by Olivia Dillon | Dec 11, 2023 | Harmonic Motion Podcast
Tina Drayson, Operations Manager at CCM, joins James as they discuss all things garage business management.
CCM is an award-winning group of garages located in the South East of England. With her background in data statistics, Tina started at the company in accounting and bookkeeping. Her role at CCM expanded organically over the years until she reached the pinnacle – co-ownership. Now, Tina is the Operations Manager for all branches of the company.
James and Tina share invaluable tips about people management to navigating the financial landscape, they delve into decision-making dilemmas and the essence of effective leadership.
by james dillon | May 12, 2023 | Harmonic Motion Podcast
James and Jennifer discuss a wide range of subjects relating to people, training, team building and things related to automotive garage business.
We discuss the technician crisis, high performance and it’s causes, people as individuals and as part of work teams, training and the reasons why and why not and how to succeed in managing people.
Jennifer Webb, owner of HR Vitals, and full time consultant providing employment support to the automotive industry since 2018. 16 years ago – Jen went to Leeds and studied human psychology full time for four years at Uni, focusing on what facilitates positive change in people and groups.
Her CV covers a mix of jobs from Segway instructor, Zoo Keeper, Support Worker, Service Advisor and HR for different companies.
Jen believes the automotive industry is on the verge of an impressive breakthrough that will be of benefit to the owners, and the employees. These benefits are down to the shift in people management, and you can already see these benefits happening.
Episode Time Stamps
- Introduction to today’s episode. 0:07
- Introduction of jennifer from hr vitals.
- A big element to running a successful business.
- Making sure people are happy at work.
- Four years of studying psychology in university.
- What is the difference between what life is like now and where you want it to be? 3:19
- How mark got started in the automotive industry.
- The importance of people-watching.
- How to get the most out of the team.
- Aftermarket independent garages are booming.
- Working with business owners as a consultant. 6:43
- Engaging with a business owner as a consultant.
- The legal aspect of compliance.
- Challenges faced by business owners and operators.
- The benefits of having an expert on hand.
- The different types of garage owners.
- The person who likes the process.
- How colour profiling can help you understand your team’s needs. 14:26
- Three people are equal to more than just three people.
- The benefit in teamwork.
- What colour profiling is and how it works.
- How colour profiling works for teams.
- The importance of paying attention to someone’s learning preferences. 18:24
- Pay attention to someone’s learning preferences.
- Neuro linguistic programming, NLP, visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning.
- Tapping into the learning style of the recipient.
- Awareness levels in garages.
- The percentage of people that believe understanding the person is a huge factor to business success is low. 24:33
- Understanding the person is a huge factor to business success.
- An easy win for garages.
- Professional vs. organic business growth. 27:10
- The three routes out of a garage.
- Professional to organically grown businesses.
- The key word of psychology is people.
- The safe zone to operate in.
- Information is the same as light.
- Employees need to have information on everything.
- When we’re at work that it sits in your stomach, doesn’t it? 33:29
- Easing the frustration of being interrupted at work.
- Initiative fatigue and communication is important.
- One-to-one meetings are the golden ticket. 36:04
- One-to-one meetings are the golden ticket.
- The first six months are about trust.
- The first step to improving team health.
- Methodology for a health check.
- Building trust and checking in with staff.
- Awareness and being aware is important.
- One-to-one communication is the most important thing you can give to your team. 43:14
- The one-to-one conversation is the most important thing.
- Gentle changes make the process smoother.
- The importance of one-to-one communication with the team.
- How to become a problem solver.
- What’s causing the technician crisis? 47:17
- The technician crisis in garages around the country.
- Why there is a technician crisis.
- Mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Looking at a car most of the day.
- The importance of flexibility in the industry.
- The future of the industry is exciting.
- What’s the competitive advantage in competition? 53:40
- Competing in a competitive garage.
- Mental fortitude and self-care during the process.
- Internal pressure to work with second-rate equipment.
- How to check in with the team.
- The importance of knowing the type of person that is motivated by money and the pressure. 56:51
- Recruitment methods and recruitment methods.
- The importance of understanding the motivation of staff.
- The potential for all of these businesses.
- Tips for self-care and mental health.
- The role of the body in psychology.
- Stress, anxiety and stress in the body.
- When we’re depressed, the last thing we want to do is healthy stuff. 1:03:17
- Stress and depression, and how it affects the body.
- How to manage stress.
- The importance of self-care as part of a healthy life. 1:05:59
- Mental stress is overtaken by physical stress.
- The importance of self-care in a healthy life.
- Training needs analysis and training for teams and training in teams.
- Identifying and working a plan.
- Is this person motivated by learning? Are they someone that just loves to learn? 1:10:27
- What to look for in an ideal candidate for a training.
- Three questions to ask.
- What are you hoping to get from the course? What is it that you are not doing? 1:13:37
- The legal aspect of training.
- The importance of getting the right return on investment.
- The importance of a training plan.
- The perfect storm of training plans.
- Tapping into the learning style of the person.
- The butterfly effect.
- Leadership is the captain of the ship -. 1:21:23
- Self-awareness and finding an appropriate place to learn.
- Leadership and role models.
- The need for a British automotive social
- The eighth unhappy customer this week.
- If the customers aren’t happy, it’s not balanced at all. 1:25:05
- Self-care is just as important as customer satisfaction.
- The importance of self-care in the workplace.
- President of the automotive social club, Jennifer.
- Two wishes for this week.
Watch the video version of this episode and subscribe to the Harmonic Motion YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/ku_9TOqQelA
Get involved in the podcast and be the first to know about new episodes by joining the Harmonic Motion podcast Facebook group:
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Join the mailing list:
https://techtopics.co.uk/mailing-list/
Watch other episodes:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theharmonicmotionpodcast
Connect with us:
Website: https://techtopics.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/technical.topics.training/
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/technical-topics-ltd
Harmonic Motion Podcast Episode 6: Jennifer Webb HR Vitals
by james dillon | Mar 29, 2023 | Harmonic Motion Podcast
In this episode of the Harmonic Motion Podcast, James Dillon is discussing the garage business with multi-award winning garage owner Mick Shaikly. James and Mick discuss the origins of the Shaikly Motor Group which has its base near Colchester, in the UK.
Mick’s expertise in running a great garage business is supported by him winning large and multi-site garage categories last year. Topping the tables at both the Independent Garage Associations awards and Aftermarket Magazines Top Garage Competition, is testament to Mr Shaikly’s knowledge and the culture he engenders within Team Shaikly to be the best they can be.
As the conversation unfolds you’ll discover some real gems regarding the business of fixing cars.
Time Stamps:
Harmonic Motion Podcast Introduction. 0:07
What did the Garage look like in its early stages? 2:08
The most difficult decision made in his business. 8:07
Who controls the repair and who controls the repair business? 11.29
How do you lift your successful model from site A to site B? Were there any learnings along the journey? 17:49
The importance of redundancy of the system data. 24:06
Mick’s thoughts on being a business owner. 26:50
What is the technician shortage and how do you solve it? 34:oo
What are the pros and cons of having family members in the business? 40:03
How do you handle the demarcation zone of being at home? 42:15
Why you need to focus on the training levels and the customer experience? 47:20
It’s not about having the shiny sign outside the door, it’s about having a passion. 53:43
What’s the future looking like? 57:26
Three tips for a budding mechanic looking to start their own business business. 1:03
Watch the video version of this episode and subscribe to the Harmonic Motion YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/MnxuLCrcfxw
Get involved in the podcast and be the first to know about new episodes by joining the Harmonic Motion podcast Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/549573740317836/
Join the mailing list:
https://techtopics.co.uk/mailing-list/
Watch:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/harmonic-motion/id1665148277
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3SzEMN08BU7wCSdB3xkXkH?si=4cdcbdc8ba704274
Amazon: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/364bf8fa-82b5-43e5-b227-ad9eb99e8fd3/harmonic-motion
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theharmonicmotionpodcast
Connect with us:
Website: https://techtopics.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/technical.topics.training/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/techtopics
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/technical-topics-ltd
by Olivia Dillon | Mar 20, 2023 | Harmonic Motion Podcast
In this episode of the Harmonic Motion podcast, James Dillon is discussing the Top Garage competition with current judges Ian Gilgrass and Glenn Cutter.
Listen as they provide invaluable tips for garage owners on entering and being successful in the competition as well as advice surrounding training, marketing, succession, and business skills.
Top Garage launched, is designed to highlight the UK’s best garages and reward their efforts. In 2022, Top Service Advisor category was introduced as an award which forms an added element to the Top Garage competition, combining online questions and mystery shops in the hopes to seek our Top Service Advisor for the year.
For those workshops that take part in Top Garage, the benefits are two-fold. Working through the online element of the competition, and then taking part in Top Garage’s finals where garages face the judges can help them focus on what they are good at, and where the business needs improvement.
Garages which make it to the finals receive recognition, which they can use in their marketing locally, giving the garage that much-needed edge over local competition. Taking part in Top Garage, or even better winning, can provide a unique selling point that is hard to match.
https://www.aftermarketonline.net/news/fullstory.php/aid/7570/Top_Garage_2023.html
Watch the video version of this episode and subscribe to the Harmonic Motion YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/MnxuLCrcfxw
Get involved in the podcast and be the first to know about new episodes by joining the Harmonic Motion podcast Facebook group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/549573740317836/
Join the mailing list:
https://techtopics.co.uk/mailing-list/
Watch:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/harmonic-motion/id1665148277
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3SzEMN08BU7wCSdB3xkXkH?si=4cdcbdc8ba704274
Amazon: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/364bf8fa-82b5-43e5-b227-ad9eb99e8fd3/harmonic-motion
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theharmonicmotionpodcast
Connect with us:
Website: https://techtopics.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/technical.topics.training/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tthq_techtopics/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/techtopics
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/technical-topics-ltd
