Nov. 22, 2022—Speaking on a podcast presented by AkzoNobel, President and CEO of DCR Systems Michael Giarrizzo said that while shops are learning to work through challenges posed by supply chain and logistical challenges they're too often ignoring another critical resource: their people.
“People sometimes fear change, and fear doing things differently,” Giarrizzo said on the podcast, “and, they become almost paralyzed. The vast majority of vehicle body repair shops operate in a very similar way, and it may have served the decades of the past well, but it's not going to serve today or the future well at all.”
Giarrizzo joined AkzoNobel Global Key Account Manager Graham Threlfall recently for the company's Automotive Insights Refinish podcast to discuss the need for shops to rethink how they're approaching labor challenges in today's industry. Giarrizzo challenged shop owners to bring their teams on board to keep innovating and identify inefficiencies to help the shop run better. One example Giarrizzo cited was that shops may look at moving away from commission-based pay to bring on board more apprentices or entry-level workers and help ensure the shop's labor force is sustainable.
“Keep challenging the team to come up with more ideas,” Giarrizzo said. “Many of those ideas will be similar, from any team anywhere in the world. But engaging the team in getting the preparation right will reduce waste and redundancies in the system. The body shop will become leaner and more efficient, and customer service will improve.”
