TOPICAL
to the customer. That same principle applies today to Martinâs Body Shop, which opened a second location under Martinâs guidance in 2020. âIt was always instilled in us, not just me, but the rest of the team of go the extra mile, take it to the next level to give that quality job,â says Martin. Depalo says that change wasnât one of the strong points of his father, who took over one of two locations after his father passed away and ran that shop himself for three decades. Adapting and staying ahead of trends has been one of his top priorities since taking over the business with his two brothers. âThis is all about changing with the times, my dad wasn't a big person to changing, we were,â says Depalo. âSo we went ahead and changed. You know, we want that philosophy of change, and change with the times and learn something every day, you learn something every new every day so you have to change with the times. And people are still stuck in that stone age, they don't want to change.â
Being in Charge Martin recalls other mentors growing up in addition to his father. Some of them are very easy to remember as they have worked at the shop for his entire life. The shop was already 14 years old when Martin was born and he grew up working summers alongside some of the technicians who would one day be his employees. âThe guys in the body shop, too, were like, I wouldn't say older brothers, quite a bit older, but almost like uncles to me that now are people that I not only look up to, but you get to still work with every day because they still work with us. So that's kind of cool as well,â says Martin. That also means those same people that helped teach him are now still there to teach other new employees. Martin cited an old saying, âYouâve got to mentor the mentor.â Part of the training process is giving those shop leaders the tools they need to bring technicians along in their careers and help them grow.
May 2023
âIt's, OK, how do we get him from here to here and working collaboratively through the whole company to make that happen,â says Martin. âIt's not really just a one size fits all, it's, this technician might be really good at metal repair, but he's not good at something else. ⌠So, we will just work together as a team and help provide them the tools necessary for them to thrive.â âMy dad always said you need to know this because in business you have to learn both sides,â Depalo says. âYou can't just stay stagnant one side.â As shop leaders now themselves, both Depalo and Martin feel strongly about the power of education and training for the next generation. That starts with still being learners themselves. Martin cited being a part of 20 Groups and attending events like the FenderBender Management Conference as places to share ideas and ways of doing things. Thatâs a continuation of the need to always be changing and innovating.
Consistency of Culture In both shops, a continuit y of staf f ser ves as another kind of mentor to younger employees.
âIt's really just about having that mindset that it's not, oh well, you know, we're going to bring in this next generation and do the same thing we've always done, right,â says Martin. âIt's that mindset, it's got to be, hey, we've got to put forth all the efforts necessary to take each individual to the next level.â One of the realities of being an owner, especially with multiple locations, is that itâs nearly impossible to spend time with each employee every day. So, both owners have processes in action so that their shops serve as a place of mentorship even if theyâre not physically there. At Depalo and Sons they give performance standards and have check-ins every three months. And those reviews cover not only job performance but also are a time to check in with the employee personally. Providing flexibility and giving employees enough time to attend to their personal lives is becoming an in-demand perk for any job seeker.
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Customer needs a customer goes business, I can t now and say my people are going
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