Support base

As a third-generation collision centre owner, Tyden Hadwen felt like management should somehow come naturally. After all, back in 1930 his grandfather, Albert, had founded the business in the Brisbane suburb of Bowen Hills and his father, Don, had gone on to establish Hadwen’s Prestige Collision Repairs as a repairer of choice across a wide customer base. However, when Tyden took over the day-to-day reins around five years ago, it didn’t go quite the way he planned.

“Within 18 months I had completely burnt out. My father was very successful and I learnt my management style from him. However, he used a micro-managing style where every decision came through him and he was the only one who could make decisions. After trying to use this style that he had been taught, I was at my wit’s end and I knew it had to change because it was not working.”

Around that time, two things happened to drive a major shift in mindset for Tyden. Firstly, he was approached by a highly experienced collision centre manager, Quinten McTaggart, who he immediately clicked with and, subsequently, employed as his second-in-charge. Secondly, he contacted Ben Doughty, MVP Business Solutions Manager Queensland, to see what business support was available.

“Quentin challenged me to change every single day but, sadly, about seven months after he started, he had an accident and passed away. He sparked the change in me and in the business and we have been able to continue that with the support of Ben and some business coaching. In particular, Ben has been instrumental in guiding the direction of change, instead of just making changes for change’s sake. We have partnered with PPG for a very long time – we are talking decades – and we have always worked closely with our PPG representative but working with the MVP Business Solutions program, through Ben, has taken it to the next level. We have done the Green Belt Training course and I was part of an MVP Business Solutions Roundtable Group and all those things played a part in altering my management attitude.”

Access to support from the MVP Business Solutions team is available as part of the package of services that come with being a PPG customer. According to Ben, there is no such thing as a typical client for the MVP Business Solutions program. Collision centres can have as little or much support as they want and the program is tailored to the needs of each client.

“Hadwen’s Prestige Collision Repairs is a very good business but it was not quite performing at the level it could be. Together with Tyden, we have been able to implement a series of continuous improvement strategies, including lean management and 5S, as well as working on the visual side of the business to boost that crucial first impression. One of the first priorities was to get the team onboard and we did that by explaining why changes were needed and where we were looking to make changes. From there, we asked for their input because these were typically things they were dealing with every day. It has been great to see the whole team at Hadwen’s wholeheartedly throw themselves into this program and achieve significant positive change.”

“Ben and the PPG team have been instrumental in guiding us along our pathway to continuous improvement”, says Tyden. “We have an ‘Action Plan’ which gives us a clear direction for each step of the journey. Importantly, by keeping our team involved at every step, the response has been really positive. They have a voice which is heard rather than PPG just coming and changing things. Throughout COVID we invested a lot in training. We kept the same team numbers and kept them employed every single day but, typically, one day a week we would do training. We got through and we got a stronger team out of it. Every single day, I am honoured to share with my team how much they are appreciated.”

It has also given Tyden an opportunity to work on his management style – or should that be leadership style? “It’s hard, especially if you have come from being a tradesperson. Over the past few years, I have identified the difference between management and leadership and I have worked on changing myself to lead, rather than manage. It’s like being a father – you are there to support and guide the team members, not do it for them. As a result, they are empowered to solve problems and implement solutions and that is awesome because it gives them ownership of their role. I am really excited about the future because we have new ideas coming into the business and Ben has given us a platform of what we need to work on. I am only just starting on this journey!”

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The PPG MVP Business Solutions team works closely with small, medium and large collision repairers across the region. This service is included as part of PPG’s comprehensive support package and accessing it is as simple as contacting your local MVP Business Solutions Manager or making an enquiry via mvp.anz@ppg.com