiate in exactly the same way.’

Recruiting young women into the industry

Arnold Clark seeks to redress the gender balance in the company by:

• Fostering strong links with schools and holding girl-only events that highlight the variety of opportunities open to them.
• Arranging tours and practical demonstrations at our training facilities (GTG Training).
• Facilitating meet-ups between school-age girls and female apprentices.
• Offering part-time and job-share positions to combat any childcare concerns a potential female applicant may have.
• Creating marketing literature that highlights images of successful women within the company to raise awareness of our positive female role models.

Kelsey Pexton, Automotive Spray Painter, describes how she came across her apprenticeship opportunity:

‘I had finished my fifth year of school and was applying for different apprenticeships and college courses and I happened to come across the GTG Training website and immediately loved the idea of spray painting, so I went for it and applied. It was never something I planned on pursuing as a career but I’m very happy that I took the gamble. It’s a great opportunity; very different and unusual.’

Exciting prospects for women

Arnold Clark is proud to offer a variety of roles across all areas of the business, from sales to aftersales, parts, insurance services, rental and office functions such as marketing, human resources and accounts.

Within these roles, there are plenty of opportunities for young women to develop new skills and progress their careers. In fact, Catherine Buchanan thinks the opportunities for career progression are ‘limitless’ provided you ‘work hard and get results’.

Lynne McBurney, Group HR Manager, explains the different methods that the company employs to ensure that all staff are treated equally:

‘The company has a robust equal opportunities policy that ensures that women are as successful within the organisation as their male counterparts. In order to address work-life balance issues women may experience, we are currently rolling out a flexible working policy that allows for additional days off throughout the year, along with flexible start and finish times. On top of this, we consistently monitor our gender pay reporting to ensure our staff are paid correctly for their level of work.’