It’s about to get real
Are you prepared for the boom? For nearly the last two years, your workplace has more than likely been dealing with dwindled volumes. Whether you work in a collision repair centre, front office, alongside a jobber or elsewhere, your livelihood has been affected in some way or another.
Are you prepared to handle the ‘normal’ workloads anticipated with the post-pandemic? Will you keep the skills you developed during COVID-19, or bid them adieu when your work cup doth overflow?
The individuals prepared for the shift we’re about to experience will be those that buckled down when the pandemic hit. The ones who pulled out their toolkits to find ways to finesse their processes, wasting as little material as possible in the event the next delivery arrives delayed. These individuals are the ones unafraid to speak their minds, to voice concerns when they feel the pressure building. They are the ones who continued to forge ahead despite the less-than-ideal circumstances we’ve been under.
One of the biggest keys to post-pandemic operations will be to keep hold of the communication skills you’ve garnered. The pandemic and its ensuing slowdowns allowed an opportunity for staff, managers and businessowners alike to voice their concerns over the future of the business and its processes. If you’re a technician, apprentice or painter of caliber, odds are your bosses have turned to you for feedback at least once in the last 18 months. Be sure they keep these habits and never let your worries go unsaid. You are the lifeblood of the repair process. Your opinion matters. And, if you happen to be someone who discovered the amazing world of autobody in the last 18 months, the world is truly your oyster. There are countless opportunities on the horizon, from typical roles in the paint booth or on the shop floor, to valiant positions as jobbers and beyond.Today, you could be an apprentice logging hours in the repair bay, but just a few years down the road there’s a very likely chance you’ll be sitting a boss’ chair. That is, if you play your cards right.
Times are changing—they always are. If you’re not already, you’ll get used to this. As the pros like to say, the only constant in the collision repair industry is change. Roll with it!
