CEO’s message

If there’s one thing that unites us all in business, it’s wanting value for money. There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’ve been ripped off, realising something was a dud investment, seeing something go to waste, or not getting the maximum bang for your buck.

There are myriad ways we can waste money, fritter away time, leak efficiency or leave money on the table. We can undervalue our services, like not charging for diagnostics. We can underinvest in technology, limping along without the right diagnostic tools. We can underappreciate or overwork our team, leading to high staff turnover. That’s just to name a few classic examples. There are plenty more—like failing to invest and grow our businesses ahead of our retirement, and thereby failing to capitalise on decades of hard work when we sell.

In this month’s Ignition we’re taking a closer look at ways Members can get maximum value out of their business, their investments and their team. At a high level, you could say we’re talking about ways to work smarter, instead of harder. But in reality, what you’ll find between the covers of this month’s magazine are some very thought-provoking articles with actionable advice you can put in place in your workshop as soon as today to help you maximise value.

For example, are you paying yourself enough? We’d all like to take home more, but how did you set the rate you pay yourself? Are you taking enough profits home? We speak to Workshop Whisperer Rachael Evans to get her insights. Rachael also shares her advice on how to work out whether investing in a new piece of equipment or technology is worthwhile. It’s a calculation every workshop makes regularly and there’s nothing more frustrating than spending a fortune on a tool just to see it languishing unused in the corner. We also speak to customer service expert Chris Smoje, author of All-In Culture, to get his advice on how to measure customer satisfaction and turn that into all-important referrals—which is the secret to growing any business in the aftermarket.

Finally, we have another article based on the Capricorn innovation team’s trip to Europe to investigate the impact of EVs on the aftermarket. This time, we’re focused on the servicing needs of EVs, which are radically different to internal combustion engines. For starters, they need a lot less servicing—so getting maximum value every time an EV rolls into the workshop is going to be more important than ever.

There’s lots of food for thought in these pages. If there’s just one idea that helps you maximise somewhere in your business, then I reckon that’s pretty good value.

David Fraser

Group CEO