As the collision repair industry evolves and shop networks expand, many operators are placing greater emphasis on developing leadership within their organizations.
At G&C Auto Body, that focus has taken shape through an annual leadership summit designed to bring managers together for training, collaboration and strategic alignment.
“We pull all of our leadership out of work, and we bring them to a centralized location,” said Pat Crozat, vice president at G&C Auto Body.
The event, first launched in 2023, was created to address a challenge common across the industry: technicians or estimators being promoted into management roles without formal leadership training.
“Too often, people get promoted from an estimator, [who] was really good at what they do, to then become a manager,” Crozat said. “And because they know how to write sheets, they kind of understand production, but the whole part of actually learning how to manage a business is kind of forgotten.”
Without that training, he said, managers can struggle.
“I think you kind of set managers up for failure if you don’t help them get there. You need to teach them to manage,” he said.
Evolving the program each year
The first summit featured a two-day seminar with an outside speaker focused on leadership development and management skills. Since then, the program has evolved based on feedback from participants.
“And every year we've taken that feedback and we've tweaked it,” Crozat said.
Last year’s program included two full days of training sessions, but managers reported that the amount of content was overwhelming.
“So we condensed this year down to one day,” Crozat said.
The company also changed the format to allow for smaller, more interactive sessions.
Interactive training sessions
This year’s summit was divided into four rotating classes, with managers spending about 75 minutes in each session.
One session led by Crozat focused on leadership development and employee management.
“It was again going over leadership,” Crozat said. “It was personal growth, how to grow your employees, how to deal with an uncomfortable situation, how to properly manage an employee, doing one-on-ones, and stuff like that.”
Another session focused on operations and customer experience, including role-playing exercises designed to simulate real shop scenarios. Other sessions focused on analyzing shop performance metrics and training on key insurance partners.
Supporting growth from within
Leadership development has become particularly important as the company continues to expand.
“You know, we want to be growing at least 14 shops a year,” Crozat said. “Which means we need 14 more managers every year, which means we need two more regional managers every year.”
The goal, he said, is to develop as many of those leaders internally as possible. He added that employees enjoy having the opportunity to grow with a company.
“That’s a company people want to work for,” Crozat said.
Culture and recognition
Beyond training, the summit also serves as an opportunity to strengthen relationships across the organization and recognize strong performance.
The event includes company updates, strategic planning, and an awards ceremony highlighting standout employees. Recognition, he said, can be especially motivating for newer managers.
“They get to look at those guys and [think], ‘I want to be that person up there next year.’”
A mindset of continuous learning
Crozat said leadership development is not limited to the annual summit. The company also hosts training sessions throughout the year covering insurance requirements, HR topics, and operational improvements.
But stepping away from daily shop operations for focused learning remains valuable.
“It's a must to take the time to get out of the day of the rat race and to invest in your team and invest in yourself,” Crozat said.
Takeaways for Collision Repair Shops
For shop owners looking to strengthen their own organizations, Crozat emphasized the importance of maintaining a growth mindset:
- Don’t promote without training — teach people how to manage: If you’re promoting based on technical skill alone, you may create weak managers and future turnover problems.
- Get managers out of the day-to-day to focus on growth: If your team is always stuck in production mode, they never improve. Dedicated time away from the shop is not optional is essential.
- Use feedback to continuously improve training programs: Many shops run the same meetings every year and wonder why nothing changes. If you’re not iterating, you could be wasting time.
- Make training interactive: If your people are actively participating, it helps them learn better.
- Build a pipeline of leaders if you want to grow: Growth requires leadership development from within.
- Commit to continuous learning: Shops that stop learning will most likely get outpaced by those that don’t.
“The day a tree stops growing is the day a tree dies,” Crozat said. “And so I think you've always got to be making the best version of yourself, even at the top.”
