Plan Insurance Brokers were very proud to be a co-sponsor of the Auto Body Professional Club’s recent Night of Knight Conference & Awards. Over 550 delegates attended Resorts World in Birmingham for the annual event that took place on the 15th November 2017.
Conference Highlights
This year, there was a particularly strong emphasis on development as the conference marked the launch of the ABP Club’s training hub, “The Driving Seat.” Attendees were introduced to the three consultancies: Automotivate, Business Success Global and Peritus Learning who will form the hub. The ABP Club have worked with these providers to develop the three distinct offerings as training was identified as the biggest challenge faced by the industry in their annual survey of members.
Each company presented their unique offering for the trade and covered a wide variety of training options, suitable for employees at all levels within the industry, from apprentices to business leaders. They were all in agreement that training will be vital to the future of any successful repair business for the following reasons:
- It is an opportunity to reinforce the company’s values to employees.
- It provides drive and motivation that will translate into customer satisfaction.
- It is growing ever more important when you consider the skills gap emerging with the increasing technicality of vehicles.
Training has evolved. It is no longer a case of simply showing people what to do, but also the who, why and where. The recipients must understand why they are doing what they’re doing. Both the individual and business must understand the purpose of training. What will the course achieve for your operation? Training must be ongoing. Only with practice and repetition will something become a learned skill.
Training should be seen as an investment, not a cost. Learning can save time and money by avoiding a slow, costly trial an error approach. Both leaders and team members can acquire the tools and perspective to overcome obstacles.
A number of free training taster sessions are taking place for members. For more information members should visit the ABP Club website.
In addition to the launch of “The Driving Seat” training hub, there were eye opening presentations by Tractable on how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will revolutionise the motor loss adjusting process. A jaw dropping demonstration of the technology was given – whereby an algorithm assessed the cost of repair for a damaged vehicle and ordered the required parts within a second.
David Luehr, author of “The Secrets of America’s Greatest Bodyshops”, talked the audience through some of his experiences from across the Atlantic and also revealed his 6 tips for success. There was also an eye opening presentation by Thatcham’s representatives Dean Lander and Colin Grover on the impact of ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) on crashes and reparability.
As the ABP Club’s recommended insurance supplier, Plan were given the opportunity to highlight the benefit of Plan’s services to the club’s members. MD Grant Georgiades took the stage to do so and found the day to be very valuable:
“It’s great to be involved with such a forward thinking event. The presentations during the day were as informative as always and set a tone of positivity for attendees. Hopefully, those upbeat messages will be dispersed amongst the wider industry.”
After a short break, attendees reconvened in the evening for a drinks reception and three course dinner in preparation for the presentation of the Night of Knights Awards. Prior to the ceremony beginning, the attendees were humbled by an inspiring speech by Matt King OBE. A former junior rugby star, Matt was severely injured during a match at the age of 17. He remains unable to move from the neck down but with immense courage and determination, he has rebuilt his life and now enjoys a fulfilling career as a solicitor.
Plan’s Sales Director, Daniel Dove handed over the trophy for Best Franchised Dealer Bodyshop Group to Drive Vauxhall. He was enthused by the evening as a whole:
“Matt’s talk was moving and inspiring in equal measure. And we’re very happy to be able to sponsor The Night of Knights. It’s an event that encourages and drives repairers to achieve excellence.”
If you’d like to attend this popular event next year or even enter an award, make sure you visit the ABP Club website for further information.