Rocco’s Announces New Approach to Cross-Functional, “Cross-The-River”
Training
If you live or work in Philadelphia then you know that
“across the river” is as synonymous with “down the shore.” In each case they’re
referring to New Jersey, and vice-a-versa, if you happen to be in New Jersey,
except for the shore part. To the
outsider this will not be immediately clear and as a result they will certainly
search for “the river.”
However, for those of us that reside and work within the
Greater Philadelphia area, we are aware of the many geographic, economic and
cultural connections (and differences) between Philadelphia and New Jersey and
the language used to reference the “other” place.
With two locations in Philadelphia and three in New Jersey,
we’ve come to embrace these differences and also use them to our advantage in
helping our staff in their professional development. One example of this is our
newly refined approach to cross-functional, and cross-location training.
The furthest distance between any two of our shops is 30 –
45 minutes, depending on traffic, with the average travel time between any two
of our five shops falling somewhere between ten to fifteen minutes. However, the distance between the shops does
little to represent the diversity of the shops, what is necessary to run a
successful operation in each shop, and the approach to customer service
required for each location.
For example, consider each of the following:
- Our Snyder Avenue location serves more customers
from the South Philadelphia area than our Reed Street location. Residents of
South Philadelphia tend to be longtime residents from the area.
- Our Reed Street location generally pulls its
customers from Center City, although it is located just a few blocks away from
our Snyder Avenue shop. Residents of Center City tend to be students and
professionals and in many cases from out-of-town.
- Both shops in Philadelphia are two story
enterprises and located on busy “city” streets, which means each shop’s manager
must be strategic in how he/she moves cars in and out of each location and through
the repair process.
- Repairs in Philadelphia tend to be less
complicated than those executed in any of our New Jersey locations due to the
severity of accidents. This is due in large part to the vast differences
between city driving compared to highway / suburban driving. (It is rumored
that people in New Jersey drive faster).
- Each of our locations in Philadelphia has
extensive histories in their respective neighborhoods dating back to the late
1950’s. Our customers are often neighbors and have known our shops and us for
years.
- In New Jersey, our customer base includes local
residents, professionals and even farmers; they may be longtime New Jersey
residents who have spent very little time in the city or commuters who live in
the suburbs and work in the city.
In each and every case, and in each of our locations, there
is diversity: among the vehicles driven by our customers, among the types of
collisions we see and the repairs we make, and among our customers and the
environments we work. Because of this
our teams have to be acutely aware of these nuances.
As a result we have introduced
our cross-functional training program that we believe will help our teams and
perhaps other MSO’s (multi-shop operators) throughout the country. Beginning in
2013, our teams will rotate between shops on an as needed basis or as desired basis. Our office managers, shop managers,
technicians and painters will spend time in the suburbs of New Jersey and in
the heart of Philadelphia.
Our team members will learn how to navigate through five
different repair processes, through five different office and shop environments,
and through five different geographic regions, and interact with distinctly
different customers. They will walk away with an appreciation for their greater
environment and the many cultures, needs and wants that are displayed
throughout the Greater Philadelphia Region.
