I have been flattered, and humbled, to become the Collision industry Conference (CIC) Chairman for 2021-2022.
For those in the collision industry who aren’t familiar with CIC, you should be. I will provide some brief information as well as some insight into how the meetings have been adjusted to a virtual format during these times of pandemic and restrictions.
The intent of CIC is as follows:
Vision: A collision industry in which all segments work together to enable a complete, safe, and quality repair.
Mission: A forum where collision industry stakeholders come together to discuss issues, enhance understanding, find common ground, and communicate possible solutions.
CIC typically meets four times per year in various locations across our country. It is managed and organized by Jeff and Jordan Hendler, a father-daughter team. Oversight of meeting particulars is controlled by past Chair people. (We’ve had men and women Chairs. For simplification I will simply refer to them as Chairs, to avoid reference to gender.) They select new Chairs and provide a resource for coaching and guidance. They also help during live meetings to make certain order compliance with anti-trust regulations are maintained. It is up to the current CIC Chair to determine what committees there will be, as well as who will be the committee Chairs. The CIC Chair is also responsible to assemble the agenda for each meeting. The past Chairs oversee the performance of the current Chair and have the authority to dismiss (replace) them after one year instead of the typical two-year term. That hasn’t happened yet (And I don’t want to be the first.).
Meetings are designed in a way to accommodate networking — one of the many great attributes of the conference.
There are typically about 10-12 committees. Their individual focus is on topics such as education, talent pool, data access, industry relations, parts, government, emerging technologies, human resources, definitions, etc. Each committee is to meet regularly and provide at least a few presentations each year.
Meetings are attended by all segments of the industry and those in the trade press, and presentations are often described and/or quoted in the various trade press outlets in the weeks after each meeting.
Each meeting includes at least a few opportunities for participants to offer comment or ask questions about industry topics during ‘open mic/Q&A’ times in the agenda.
The last three meetings, including the most recent meeting in January of this year, have been in a virtual format.
Virtual meetings
Virtual meetings have a similar format with a planned agenda, including a series of committee presentations, special presentations, and question and answer (Q&A) open microphone sessions. The meetings have been four hours each day over a two-day period.
Having been the Chairman for the meeting in January, I can speak from experience in terms of some of the unique features of the virtual CIC meeting. Presentations are submitted from each group or individual who is presenting. These are reviewed by a few people, including the CIC Chair, and assembled to be seamless during the day of the event. Each presenter may elect to have some audience survey questions, which is a great engagement for those in attendance.
Our IT person helps critique lighting angles, reflections off glasses, and other areas to make the best of the video format. This is our “behind the curtain” preparation that makes the live meeting run smoothly.
The chairman is responsible to make introductory remarks and to introduce each presentation.
The IT person has an elaborate set of screens and controls. He controls the audience survey questions, the music during the question, and the immediate posting of the results. They also handle some special items inserted into the presentation. For example, in the January meeting we had attendees log into a text message site and submit an attribute word that would be of most value at this time for each of us within our industry. As attendees submit their word, each populated on-screen and as some of the same words are submitted again those become more pronounced. It was very interesting and revealing of the audience’s perspectives. The most popular word submitted for January was “integrity.”
We have what I will refer to as a primary administrator, Jordan Hendler, who oversees virtually all aspects of the presentation. She also has two additional people assisting in oversight on their own monitors. Among her many tasks are activating participants to the level of presenter so that attendees can see their audio and hear their video at the appropriate time without delay. She is quickly and proactively looking through the potentially hundreds of attendees for the presenters in upcoming presentations.
Our whole team uses a special app to message with each other. We monitor the presentations for content and are especially conscious of potential anti-trust issues. If a speaker has an issue or needs some input or assistance, we are ready to jump in as necessary. We are also closely watching the time to stick to our agenda. The Chair has the authority and responsibility to make quick decisions to allow a possibly captivating speaker or presentation to run longer. But then adjustments must be made afterward to get back on schedule. Or if a presenter simply runs too long, we are prepared to jump in vocally to gracefully expedite their presentation. Among myself, the IT person, and our administrative people, we must have exchanged one or two hundred texts during the eight hours of presentation.
Jordan, with assistance from the rest of us, is monitoring the questions and chat features, including giving relevant or related links and documents. There is a choice to be anonymous or not when submitting the inquiries. There is a “raise hand” feature that the attendee can activate to share their audio to ask a question live. Of course, we are all monitoring what they say to be certain that their message is appropriate and relevant, as best we can. Fortunately, virtually all participants are professional and respectful.
Thankfully, we had no glitches during the presentation and the participants had a great experience. I commend those working behind the scenes who worked incredibly fast to make adjustments which cause potential issues unapparent.
CIC received high ratings and compliments for the meeting. Our presenters had terrific content, were polished and professional, and were well versed on their topics. All the preparation certainly paid off.
I hope you found this insight into our virtual CIC interesting. But, of course, we are anxious to go back to a live setting where we can network and enjoy other activities, especially the reception after the meeting.
I look forward to seeing you there!