Not ‘Just’ Any Awards Night!
7th March 2012
There were celebrations on Friday (2nd March) as Just Car Clinics triumphed at the Goole and Howdenshire Business Excellence Awards taking away two top awards.
The company was delighted to receive the Learning and Development award for their dedicated training programmes and work with apprentices but were surprised and thrilled to also take away the prize for Overall Business of the Year. The company’s enthusiasm made them runaway winners for the award, which was chosen by the judges from all category winners.
Chief Executive, Barry Whittles said: “As a business we place a real focus on our learning and development and having this commitment recognized was fantastic and to get the additional award of Overall Business of the Year was the icing on the cake!”
Since moving to their dedicated Training and Support Centre in 2005 all of Just Car Clinics 24 sites have achieved the British Standard Kitemark. Alongside this achievement the company committed to assessing their team against a recognised industry standard and all sites now exceed the PAS125 requirement with one in four technicians being Automotive Technician Accreditation (ATA) assessed. Alongside training their own team the company responded to a skills shortage in the industry by launching their very own apprentice programme in 2009 which will see 10 apprentices complete their training in June 2012.
HR/Training Manager, Dawn Swales Said: “In a struggling economic climate we continue to invest within the team and remain committed to learning and development to enhance team member skills. It was a great night for everyone involved and fantastic to have our work recognised with an award. ”
Now in its second year, Goole and Howdenshire Business Excellence Awards recognises and celebrates business excellence in Goole and the surrounding area. The 2012 awards ceremony and gala dinner took place at Goole Academy Conference Centre. The awards were presented to the Just Car Clinics team by the BBC’s Harry Gration.
October 2011 – New Appointment
Malcolm Banner has recently been appointed as Commercial Director for National Accident Repair Group. ABP’s Mark Bull caught up with Malcolm for an exclusive interview to explore why he joined and what lies ahead for National ...
How are you settling in to your new role? Good thank you. A considerable amount of work has already been completed setting up National over the last 18 months and all the necessary infrastructure is in place to enable the business to simply develop further.
What prompted you to leave Nationwide and join National? With National poised to gain market share it provides me with an opportunity to utilise all of my previous experience and expertise developing National further. This is the first senior appointment made by National and a great opportunity for myself.
What do you want to achieve in your first 100 days in the job? I’ll be meeting with all of the members that make up the network and introducing myself to the existing customer base. I’ll also want to familiarise myself with the systems and processes already in place.
How does National differentiate itself from other Bodyshop networks? National provides Bodyshop coverage across the whole of the UK including some of the most remote areas of Scotland and Wales and also has repair facilities in Northern Ireland. It is unique in providing such extensive coverage by repair groups which understand the needs and culture of the local community.
How many members do National have? What is your upper ceiling ? National currently has 9 members supported by a number of associate members, with UK coverage already achieved I do not see the need for any further members at this point in time.
Why was National originally set-up? What was/is the need? With the reduction in repair volumes and consolidation of Insurance repairer networks National provides both insurance and fleet customers with diversity in deploying and managing repairs and produce bespoke data.
Do any of National’s members belong to other Bodyshop networks? Many of the group members have selected Bodyshops that hold manufacturer approvals.
How do you provide group-level management information? With deployment controlled centrally all repair opportunities are recorded on ActiveWeb, which has electronic links to members management systems, enabling consolidated reporting of job status and performance against SLA’s and KPI’s.
How are decisions made within National? How do you consult with your members? Day to day decisions are taken by the National management team with strategy being determined by the board. Regular member meetings give all members the opportunity to contribute to the strategy and provide individual feedback.
How does a Bodyshop become a member of National? Membership is by invitation, with potential members being carefully vetted on both capability and financial stability.
Explain your audit / ongoing audit process All members have contractual obligations which are monitored centrally. SLA and KPI compliance is audited via ActiveWeb reporting. All members are visited frequently by National management and with sites Kitemark accredited comfort is gained from the regular audits that occur with the Kitemark.
What has been the response from insurers and accident managers to your proposition to date? The proposition has been received well by both and it is feedback from these types of customers that has helped shape National to offer a ‘one stop shop’ for repairs, aiding cost reduction and improving the customer experience. The ability to cater for individual customer needs is a key benefit of National’s offer, this is well received by current clients.
What is National’s view of PAS125 Kitemark? National supports the PAS125 Kitemark and takes comfort from the high standards required to maintain accreditation by its members.
Has National won any national repair contracts, or are you concentrating on setting the network up first and foremost? With full UK coverage already in place by the existing membership National has already won repair contracts with both insurers and fleets. A central call centre is well established giving customers one point of contact and enabling repairs to be cascaded to the most appropriate repairer.
National was set up in December 2009, what would you say it has achieved to date? Importantly UK coverage has been achieved by a membership that is made up from well respected groups who already deliver professionalism, integrity and high standards of vehicle repair. Additionally, with streamlined procedures well established National is already achieving its objectives.
What is the overall objective of National? Simply to provide high quality repairs and customer service throughout the UK and at the same time reduce or remove cost normally associated with traditional Bodyshop models.
How is National funded? – is it solely from members, or partially supplier funded? Currently National derives income mainly from members.
Is National involved in group procurement? This is under consideration by the board which will no doubt be influenced by members.
Do you have any plans to recruit further staff during the remainder of 2011? Yes, recruitment is currently underway to strengthen our call centre team with further appointments planned as National grows.
Why hasn’t National implemented the National brand across the Network? National is an umbrella company made up from strong regional groups providing local care, supported by national coverage. We believe this is the most cost effective way in creating an effective network of UK Bodyshops.
Do you foresee National becoming a retail (direct to consumer) brand, or is the main focus on B2B? I believe the main focus will remain as B2B but it’s natural for the business to develop various work streams which may well include retail.
How does National view and manage social media? Do you use social media to promote the brand? Yes, we actively promote and manage social media; our website demonstrates this.
How would you like National to be positioned after your first 12 months and in three years’ time? National is already an established and respected business, with widespread appeal and clear goals. Therefore, we simply need to achieve the business plan objectives, both this year and in the coming years and make National the natural choice for body repair solutions.
www.abpclub.com Auto Body Professional AUTUMN 2011
National Accident Repair Group win new contracts!
July 27, 2010
For immediate release
National Accident Repair Group has secured another two new repair contracts and will be shortly announcing a third. The group will now be carrying out all repair work for SITA, the national waste management company based in Maidenhead, and Commercial Legal in Sheffield.
Ruth Symondson, from SITA said, “National Accident Repair Group have been able to recognise and support our needs, and we are impressed with the service and performance we have received so far from members of the Group.
Jon Parker of Commercial Legal commented, “As our business continues to grow we recognised the need to have the support of a national repair network. Following on from our early discussions with National we felt they were indeed the best provider to meet our business requirements and that of our clients. We wish National Accident Repair Group every success and look forward to a long term relationship.
Commenting on behalf of National , Mike Monaghan said, “We are delighted to have secured these two contracts at such an early stage in the group’s development. Our ability to provide bespoke solutions for clients on a national basis is already proving to be a positive element of our business proposition.’
Note to editors:
National Accident Repair Group comprises the most prestigious names in the UK body repair market, including Howard Basford, Just Car Clinic and Seward, to provide a credible, country-wide repair solution. All sites are Thatcham / BSI Kitemark accredited and provide high levels of transparency through IT systems on key performance and service standards. Each member will continue to work independently with their existing clients but ‘National’ allows regional group members to also offer a national solution. The nine companies that form ‘National’ cover the majority of the UK, with a few invited sub contractor partners in the more remote parts of the country. There are 1500 staff operating from 70 sites and the collective turnover of the member businesses is around £150m.
National Repair Group to transform UK repair market.
National Accident Repair Group
We are pleased to announce the formation of a new accident repair organisation, National Accident Repair Group.
During the last two and a half years the formation and development of this business model has now come to fruition. The structure, protocols and working application has been pivotal to its foundation. The people involved and their commitment to delivering a truly new dimension of a “National” network in accident repair has arrived.
The new accident repair solution has been formed by the most prestigious names in the UK body repair market. The aim of National Accident Repair Group is to provide a simple focal point for the repair needs of any organisation with national or regional accident repair requirements.
All sites will be Thatcham / BSI Kitemark accredited and provides high levels of transparency through IT systems on their key performance and service standards.
Commenting on the new group, Barry Whittles of Just Car Clinics said ”we are delighted that it has been possible to bring together some of the most respected organisations in our industry in this exciting way. Each member will continue to work independently with their existing clients but ‘National’ allows our regional group members to also offer a country-wide solution that will be appealing to many corporate clients, especially those with limited network management resources. Our policy for transparency will allow trust and integrity to be a hallmark of what we do”.
Tracy Howard of Howard Basford clarified that ”National was simply about providing a focussed, high quality repair solution. The organisation was keen not to stray into procurement agendas or even claims management services. We like the simplicity of the business model which says we are first and foremost about repairing vehicles. With quality and service featuring highly in our proposition, other business support activities, such as FNOL and claims, would only be considered necessary where the client has no current provider. This allows the effective option for any current corporate business to gain access to the ‘National’ network utilising their own current provider”.
The nine companies that form ‘National’ cover the majority of the UK, with a few invited sub contractor partners in the more remote parts of the UK. There are 1500 staff operating from 70 sites and the collective turnover of the member businesses is around £150m.
From the south of the country, Ian Clark of Seward Group said that “the market clearly has a gap for a national repair focused operator that is high on integrity and without undue complexity. We want to use our significant resource and creativity to improve the customer proposition and develop unique market solutions. ‘National’ is a very positive initiative for the accident repair industry and we are proud of bringing this offer to the market”.
