The Vella Group | Konnect Magazine

KONNECT SPRING EDITION

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KEEPING OUR CUSTOMERS HAPPY MINDSET PERFORMANCE FROM AUTO-MOTIVATE THE CLASS OF 2019 ABOVE & BEYOND WINNERS THE AUTORAISE REAL RALLY

WELCOME TO THE LATEST EDITION OF KONNECT We can’t believe it’s May already!

We have had a great start to 2019, as a business, and this month’s newsletter reflects the valued contribution by many of our fellow Vella Group team members. As usual, it was very difficult to pick from the many entries we had for Above and Beyond.

This month, we have a focus on an area of the business that we do particularly well; keeping our customers happy. As a service business, happy customers are essential and receiving feedback from them is important so that we always understand how we can improve as a company.

Customer satisfaction is one of the areas that we want all the team to think about, and it’s been great to see so many complimentary comments the past few months.

With summer around the corner, we are still looking to be very busy, and as a business we have plenty of work on the go. We are also looking to pass on some great news, with our new Deeside site in the works and more big announcements to come.

The past few months have also seen us out and about with insurers, suppliers and other business partners and it’s been great to have so much positive feedback on the company. We have a full dance card for the next few months in this regard, which is important for many reasons; ensuring relations with our business partners remain strong, as well as that we remain up to date with developments in the wider industry. With things often changing so quickly, it’s vital to ensure we stay informed.

On a personal note, it’s almost been a year since Marc accepted the position of Managing Director, and we have to say what a great year it’s been, with some real positive and strong results for the business and some very exciting plans for the future. This is all possible due to the great team we have here at The Vella Group.

Karl and Marc

COVEA’S ‘REPAIR OF THE YEAR AWARD’.

We are thrilled to announce that The Vella Group Chester have been nominated for a second year in a row for Covea’s ‘Repair of the Year Award’. Good luck to the team at Chester.

They are up against Alton Cars - York, Apollo Motor Group - Prestige, Rainbow Bodyshop Farnborough, and Steer Automotive - Aylesbury.

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STRONG GROWTH AND EXPANSION PLANS FOR THE VELLA GROUP

We are very pleased to announce to everyone that The Vella Group is in the final stages of securing a site in Deeside (on the same business park as the current site) and a site in West Manchester!

This is a very exciting time for the group as we continue to look to grow our footprint and the business and embrace the many opportunities the industry has to offer.

We will be recruiting for all roles at both sites so if you, or someone you know, would be interested in applying for a role at either site, please do not hesitate to email hr@thevellagroup.co.uk or speak to Alex or Jenny if you would like more information and to discuss in greater detail.

Don’t forgot, recommending a friend for a Technical or VDA role could result in you receiving £1,500!

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Congratulations Congratulations to Poppy Green on passing her AAT Professional Diploma in Accounting and Becky Massey on passing her CIMA Professional Qualification, well done, all your hard work has paid off!

We are pleased to announce that Mark Connolly has been invited to join the Audatex Strategic Advisory Board for 2019/2020.

The board has been set up to identify issues and opportunities specific to the vehicle insurance, repair and accident management industry to help with the challenges of running a modern-day business within the Automotive sector.

The Company would like to congratulate Mark on his invitation to join the board and contribute his knowledge and skills to future developments in the vehicle repair industry.

SUGGESTIONS WE WANT THEM! We can always do better. It’s important for us that staff feel they can put forward their ideas on how we can improve how we do things. We can’t promise that we will always be able to implement ideas, but we know we have the right people and its incumbent on the company to make sure everyone feels they have a voice.

We will pick the best ideas and should we implement any suggestions, award a prize to the bright sparks and creative geniuses behind them.

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WELCOME TO THE

VELLA GROUP

We would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new starters across the group.

Commenting on the new arrivals Karl said, ‘We are delighted to welcome all of you to our team. You bring a tremendous amount of experience which means we can continue to deliver exceptional service to our customers’.

Ryan Donaldson

Customer Service Valeter

Skelmersdale

Stephen Jones

MET

Skelmersdale

Ian McKnight

Customer Service Driver

Workington

Gary Nock

Customer Service Valet

Skelmersdale

Lauren Procter

Customer Service Claims Handler Assist

Emily Smith

Customer Service Reception

Skelmersdale

Jeffrey Smith

Paint Technician

Chester

Susan Smith

Cleaner

Skelmersdale

Neil Stretch

Paint Technician

Southport

John Powell

Panel Technician

Chester

REFER A FRIEND AND BE REWARDED! The Vella Group are always looking for talented Technicians, VDA’s and Production individuals to become part of the team. Could you recommend a friend who is looking to take on an exciting new opportunity? If so, you could earn £1,500.

How it works

Let us know your friends details, or ask them to get in touch. If they are successful, and join the team, we will pay you £750 after three months and another £750 after six months, if the person you referred is still with us.

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OPEN YOUR MIND

MINDSET PERFORMANCE FROM AUTO-MOTIVATE

Auto-Motivate provides mindset and performance development training designed exclusively for the Bodyshop Industry.

Auto-Motivate Owner, Mike Monaghan has over 45 years’ experience in the industry, including founding the Motor Vehicle Repairer Association (MVRA). Mike has visited over 20 countries studying the body repair industry on all levels and has a unique insight into what works.

Mike firmly believes that 90% of what we do is determined by our attitude and should any problems or issues arise, this will present a barrier to our success. Positivity is central to Mindset performance training, and the key learning point is to understand that our behaviour is driven by how we think and feel.

We have partnered with Mike and asked him to deliver his Mindset course, and other courses, 6

as well. Mike delivered the first mindset development course to our senior leadership team in April, which was a great success and all that participated felt they could take something away from it.

The course involves looking in to how the brain works and challenging your old habits that have been there throughout your life. It has been designed to help individuals to achieve more, whilst ensuring they are aware of how to get the best out of their teams. Mike Monaghan advises that the course is designed to place emphasis on realising your full potential as individuals and leaders, as well as being a growing influence on those around us. Furthermore, due to the content, many have found that their learnings from the

course can help improve their life outside of work, and how they deal with different situations they face.

As Phil Ashbridge, our Bodyshop Manager at Workington explains; “I found the training session extremely interesting, it has changed my mindset completely, not only at work but within my life in general. The tips provided by Mike about how to stay positive in bad situations are really helpful and I feel more positive already after just a week.�

If taking part in the course would be something you would be interested, there will be more information coming out soon so keep your eyes open.

I found the training session extremely interesting, it has changed my mindset completely, not only at work but within my life in general.

Phil Ashbridge Bodyshop Manager Workington

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LET’S TALK CSI/NPS with Jane McAllister, Head of Customer Service

THE IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK

Customer feedback is valued within our industry, just like in any other industry. As we deal with a distressed product, our aim is to find out at the beginning of the process what matters most to the customer to ensure that we meet their expectations and needs throughout the repair journey.

CSI (customer satisfaction index) and NPS (Net Promoter Score) surveys are incredibly important to us as a business as they provide a way to see where in the process customers were unhappy with the service and allows us to find ways to turn it around.

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NPS works by measuring customer experience on scale of 0 – 10. Customers who rate us a 9 or 10 are considered promoters, responses which are 7 - 8 are labelled as passive and 0-6 would be considered a detractor (unhappy customers). The NPS score is a percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors.

CSI/ NPS is one of the major driving forces of improvement and sales growth in the industry.

It may sound backwards not to track CSI scores, given the colossal financial impact it can pose to repair shops who fail to do so. We are proud to announce that since Summer 2018, we have consistently outperformed CSI/NPS scores across the group. Our customer service teams have taken ownership of customer concerns, showing sympathy and sincerity, and taking the time to relay to the shop floor what the customers initial repair concerns were. Site Managers also continue to meet daily with their teams to go over the surveys and fix the negative reviews.

From looking at our customer service From looking at our from the customer’s customer service perspective we from the customer’s aim to promote an atmosphere of perspective we aim to compassion and promote an atmosphere positivity across of compassion and the group. In turn, positivity across the we hope that this group. will continue to give our customers a positive experience during what is predominately a stressful time.

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LET’S TALK CSI/NPS With Jane McAllister, Head of Customer Service

WHAT OUR CUSTOMERS THINK April saw an overall NPS of 78%, with Chester achieving 100% Based on your recent experience, how likely is it that you would recommend us to a friend or colleague?

Feedback from April 2019 shows that an impressive 89% of our customers would recommend us!

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Based on your recent experience, how easy was it for you to achieve what you wanted on this occasion?

We are pleased to share some feedback from our customers below.

SKELMERSDALE

PRESTON

‘Constantly kept up to date with progress… all phone calls were very well mannered. It was obvious customer satisfaction was of the utmost priority. Emily definitely went the extra mile.’

‘All the staff were very good, but I feel I have to give a special mention to Louise the receptionist/ coordinator she was exceptional.’

‘Good reception, courteous and friendly staff, willing to help, alleviating the stress in car repairs, good communication over phone and texts, reasonable costing and professional repairs and car delivered well clean and polished. A big thank you to all staff and will recommend the Vella autobody repairs to anyone seeking for auto repairs’ “I would like to pass on my thanks to everyone, I’m very pleased with my car and very impressed with everyone I came into contact with at The Vella Group’

WORKINGTON

‘Exceptional service throughout kept informed by courteous and professional team’

CHESTER ‘Didn’t do much really, was all done for me, from Michaela on the phone to Mike who delivered my car back, I felt really looked after from start to finish.’

‘Very friendly, your team went above and beyond.

Thank you very much.’

SOUTHPORT ‘I had to do nothing all taken care of by Branch manager Andy Smith and his team. Excellent!’

‘The quality of the work is high, the team tried as hard as possible to accommodate our needs in terms of pick up and drop off and the valeting of ‘At a stressful time, I found your service friendly and the car was much appreciated. Wendy was very helpful as was Neil who delivered the car. The guys efficient. All staff In the Workington branch were in the workshop clearly did a great job too.’ very pleasant.’

‘Top notch service, fast repair, excellent contact with Mrs. Agnew. Exceptional customer care.’

WELL DONE TO YOU ALL AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND COMMITMENT

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CLASS OF

2019 We are pleased to announce, that from September 2019, a new class of apprentices will be joining us to start a career as a technician across the Group.

We have had great success with the previous apprentice cohort, with the help of industry charity AutoRaise, and Blackpool and Fylde College. They have progressed enormously in both confidence, knowledge and skill after only eight months in the industry. In March, they applied to enter 2019 World Skills!

As Richie Fowler, manager at Preston, says: ‘The new multi-skill apprenticeship scheme is fantastic.

It’s not only bringing apprentices into the business but it’s also allowing existing staff to integrate with these young people and help develop their careers!’

A massive thank you to all of you who have shared your knowledge and supported our current apprentices in developing their skills, we couldn’t have done it without you all!

If you know of anyone that would be interested in the opportunity, please let HR know at hr@ thevellagroup.co.uk. We have vacancies available at Skelmersdale, Chester, Preston and Workington currently. Our website has all the information you need about the apprenticeship programme and the application process, including some top tips and team Vella testimonials. Applications close 29th May 2019.

We hope everyone will join us in welcoming the next apprentices and continue to maintain a positive, engaging and safe environment for everyone.

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As you can see our Apprentices have been very busy working in partnership with their trainers over the last 7 months learning a variety of new skills and techniques – with a little over a year to go they are on track to be superb technicians. We look forward to seeing them develop further!

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HYBRID VEHICLES IMI LEVEL 3;

DID YOU KNOW? It is crucial that today’s technicians can repair high voltage hybrid systems used on modern vehicles.

The automotive industry is facing a record number of electric vehicles and hybrids on UK roads with ownership surging by a quarter in 2019. Statistics show a whopping 195,410 plug-in vehicles on our roads and over 620,000 hybrid and electric cars now in use. Technicians who may be called to work on Hybrid vehicles are advised to take the new IMI Level 3 Hybrid and Electric System Repair and Replacement course. Their technology and build are different than those of regular vehicles, therefore technicians must go through specialised training in order to gain a good understanding of just what they are up against.

We are committed to keeping our technicians up-to-date with the latest industry standards. Ten of our technicians across the group recently attended a two-day introduction to this specialised industry sector at Blackpool and the Fylde College, after which they were awarded certification in Electric/Hybrid Vehicle System Repair and Replacement.

While we don’t tend to see a massive influx of all electric cars, they are part of a larger development toward more efficient vehicles – a development that will impact the industry in the near future and one Bodyshop’s must prepare for.

Matt Vella who attended the course said, “Having undertaken the Level 3 Hybrid qualification at Blackpool and the Fylde College, I feel more comfortable and confident in allocating work and undertaking repairs on different types of Hybrid vehicles. The training was interesting and contained the perfect mix of information and practical work. Altogether it was well worth doing.”

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I feel more comfortable and confident in allocating work and undertaking repairs on different types of Hybrid vehicles. The training was interesting and contained the perfect mix of information and practical work. Altogether it was well worth doing.�

Matt Vella

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Unparalleled Dedication. Unmatched Performance.

Well done to Kalvin Hughes, Carl Johnston, Jordan Milligan, Keith Millican, Louise Embley and Natalie Mills for....

GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND The Above and Beyond Award is a simple way of letting our team know that we recognise their contributions and appreciate all their efforts.

KALVIN HUGHES

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CARL JOHNSTON

KEITH MILLICAN

JORDAN MILLIGAN

LOUISE EMBLEY NATALIE MILLS 17

On the 1st of February we wore something orange to help beat muscle wasting conditions and donated towards a wonderful cause.

By donating, this helps Muscular Dystrophy UK so that they can continue their work and research to find effective treatments.

At the moment there are 70,000 people in the UK living with muscular dystrophy. The most common type being Duchenne which causes children to often need a wheelchair by their teenage years, giving them a very low life expectancy.

We know we can beat muscle-wasting conditions more quickly if we work together.

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ange goforora day!

This certificate is awarded to The Vella Group for increasing awareness of muscle-wasting conditions and raising funds of ÂŁ500 in the 2019 Go Orange for a Day event in support of Muscular Dystrophy UK. Thank you for your support and well done on your fundraising.

Charles Horton Regional Development Manager Muscular Dystrophy UK

26 February 2019

Muscular Dystrophy UK supports 70,000 children and adults with muscle-wasting conditions to live as independently as possible.

We also invest in scientific research to find treatments and cures.

go orange for a day is our brightest day –

people in schools and workplaces across the country wear orange to raise awareness and funds for this vital work.

www.musculardystrophyuk.org

Registered Charity No. 205395 and Scottish Registered Charity No. SC039445

@MDUK_News #MusclesMatter

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THE AUTORAISE REAL RALLY 2019 This Summer, we will be taking part in The AutoRaise REAL Rally! This year the rally will run from June 26th – 28th, beginning in North East of England and finishing up in Scotland.

The 3-day charity road trip challenge has been a great success and is set to be bigger than ever in 2019. The REAL Rally aims to raise money for the charity REAL Friends – the Ethan Rees Linwood Memorial Fund, which supports children who have been bullied.

To join the fun race-goers will need to buy a ‘Banger’ – fix it for less than £1,000 and of course, raise some money! This year, we are repairing a Toyota MR2. The vehicle was bought as a complete write-off due to rear end damage and our Apprentices at Skelmersdale have stepped up to repair it!

This is a great event, for a fantastic cause and any donations would be greatly appreciated.

Please contact HR if you wish to donate to this year’s rally.

For more information on the charity REAL Friends, please visit www.realforethan.co.uk

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GDPR ONE YEAR ON On 25th May 2018 the ominous General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) were brought into force by the European Union (EU).

GDPR compliance has been a daunting prospect for the repair industry, and it’s fair to say that data protection is not one of the Bodyshop’s key skills! Personal data protection is something we have always taken seriously but following the introduction of GDPR, the business took measures over and above general compliance receiving Platinum Certification from Vizion.

The government initiative has proven successful in protecting the business against the ever-changing cyber security landscape. All our employees received GDPR training, covering the roles and responsibilities in protecting personal data, how to recognise and report a data breach, and understanding the scope and accountability of GDPR. GDPR compliance has been welcomed by the business and has proven to be the driver of increased trust from both our work providers and customers.

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WHAT’S TO COME IN 2019?

GDPR is said to pick up momentum in 2019. After all, 2018 wasn’t even a full year of GDPR. However, now the groundwork has been laid and there is increased awareness of GDPR, this has brought enforcement to the forefront.

HOW WILL BREXIT IMPACT GDPR? Amid Brexit chaos, surprisingly one thing is for certain – the UK will still need to comply with the regulation. In the event the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 retains the GDPR in UK law.

GDPR is a continual process and our procedures will continue to be monitored and periodically reviewed for compliance.

If you are aware of any data breaches, please email dpoteam@thevellagroup.co.uk.

A REMINDER OF YOUR RIGHTS UNDER GDPR: • The right to information about how your personal data is processed • The right to access personal data held about you • The right to ask for incorrect personal data to be rectified • The right to request personal data to be erased • The right to object to your personal data being used for marketing purposes • The right to request the restriction of the processing of your personal data • The right to data portability • The right to request that decisions based on automated processing involving you or your data are made by actual persons, not only by computers 23

ASSESSMENT OF THE MONTH

As part of our continued push to be recognised by our Insurer Partners as a Repairer who provide top quality, well presented and justified assessments and to install a bit of ‘Friendly Competition’ and ‘Fun’ to what we do we have created a competition to reward the ‘Assessment of the Month’ and ‘Assessment of the Year’.

It is not about the most expensive repair or the biggest opinion repair times, it is about assessment accuracy, presentation, justification and adherence to methodology and contractual terms.

Well done to the winners we have had so far, keep up the good work! It seems Stuart is becoming quite the regular!! Great work!

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OCTOBER

STUART GASKELL

JANUARY

STUART GASKELL

NOVEMBER

JORDAN KELLY

FEBRUARY

STEFAN WHYTE

DECEMBER

IQBAL PATEL

MARCH

STUART GASKELL

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SUPPLIER FOCUS

Pure have assisted The Vella Group with our social media activities, marketing and website solutions, as well as developing our brand look and feel. As we enter the next phase of rebranding we thought we would introduce them to you.

PURE VISUAL COMMUNICATION Pure is a creative design and marketing agency, established by Marcus and Jules Laird in 2002.

They are multidisciplinary in their approach, working on all media possibilities - web, 3D visualisation and creative design. Because of this, look and feel is consistent on all media, and opens up more creative opportunities for our brand to stand out.

Whilst Pure’s customer base expands across a variety of industries, they have an established presence and passion within the automotive industry, involved in all sectors from global car launches to the accident repair industry.

By working with such a diverse client base they have a unique insight into customer behaviour and trends.

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As industry leaders in design development and marketing, they add value to our business, working in true partnership, understanding our challenges and objectives.

As well as the rebranding, we will also be working with Pure on an intranet website connecting our sites to one common area, creating a ‘one brand one team’ philosophy and ensuring everyone has the opportunity to be involved and to communicate on the same level.

THE VELLA GROUP REBRAND

THE NEXT PHASE

Marcus and Jules will be visiting our sites soon to start the next stage of rebranding.

Each site will be audited, and the following will be reviewed: Update all signage; this includes main facias and additional signs such as directional and car park signs.

Reception; review of the look and feel of all elements and in some cases redesigning the flow and desks. These will initially be built in virtual 3D to ensure they look right.

Also under review will be wall colours, replacing posters, pop up banners, etc.

Additional elements, posters and instances of branding throughout each bodyshop will be replaced with new branding.

If you would like more information or have elements that need rebranding then contact Marcus on marcus@purevc.co.uk

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KEEPING YOU INFORMED. KEEPING YOU KONNECTED. We want the newsletter to be the core of our communication with everyone through the business.

It’s important that people know about and understand what’s happening in the company, but also to share good news with each other and develop a better appreciation and understanding of the people we work with.

Every quarter we will aim to send out a newsletter updating you on what’s going on around the company and the industry we work in. We are open to ideas and suggestions; perhaps you want to let people know about a charity event you have planned, or a sporting success? It’s an opportunity for you to get involved.

Design & Creative

by Pure Visual Communication