In this year’s survey, our fourth, 33 percent of respondents representing shops of various sizes spanning the country said they do not keep tabs on KPIs. That’s on par with what we’ve seen in all of our previous surveys, and the reasons are the same—time constraints, lack of knowledge or awareness of the importance, or the perception that only DRP shops need to know their numbers.
It’s alarming, as I’m not sure how any business in any industry can possibly perform at its peak and expect to grow if its leadership collects no data to show how the operation is performing, even at the most basic level. In the increasingly competitive and complex collision repair industry, having no grasp on profit margins, average repair order, closing ratio, cycle time, and other fundamental indicators of performance allows zero opportunity to improve—to win. A shop that does not track KPIs will find it increasingly difficult to survive and impossible to thrive.
This year’s survey shows once again that the shops that track KPIs tend to be in the top tier of the industry. They are consistently the highest grossing shops and I don’t think that’s at all by chance.
These businesses know where they are excelling, where they need improvement, and they can make adjustments accordingly. As one survey respondent that tracks said, “If you’re not tracking these, you’re not accomplishing anything.”
Find this year’s survey report and take a moment to compare your operation. See where you stand against this snapshot of the industry. And if you’re not sure because you don’t track, it’s a great time to get started.
Jake Weyer, editor
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