Ongoing and effective training are the keys to success in our ever-changing industry.

The leadership team at Simplicity Car Care strongly believes in constant improvement and training, not only for their franchisees, but for the collision repair industry as a whole.

“As vehicles and repairs become more complex, we need to share the cumulative experience of the Simplicity Operations Team with both the shops and their people,” says Ken Chung, Vice President of Operational Excellence and Technology at Simplicity Car Care.

Making time for training is a must in this fast-paced and ever-changing industry. That’s why Domenic Prochilo, COO of Simplicity Car Care urges shops not to neglect the ongoing training of their people because it’s important. “Training and development of our people are paramount,” he adds. “Because of the turbulence in our industry, we have to focus on making our people better today than they were yesterday.”

A three-pronged approach

Simplicity Car Care has embraced a three-pronged approach to training. The first prong is regional training, which takes place on a quarterly basis. “We take the staff out of their shops, we incubate them in a conference room at a local hotel, and we drive home teachings on the three biggest issues facing the industry,” Prochilo says. “These include profitability, how to provide carbon neutral repairs, how to better manage the repair process, and estimate training.”

The second prong is in-person and on-site training, which Simplicity Car Care adjusts to cater to the needs of each individual franchisee and their staff. “If we’re training a shop owner who just joined Simplicity, we provide a comprehensive program that includes shop management, insurance guidelines, the Simplicity repair process, and much more,” Chung explains.

The length of the in-person training program varies—from a couple of weeks to a few months—depending on the needs of each franchisee. “We focus on the gaps in knowledge and the needs of the individual shop owner and their staff,” Chung adds. “This is very targeted training, and it’s very hands-on. It’s more involved than a simple in-class experience.”

The third and final prong of Simplicity Car Care’s comprehensive training program is business management, which Prochilo describes as, “a deep dive into the numbers and the financials,” of a collision centre.

“We start off with the basics, explaining what their gross margins should be when looking at labour, parts, material and sublet,” Prochilo adds. “We also teach them what they should expect from their profit and loss statement, what kind of deviations are acceptable, and how to manage their shops, based on those numbers. We then look at effective employee evaluations, and so much more.”

Simplicity Car Care is serious about training, and provides all three levels of education at no cost to their franchisees. “Our goal is to make car care simple and affordable for every vehicle owner in the world,” Prochilo concludes. “But before we can talk about the entire world, we have to make sure we’re doing it right here at home. And teaching our people how to be better today than they were yesterday is how we’re going to make our vision a reality.”