Paint & Panel caught up with Stuart Faid, executive general manager of AMA Group's Collision division to reflect on his first year in the role.
What were the main challenges for AMA Collision when you took on the role ?
When I arrived in the Collision business, what I found was a network challenged on multiple fronts. We had volume challenges in some locations, resource challenges in others, and in some extreme cases, both. Contrary to public perception, the broader financial position of the group was probably the least impactful challenge in regard to day-to-day operations.
Simply stated, we were not doing the basic things well enough, and needed a back to basics, customer-centric approach to solving our problems. Getting these fundamentals right, focusing on efficiency, quality and outstanding customer outcomes has driven our turnaround thus far, and will continue to be the cornerstone of our operations going forward.
The fact the group has now positioned itself so well financially will allow us to scale these principles faster and accelerate the positive impacts we derive from being best in class at what we do.
How have you addressed those challenges?
From a volume perspective, critical to resolving that was all about customer confidence. Our insurer partners had encountered significant disruption in their businesses historically because of our actions and it was vital that we reset those relationships, reestablished trust and give them the confidence that we could once again be a true partner for their businesses.
As expected, this has taken time, and of course is always under scrutiny, but I believe the team consistently demonstrates how much we value our customers, and we take nothing for granted in winning back their support.
Just as important was resetting the organisation from a “place to work” perspective. In this space we needed to acknowledge that ultimately, we are a people business, and it is those people who will determine our success.
Our values of Together We Do It Right are not just words on posters, they are a blueprint to our shared success. Ensuring that our people feel valued and supported is critical. Helping them understand the journey we are on, their role in supporting that journey and critically, “Why” this journey is so significant to us and the wider industry.
In this incredibly competitive space, we have improved our retention year on year, we are now hiring the right people into the right roles and are reducing vacancies month on month consequently.
Additionally, with more than 450 apprentices across the group we are the single largest employer of the talent that will underpin the wider industry in the future. This benefit will far exceed the realms of AMA Group in years to come and we are happy to play our part in building the talent pool for our industry.
What have you personally found the most challenging aspects of the role and the most rewarding aspects?
The most challenging aspect of the role was cutting through the noise surrounding the business, leaning into my experience to inform my decisions and then being able to translate that into a plan that could be easily understood and executed by the team. This is a big business with a long and often very public history, everyone had a view on what needed to be done and were not shy in sharing it, some of it warranted, some of it not so much. I knew the role would be high profile, just maybe not quite so open to scrutiny. The expectation to get it right and get it right quickly, but not rush and get it wrong has been a balance for sure.
The most rewarding aspect of the role, as is always the case, is working with the team. When the team comes together, unified in its vision and unwavering in its commitment, the rewards are immeasurable. It is an absolute honour to work with some of the most talented people in our industry here, especially when we know we are getting results.
What are the plans for AMA Collision in the next 12 months and the five year plan?
As an integral part of our strategy, we are guided by the principle that the more problems solve for our customers, team members, partners and stake holders, the more problems we are asked to solve. Going forward, we are excellently positioned to do that, and this principle will remain our core focus.
Operationally, in the next 12 months, my focus is to continue the great work done so far, further imbed best practise processes and procedures that drive efficiency and keep the customer at the heart of everything we do. We will continue to challenge ourselves to improve in all areas of the business, we will continue to innovate, create value and differentiate our offering to our customers. We still have a long way to go before we can say we are optimised, and that opportunity will be what drives us in the year ahead.
Our 5-year plan will see us continuing to build on these strong foundations, expanding our representation, growing to support the needs of our customers. The market has a long way to go in terms of consolidation and value creation and we intend to remain a leader in that journey.
What are the biggest challenges to success?
The biggest opportunity and biggest challenge remain one in the same as always in this industry, and that is its continued consolidation. Even with several new entrants into the MSO space in recent years, most repairs are still undertaken by independently owned repairers.
This fragmentation adds complexity and cost to insurers, who are trying to optimise cost outcomes and remain competitive in the premium sales space. To that end continued consolidation remains critical to balancing sustainable returns for all parties.
Our focus remains on delivering scale, efficiency, sustainability and quality outcomes for our customers. When we get this right, we know we are a compelling proposition and we increase our chances of success.
AMA Group has evolved considerably since the turmoil of the Hopkins exit and Bizon era, what do you think are the main differences?
This is a hard one for me to comment on as I was on the outside looking in during those days, and I arrived after both of those individuals had departed. What I do know is what I walked into, which was a business that had a lot of work to do to get its people, customers and stakeholders confident that it could correct its course and start to fulfil its potential.
I firmly believe the team have put the hard yards into resetting the business and going forward we are confident “those days” are well behind us.
How do you think the size and scale of AMA Group benefits the industry at large?
In an industry that is increasingly reliant on scale to derive value and efficiency, I see AMA Collision as perfectly placed to lead that direction. We are the largest repair business in Australia by a significant margin, and we need to continue to lean into that scale to ensure we derive the maximum value for all stakeholders.
We are also the single largest employer of apprentices, and we are continuously looking to grow that element of our workforce. We know that those technicians that start their journey with us will over time go to other shops or other parts of the wider industry over time and that’s more than fine by us.
We are happy to play a part in securing talent today for the long-term betterment of the industry, in reality, us not using our scale to do that for fear of providing competitive advantage for others, would be more detrimental to the industry in the longer term.