Breakout Sessions (Day 1)
Monday April 8th
Breakout Session # 1
The Future Of the Collision Repair Industry
Perspectives on the Claims and Collision Market
Presented by: Sean Carey | SCG Management Consultants LLC
Post Covid, the claims and collision industry is facing new challenges.
Some have been brought on by the pandemic tail, such as labor and parts shortages, others have been systemic in our industry for many years and have only surfaced post Covid such as reaching an economic breakpoint and deployment of new technologies.
Sean will share his insights into what this means for our industry constituents and where he believes the claims and collision market is heading in the coming years.
Topics will include:
- Insurance DRP Relationships and Trends—how should you position yourself
- Parts and Labor Shortage impact on collision management strategy
- ADAS impact on insurance claims and collision repairers
- Market Capacity and Volume Trends
- Technology versus Time – the need for alignment between industry
stakeholders.
- New Business Opportunities and Strategies We Must Consider
Click to View: Sean Carey Bio
Breakout Session # 2
Electric Vehicle Estimating Considerations
Presented by: Mark Bono
Collision Industry Training, Consulting and Organizational Development
The brave new world of electric vehicles is here!!
Its a matter of when you are willing to make the investment in training, equipment, and resources. 
These vehicles may look the same, but there is a multitude of safety, operational, and mechanical procedural differences that should be considered before jumping in.
This presentation is designed to:
Make you think about what is on the road today, what will be on the road in the future, and most importantly, open your eyes to some of the additional steps you may need to consider when writing a collision estimate or repair plan on an electric vehicle. The evolution of the EV is happening at an alarming rate, the supporting information, estimating systems, and documentation is behind the curve.
If you are writing an estimate on Electric vehicle as if it were an Internal combustion (ICE) vehicle, you most assuredly are missing vital entries that might protect your employees, your company, product you deliver, and your profitability, and we all know that setting a precedence in our industry is hard to break.
Come join us for an interesting conversion on some of the considerations you should make before establishing a rate or writing an estimate on an electric vehicle.
Click to View: Mark Bono Bio
Breakout Session # 3
Accelerate Skills Development with Virtual Reality
Presented by: David Wilkinson | Transfr Inc.
Qualified technicians along with all collision repair center employees need to develop and/or enhance their skills through continuous practice. Transfr’s Automotive VR simulations supplement your training program to help learners develop automobile repair skills in a safe, immersive virtual training environment that gives trainees a risk-free setting where they can practice and polish key skills.
Hands-on virtual-reality simulations are:
– Safety-focused VR training: Help employees learn skills faster and boost
confidence. VR training carries no risk of injury from tools, heat, electricity, or
chemicals and requires no consumables!
–Train with a virtual tutor: An AI virtual coach provides continuous personalized
instruction and individual attention to develop and strengthen learners’
knowledge in automotive task.
– Realistic hands-on training: Transfr’s virtual training environment accurately
reflects real-world automotive shop skills, allowing learners to gain experience
with tools, techniques, and approaches.
– Self-paced learning: Unlimited practice opportunities allow trainees to
advance at their own pace and thoroughly master the skills they need.
Transfr’s VR simulations elevate the training experience.
This session will include ‘LIVE’ demonstrations of virtual-reality training.
Developer of an apprenticeship platform designed to create training simulations in virtual reality. The company's platform uses learning sciences and data generated from simulations to deliver a customized coaching experience that encourages retention and expedites mastery, enabling students to acquire in-demand industry skills, so they can interview with confidence and enter the workforce for long-term success.
Transfr’s mission is to train the future of every industry and open new opportunities for people across the globe. We create unique pathways to well-paying jobs available now in high-demand fields, enabling learners to find job security and upward mobility, facilitated by immersive, simulated hands-on training.
Breakout Session # 4
HR Lawsuits: Not IF, but WHEN. Are you prepared?
Presented by: Corey King | Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP
In today’s workplace, employment lawsuits and claims are guaranteed, and the cards are stacked against employers.
Surviving these claims is directly related to how well you are prepared.
Cory J. King has handled hundreds of lawsuits and claims against employers, and he knows how devastating they can be. He often hears his clients say, “I never thought it could happen to me…”. That's why he created this breakout to teach you how to shield your company from employment lawsuits and put yourself in a strong defensible position when they happen.
You will discover how to:
– Hire the right people for the right positions and avoid discrimination and other
legal pitfalls in the recruitment process.
– Manage your employees effectively, and provide them with
clear expectations, feedback, and training.
– Discipline your employees fairly and consistently and document every action
you take to prevent disputes and grievances.
– Terminate your employees legally and respectfully, and minimize the risk of
wrongful termination, retaliation, and severance claims.
– Avoid costly wage/hour and class-action lawsuits, and comply with the federal
and state laws on minimum wage, overtime, breaks, payroll, etc.
– Learn about the new cannabis laws that are sweeping the nation
This breakout is designed for business owners and managers who want to protect their hard-earned assets and reputation from employment lawsuits.
You will gain valuable insights and practical skills from Cory J. King, an experienced employment lawyer who has represented hundreds of employers in various industries but has specific expertise in the automotive repair industry.
Breakout Sessions (Day 2)
CLICK HERE TO SCROLL UP TO MONDAY APRIL 8th SESSIONS
Breakout Session # 5
Building Value to Exit on Your Terms
Presented by: Matt DiFrancesco | High Lift Financial
As a collision shop owner, you have undoubtedly poured your heart and soul into building a successful business.
But have you considered your exit plan?
Many entrepreneurs are so focused on daily operations, but it is just as important to strategize for the future. Every move you make should have your succession in mind, regardless of when or if you are planning it.
Waiting until you burn out will make it very difficult to achieve the post-owner lifestyle you want. Building the value in your business will allow you to exit on your terms.
In this session:
We will explore the ways you can do this now, growing your business, taking care of your employees and creating the legacy you desire.
Click to view: Matt DiFrancesco Bio
Breakout Session # 6
Effective Strategies for Invoicing ALL Materials and Getting Paid!
Presented by: Jeff Haight | SEM
In the current era of incessant rises in material costs, it is critical to bill for the ALL the materials required to repair the vehicle correctly and ensure a favorable material profitability for repairs.
During this breakout session, we will examine the billing practices of the medical industry in relation to the collision industry, and materials and draw surprising parallels with labor and materials required for vehicle repairs.
We will explore what choices collision centers have when it comes to accurately billing for materials and how additional labor and materials for seam sealer application be accounted for?
SEM Products provides valuable resources, including tools and documentation, to assist in the proper billing of materials and labor.
Breakout Session # 7
Create Your Optimal Peak-Performing Culture and Team
Presented by: Mike Evans
Discover how to cultivate a peak-performing culture to secure your position in the new world of work. Learn how to kick-start a revolution that will blast your team or organization to new heights of success.
Culture, simply put, is the convergence of the way your employees think and act. That culture is producing your organization’s every result (financial, operational, customer, employee, etc.). If your future desired results are loftier, more difficult, of simply different than those you are achieving today, will your current culture be able to deliver?
Most often, the results teams and organizations must achieve in the future will require employees to think and act differently. Creating those ‘shifts’ in how employees think, and act is what will propel your team or organization toward those desired results.
Your culture is your ‘brand.’ An organization’s (or team’s) culture is either an engine propelling it toward its desired results, or an anchor impeding and hindering it is progress. You can define, lead, and shape your optimal culture. Whatever the desired results you wish to achieve or challenges within your organization – lofty growth, distinction, culture change, innovation, breaking down silos, improving collaboration, employee engagement, merging cultures, doing more with less – it is through your people that you will either succeed or fail.
Learn to cultivate an environment where employees at all levels are engaged, energized and flourish. Understand how to effectively tap into the enormous wealth of creativity, innovation, passion, energy, and commitment of employees, which is often left idle?
Through intentional focus on a few proven principles, you can ignite extraordinary results within your team or organization. These straightforward, practical, and memorable tips can transform your culture to support and deliver your ‘must-achieve desired results.’ The results that will ensure you thrive and excel in the new world of work.
Key Learnings and Takeaways:
• Learn how to create shifts in the way employees think and act so that your
desired culture will flourish and heighten organizational performance.
• Foster increased levels of trust, collaboration, and teamwork
• Unleash voluntary contributions of discretionary performance that is often left
untapped in individuals, teams, and organizations.
• Ignite a heightened sense of urgency, accountability, and ownership at all
levels of your organization
• Intensify ownership, engagement, and alignment – Crumble silos and abolish
territorialism.
• Understand how to identify the root cause of undesired cultural beliefs and
actions that impede progress, and how to infuse desired beliefs and actions to
accelerate achievement of desired results.
• Discover how to gain voluntary commitments from colleagues so they self-
select desired actions - Stop wasting time enforcing compliance around
policies and procedures.
• Develop a culture where employees ‘bring more of themselves’ to the
workplace – trigger innovation, creativity, and passion.
• Create organizational laser-like focus on what matters most – eliminate
confusion, misunderstanding, miscommunication, mistrust, frustration, and
indifference.
Click to View: Mike Evans Welcome Video
Click to view: Mike Evans Bio
Breakout Session # 8
What To Do About Too Much To Do
Time Management / Work Life Balance / Productivity.
Presented by: Jones Loflin
Using the model of a three-ring circus, this highly engaging presentation will equip you to better manage your time and energy to explore new opportunities and achieve better results.
From being a stronger ringmaster to building a quality “3 ring” lineup (Work, Relationship, Self), expect to leave this session with a myriad of
practical tips to manage your distractions, conquer your overload, and more fully focus on the present moment.
Most importantly, you’ll be ready to run your circus instead of letting the circus run YOU!
Key Takeaways:
- Recognize the fallacy of trying to "get it all done"
- Identify the sources of professional and/or personal overload that are most
limiting your ability to thrive
- Follow a 4-step process to experience greater productivity and results
- Work with others more effectively so EVERYONE is getting the right work
done
- Identify and better manage the tsunami of interruptions and distractions
coming at you every day
Click to view: Jones Loflin Bio