Canada's Top 100 Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 62
62
( 2025 )
SPONSOR CONTENT
UAP Inc. invests in quality of life for its people
W
orking for a leader
in the country’s
automotive industry,
Kinnon Shaw gets her
pick of rewarding projects. Her latest
– coordinating the construction and
opening of a new Ontario-based
distribution centre and office for
UAP Inc. – proved to be both a
professional milestone and the
perfect alignment of her personal
and professional principles.
“The company values investing in
their people and encouraging growth
in their people. These are values that
are very much in line with mine,”
says Shaw, a project coordinator with
UAP.
“We are deliberate about
growing a positive culture for
our team.”
— Caroline Tremblay
Senior Vice-President, People,
Culture and Communication
Canada’s leading distributor and
merchandiser of automotive parts
and replacement accessories for
cars and heavy vehicles, UAP is
best known for its NAPA Auto Parts
brand. Founded in Montréal in 1926,
UAP is now a subsidiary of Genuine
Parts Company (GPC), a leading
global service provider of automotive
and industrial parts.
When the new distribution facility opened in Mississauga, Ont., in
mid-July, Shaw knew that the bigger,
brighter space would provide the
company with more than just a larger warehouse to allow it to distribute
truck parts to stores across Ontario.
“The company invested in a better
office space for its employees. It
improves their quality of life at
work,” says Shaw, who works in
UAP’s new head office in Montréal,
which opened last April.
Since Shaw joined the company
10 years ago, UAP has encouraged
her to grow professionally and take
on projects of increasing scale. She
manages everything from plans to
budgets on building projects, as well
as business acquisitions.
When Shaw needed more
management training, the company
paid for her to take a course offered
through McGill University. Last
year, she participated in UAP’s Lead
Program which brought together
talented people from across the
country to receive in-depth leadership skills development.
“Through programs UAP has
offered, I have met more people
throughout the company and
learned more about how it operates.
I’ve been able to leverage that
learning in the projects I’ve worked
on,” she says.
Empowering team members is
one of the company’s key corporate
values, says Caroline Tremblay,
senior vice-president, people, culture
and communication. One important
way executives do that, she adds, is
by listening to their people.
When an employee engagement
survey revealed that they wanted
more help defining their career
paths, the company responded by
creating a permanent career coach
position. Now, when a manager
wants to better guide a team member’s career progression, or someone
needs a hand preparing for an
internal job interview, they can call
on the coach to assist. The company
also recently created a certified
Employees at UAP are given the flexibility and support they need to
flourish in their careers.
mentorship program for women
across the country.
“It is all about supporting employees and their growth,” Tremblay says.
“We’ve seen more internal mobility
within UAP. It is good to attract
talent, but it is better to retain it.
There are so many opportunities
within the company.”
Promoting employee health is
another key priority. The company
started offering online mental health
training for new hires, as well as
leaders, and provides generous
employee benefits. “We are deliberate about growing a positive culture
$
1,000
mental health practitioner benefit
for our team,” says Tremblay. “We
are forward-thinking. We never sit
back in our seats.”
Aside from her career development, Shaw is grateful to her
employer for the personal support
she receives. As a mother of two
young children, her manager gives
her flexibility within her schedule
to allow her to accommodate her
family’s needs and to work from
home three days a week.
“UAP cares about its employees
and it cares about the communities
they work in across Canada,” says
Shaw. ¢
$
5,000
(up to) referral bonus
