Alliance RV Prioritizes Values-Driven Leadership & a Strong Employee-Centered Culture
Five years after launching, Alliance RV has grown by staying true to its mission — “Do the right thing” — with a focus on core values, employee retention and lasting partnerships.
Flash back to 2019 — just as Alliance Recreational Vehicles was beginning its journey as a new RV manufacturer in Elkhart, Indiana. Twelve of the company’s top leaders, including co-founders Coley and Ryan Brady, met for two days to hammer out a mission statement and a set of core values.
“There was a lot of back-and-forth and ideas we shared,” Coley says. “This was before we even built our first RV — I’m talking ground zero.
“The mission statement for everybody was fairly straightforward, fairly simple. It’s something that everybody can follow on our team, and we’re up to almost 900 team members now.”
That mission statement?
one of Alliance RV’s co-founders
Do the right thing.
“It’s do the right thing when it comes to trying to deliver the most exceptional product that we can build,” Coley says. “It’s do the right thing in how we treat others in the company. And those things play over into many different facets of our life and, in many ways, as we go about our day-to-day business.”
Core Values That Guide Alliance’s Workforce & Leadership
Alliance RV sits on 147 acres in Elkhart, and the company goal is to form “long-term alliances with our family of product owners and dealer partners.”
Coley and his brother Ryan grew up around the RV industry, inspired by their father’s work. Eventually Coley, Ryan and their father, Brian, worked together at Heartland for a time period. Then in 2019, the brothers set off to create Alliance. One of their first tasks was to look for leaders that shared the Bradys’ ethos.
“We were really culture-minded. We obviously needed strong leadership skills,” Coley says. “But you want to attract good people to the team — generally good people that treat others as they want to be treated. That’s a very key thing for us as far as fitting into our culture — being likeable and working well with others. I think that’s very important.
“And we want our team to work freely, be empowered and [not] be afraid of making a mistake because they do happen. It’s how you learn from those mistakes and continue to get better.”
Attracting & Retaining Top Manufacturing Talent
Employees who are willing to embrace Alliance’s core values is another thing the company leaders are looking for, and those values are communicated to employees in different ways. Through notice boards posted in every manufacturing plant and at regular quarterly meetings and internal emails, those core values are at the heart of the company’s messages, and Coley says he believes this contributes to the company’s low turnover rate.
“We’ve got a number of people that have been here for a very long time, and we’ve only been in existence for just over five years. When we bring a new [employee] on board, we’re able to communicate that mission statement and core values — in fact, it’s in our orientation room,” Coley says.
Customers and owners can see these values manifested in the quality of their products, Coley says.
“It speaks for itself when you see the response from dealers and the end consumer,” he says.
Employees are empowered to speak up when something doesn’t seem right, Coley says, and that attention to quality resonates with customers and dealer partners.
“If an end consumer has a problem, we have a team of people here that is willing and ready to answer any questions the consumer might have,” the co-founder says. “Whether it’s troubleshooting a question they might have, a problem they’re encountering or if it’s trying to file a warranty claim or find a mobile service tech, we’re very forward-facing to the end consumer to help in any way.
“If we can take care of our consumer, that word of mouth is very quick to travel in the campgrounds.”
Alliance’s owner group has approximately 32,000 members, and their products are featured at 240 dealerships in the United States and Canada.
Coley says being part of a winning team is attractive to the company’s employees, and helpful with recruiting new team members.
“It’s pretty clear based on what we’re doing and the numbers that we’re producing that we’re growing and thriving and grabbing market share,” Coley says.
In addition, having a good compensation and benefits package is appealing. Additional recognitions, such as the $5,000 bonus the company awards once an employee has five years with Alliance, helps show employees they are valued.
“I think rewarding longevity is really important for us because, like we mentioned, they help drive our culture,” Coley says. “They have knowledge — the tribal knowledge — of how these RVs are put together. They know the quality standards we’re looking for. I think when you have less turnover, ultimately you deliver a better product.
“But you have to create a great environment. That’s one of the things we’ve done very well here at Alliance.”
Part of Alliance having a happy workforce, Coley believes, is attributed to having an enjoyable work setting.
“Almost all of our buildings are brand-new — high ceilings, LED lighting, nice bathrooms and nice break spaces,” he says.
It’s important to put their team into an environment that’s primed to help them succeed, he says.
“Then the culture’s there, [and it’s] flowing.”
This infrastructure has helped Alliance attract a younger workforce — Coley says the average age is close to 30.
Investing in Employee Growth
Post-purchase support for their end consumers is something Alliance prides themselves on, and keeping trained technicians up to date on what they need to know is part of that equation.
Coley says around 30 people at Alliance have been trained at the RV Technical Institute, just 2 miles down the road from the company’s headquarters.
“Especially if you have a younger, newer person in the RV industry, it’s a very good education for them,” he says. If an employee expresses interest in receiving the technical training, Alliance will try to provide the ability for them to go, Coley says.
Coley says he hopes Alliance’s workforce and company culture helps communicate to their consumers and dealer partners that they are dedicated to producing “an exceptional product and exceptional service.”
“The RV manufacturing space is very competitive; there’s a lot of options,” Coley says. “We realize that, and our culture and core values and team try to display to both the dealer and the end consumer that, one, we’re humble, and [two], we’re also very hungry to earn their business.”
Brenda Arms, Alliance RV’s director of parts operations, was one of RV PRO’s 2025 Women in Business honorees. Read her profile here.
