Page 19 - Australasian Paint & Panel Nov-Dec 2019

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L!VE FEEDBACK
“The L!ve conference is always a great opportunity to network and hear from some industry leaders tackling some big topics. Most notable was the presentation given by Claire Madden on dealing with Millennials, which is something all repairers need
to hear.”
JACK PARKINSON, FIX AUTO AUSTRALIA.
"I got a lot out of Paint & Panel L!ve learning about the latest industry trends and also about the broader Australian market shifts. A good, diverse range of speakers meant the day was interesting, relevant and provided good insights for staying ahead as a business. Having the full spectrum of our industry from around the country in one room provided for some good networking opportunities too."
SHAUN JANKS, DINGGO
“A thought provoking afternoon. From an in-depth look at who the next generation of customers and staff are, their needs and how to appeal to them, to changes in vehicle technology and the obstacles we face as we prepare for the future. Panel and Paint L!ve offered an insight and opportunity for all repairers to question, learn, and adopt new practices to ensure long term sustainability in a changing market. Highly recommended!”
SANDRA NOACH EXTREME DENTS
LEFT: James Coffey, Porsche’s Product & Skill Training Specialist BELOW: Millennial panel
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the vision of the business, for example we help people after a traumatic event, or we want to offer the fastest service to help our customers get back on the road. To sum up, Millennials need a friendly work environment, a flexible work structure, variety and to believe that what they do is contributing to a better world.
MILLENNIAL PANEL
Our Millennial panel then touched on some of the issues in the industry. I asked Worldskills Bronze medalist paint tech- nician Maxine Colligan from the AMA Group what she found frustrating. She said when she is told that there is only one way to do a task, whereas there can be multiple ways to do a job and that bringing in more young people can give a different perspective to explore different ways to carry out a task. Steve Loenko- vki from Bears group pointed out how quickly the industry has changed from cottage to more corporate and suggested to keep up we need to listen to Millenni- als more and employ them as they can quickly adapt to the changing market conditions. James Nguyen from H&M Malaga in Perth told us that when he fin- ished his trade two years ago his father chucked him straight into the deep end and let him manage the business. That
forced him to quickly learn how to man- age a multi-generational team and being a Millennial has allowed him to work out how to make the team cohesive. He com- mented that for Gens Y and Z being heard is vital and that he shares their ide- as with the team.
Shaun Janks from the online car repair platform DingGo said that his business is very much aimed at Millennials. He found that while the technology and knowledge to repair cars is increasing the repairers’ understanding of the tech- nology to connect with the new age cus- tomer hasn’t advanced. Ian Tullock from IAG’s supply chain talked about how IAG had a number of ‘legacy’ brands - with traditionalist customers who want to pick up the phone. With other brands such as Coles the customers take price very seriously, are digital natives and they are the ones that, if the experience isn’t frictionless, will vote with their feet and find another insurer. “We can only create those experiences for our custom- ers if we have employees from the same demographic. When we talk to our younger employees or are recruiting them, we put Maslow’s triangle upside down because they are looking for a dif- ferent job experience,” he said. “We talk about why our purpose is important, why