Southfield's Credit Acceptance Corporation says 'remote-first' culture adds value

The leadership at Southfield-based Credit Acceptance Corporation, the No. 2 large company in the 2023 Michigan Top Workplaces competition, says challenging times have actually provided Credit Acceptance opportunities for innovations that have benefited the company and team members.

“Over 20 years, we have had a Great Recession, wars and a global pandemic,” stated Kenneth Booth, CEO of the company that offers financing programs that enable participating automobile dealers to sell vehicles to consumers regardless of the purchaser’s credit history. “Unfortunately, there is always something traumatic going on. But generally, an opportunity is created.

“In recent times, the opportunity was this remote-first culture we have moved to, and I think it has created a competitive advantage for us. We now have a bigger pool of talent that we can attract in areas like marketing, product, and engineering. As a former CFO, I have poured through all the data and I can’t find any area where productivity has gone down; if anything it has gotten better. It also frees people’s time up. It gives our team members the flexibility that they want, and I think they value that. And because they value that, they put that much more into the company.”

As more work is being performed remotely at Credit Acceptance, the leadership says a strong, conscious effort is being made to maintain the company’s culture.   

“We had a really strong culture going into the pandemic, and because of that, it’s been front of mind the entire time,” said Wendy Rummler, chief people officer at Credit Acceptance. “If culture wasn’t a constant high priority, I don’t think it (remote-first culture) would work as well. But because we know how important maintaining our culture is to our overall success, we have invested in new events to bring people together in a meaningful way and we repeatedly communicate the company's purpose, goals and foundational values.

“One new event that we recently had in the Detroit area was our Support Operations and Alignment Retreat (SOAR) and it was a combination of collaboration, fun, team building and learning new skills.  It’s important that we invest in activities like that, along with our community service, and when new people participate, they really get a taste of who we are.”

Credit Acceptance Corp.  

Industry: Finance 

Top leadership: Ken Booth, CEO 

Location: Southfield 

Michigan Employees: 2,237 

Website: creditacceptance.com