Ensure training ROI by implementing a learning culture

Peevy, Senior Director of Field Operations and Segment Development with I-CAR, spoke to attendees of the 2014 CARSTAR National Conference in Puerto Rico, June 21-24, about the importance of training and a learning culture in the shop to the overall success of the business.

Peevy’s message transcends I-CAR—he has a genuine passion for the collision repair industry. “I’m an observer of the industry, and driven by a passion for it.”

Peevy presented the findings of an I-CAR study that began in 2011. When the study began, almost 100 shops were involved in various stages. It was whittled down to 28 shops, who, during the course of research, maintained existing equipment, software, paint systems and processes.

“These are collision repair shops in operation who had people quit, who had hail storms. This is real life,” Peevy says.

The study metrics evaluated the impact of ongoing training by looking at cycle time, touch time, CSI score and supplement frequency. Shop KPIs were tracked during the study and after.

All shops saw improved communications from estimators, non-structural technicians and structural technicians. I-CAR did not see much difference in the performance of refinish technicians, which Peevy attributed to the strong culture of training already in place that is driven by the paint companies.

All participating shops saw improvements in cycle time, touch time, CSI and supplement frequency. “We saw employee satisfaction increase, employee turnover decrease and an 80 percent reduction in rework and come-backs,” Peevy says.

However, improvements were strongly impacted by their regard of training and the culture followed in their business.

The shops were divided into three groups — the first group employed what I-CAR deemed a learning culture — the shop owner and technicians saw training as valuable and an opportunity to improve. The second group was knowledge neutral; they could take or leave training. The third group saw training as simply a requirement and often a waste of time.

The group that employed a learning culture not only saw much larger metrics improvements than the other two groups, but for every dollar spent on training, they increased shop revenue by $36. Group 3, who saw training as a requirement, saw no increase in revenue.

“They found a way to spend money on training and get almost nothing out of it,” Peevy says.

I-CAR deemed a learning culture maximized the return of investment on training. Likewise, effectively managing your employees’ knowledge and keeping training ongoing reduced the amount of time that must be spent on training.

To implement a learning culture, shop owners must believe that knowledge is a company asset and provides a competitive edge; and this attitude needs to be shared by staff. A pay structure should be in place that encourages knowledge sharing and recognizes knowledge as a key element impacting performance.

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