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Why the Murray Group is a great place to start your career in the automotive industry.
2022 sees local car Dealer Group, Murray Group, celebrate twenty-two years as a key player in the local area. From humble beginnings as a Sponsored Volkswagen Retailer, with 85 people across two sites in Newton Abbot and Plymouth, we have grown over the past two decades to in excess of 240 people across seven sites with eight manufacturers.
Our Brand partners now include Skoda, Trade Parts Specialist and, as a result of an acquisition in December 2021 of the well-respected local dealer group Rodgers of Plymouth, we are now excited to represent Kia, MG and Hyundai across the city too. The Murray Group are numbered in the top 250 automotive businesses in the UK and have been recognised for both individual and team awards across a variety of platforms.
We are immensely proud to represent innovative brands that consistently push the boundaries of technology. We are also immensely proud of the reputation that we have built amongst our loyal customer base and that is entirely down to our people – who make the Murray Group so much more than just a business – they make us a family. It is this incredible culture that sets us apart from our competitors.
The Murray Group employ over 240 people in the local area and offer a variety of different careers for anyone hoping to get started in the automotive industry or ambitious individuals hoping to progress within a supportive, agile business. We believe that training is key to recruiting and retaining the right people and we offer continued professional development opportunities for individuals in roles across the business.
Group HR Manager Keri Brisley says: “I believe 100% that the success of this business is wholly down to the people we employ”. As a business, we are truly committed to recruiting individuals whom we believe will be able to carry out the needs of their role to the best of their abilities – whether they have industry experience or not. We also believe in investing in those people and as a result, we are proud to say that around 40% of our team members have been in post for five years or more.
Keri is just one example of this – having joined the Murray Group as an Administrator back in 2004. Keri undertook several CIPD qualifications and is now Group HR Manager. In an historically male-dominated industry, Keri says of her 18 year career with the Murray Group:
“It is extremely unusual to be able to grow and progress your career as a woman whilst taking the time out to have two children and yet I have done that with the group.”
In fact, Murray Group embrace diversity and are proud of the fact that we have a substantial number of women working in senior management positions across the business – from HR, Finance and Marketing to Aftersales and Parts.
We are passionate about offering apprenticeships to individuals for both technical and non-technical roles across the group, and the possibilities for career development from these beginnings are immense.
We have recently launched our first, bespoke Leadership Training Programme, in conjunction with Martec Training. Six individuals from areas across the business were selected to take part in the first programme, which aims to hone their skills and equip them to become the leaders of the future in their chosen business area. The programme kicked off in late November and our first attendees thoroughly enjoyed the sessions.
Sales Executives Laura and Ross told us:
“Prior to the course starting, we weren’t sure what to expect but the first few sessions have been incredibly interesting. They have made me think about different ways in which I can approach situations and I find I am already putting these into practice in my working life. I’m definitely learning a lot.”
Promoting a healthy work/life balance is of paramount importance and 2022 saw us proactively reviewing the working hours of our technicians. In conjunction with the technician teams, a working pattern was agreed that saw our colleagues undertaking a longer working day for part of the week, which in turn, means that every member of the team is guaranteed a three day weekend every other week.
One of our technicians told us:
“Every other week, I finish work at 4pm on a Thursday and don’t return until 8am on Monday morning. This is against the norm for my role and industry and makes a huge difference to my personal life.”
This scheme, trialled within the Skoda team 12 months ago has been introduced across half of the Murray Group franchises to great success, and will be rolled out to the remaining teams in 2023. Not only are our teams happier and healthier but they are also more productive. Additionally, the longer working hours during the week mean that our Aftersales Services are available for a longer time to our customers too.
From technical roles to admin, finance, service washing, sales and marketing – a career in the automotive industry can be hugely rewarding. A career with the Murray Group , which prides itself on being a high-performance business based on exceptional customer service, can be so much more. We genuinely believe that to succeed, we have to have fantastic people who are prepared to go the extra mile, to treat customers and other staff how they expect to be treated and above all else – people who want to work for a company who have ambitions to be the very best in the South West. Murray Group isn’t just one of those companies who claim to put our people first – we really do.
So, whatever your future ambitions, if you’re looking for a career within an award-winning, family-run business, why not take a look on our website at our current vacancies? If you don’t see the role you’re looking for, don’t worry! We are always on the lookout for ‘Murray People’, so drop us your CV anyway. If you are hardworking, dedicated and have the ability to put customers at the forefront of everything that you do – we want to hear from you.
You never know – 2023 may just be the start of your new career as part of the Murray Group! We are looking forward to hearing from you to begin your new career with an outstanding local employer.
