The collision industry is quite aware of its supply problem-more technicians are leaving the profession than entering, which creates a void that some believe will not be filled unless some fundamental changes are made.
But skilled technicians aren't the only human resources deficiency. We're also coming up short on estimators.
These people aren't attracted to abnormal work hours, uncomfortable working conditions or under-compensation. Estimators must be "super people"-working long hours under constant stress, always trying to catch up, getting caught between opposing forces and trying to keep everyone happy. After they have been pressured into satisfying the customer's every need, they also have to deal with the requirements of the insurance companies and their varying claims handling policies. Then, of course, let's not forget the demands from the technicians who want accurate, up-to-date work orders-with complete parts and all the required fasteners-delivered to them on time.
On a normal day, an estimator working in a typical shop deals with customer contact, insurance requirements, parts ordering, follow-up, negotiations, staging jobs, supplementing requests, following repairs and closing the jobs. Some of these duties are required prior to and after the repairs are made and some require being done multiple times. Primarily burdened with layers and layers of insurance requirements and documentation, each insurance company has a different claims handling process, making it that much more difficult for the estimator.
It has become evident that many estimators throughout the industry have become overburdened with more work than what would normally be expected in an eight-hour work day. There appears to be a common denominator pertaining to our overloaded estimators: The quality of their estimates and often overall job performance rapidly declines when they pass the "$100,000 threshold" in a month, which is often the point where estimators become overworked. Exceeding this threshold often leads to low-quality overall job performance. It's an unrealistic sales expectation combined with the unrealistic demands of management wanting everything to be done on time.
"Shallow" estimates arguably have the most impact. They lead to lost profits and morale problems throughout the organization, and morale problems spill over into production. The job closing process also suffers, with files not reflecting what was actually done on the job-unapproved supplements and/or supplement documentation being one of the most frequently impacted responsibilities. Parts and materials used for the job also go undocumented and become difficult to collect. When files are hastily closed in a rushed environment to meet deadlines, profits suffer. It all comes full circle.
There are many insurance policies or standards that contribute to an estimator being overworked, including writing only what you see, not what you know, using three different camera systems, the inability to accept electronic information transfers, auditing estimates without inspecting the vehicle, delays in supplement approval, and not paying for certain repair operations knowing that they need to be done, just to name a few.
Dollars vs. Performance
An estimator's frustration lies in the opposing forces within the estimating environment. In most situations the measurement of an estimator's performance is sales volume. Most estimators are generally compensated on a percentage of captured sales. Estimate quality and dollars earned per actual labor hour (gross profit-per-technician clock hour) seems to take a back seat to gross dollar volume. As Masters School of Autobody Management in Santa Barbara, Calif., concludes, many managers/owners have not recognized the link between increased pressures to produce more sales volume and the quality and profitability of the estimate. This often comes at the expense of not only the estimator, but also the technician who has to produce the work from a shallow estimate.The manner in which a salesperson is measured and compensated should take into consideration not just dollar volume and gross profit percentage, but technician efficiency and gross profit "dollar" per actual hour. Profits get the short end of the stick when estimators are measured only on dollar volume and gross profit percentage. This encourages, intentionally or not, higher labor sales and fewer parts being replaced. This may create higher gross profit percentages, but will lead to fewer jobs going through the shop in a defined period of time and fewer profit dollars per hour. Also, when there are more sales related to repair than replace, material costs rise with an increased risk in redo work. A repaired panel has a much greater risk of failure than a replaced panel.
Technician vs. Estimator
The metal department is another place where morale can be deflated. All too often estimators will shift the profit burden to the technician because the estimator is too busy to produce a complete and accurate estimate. In these situations the estimator will expect the technician to complete the estimate process by way of a supplement. Most of our technicians don't have the estimating knowledge or skills/training that it takes to complete an accurate estimate out of a "short sheet" or shallow estimate. They are asked to participate in the supplement process without being told why and how. This is a revelation that Master's has uncovered with its research. Technicians become frustrated thinking they are doing the estimator's job when they are asked to report obvious damage that the estimator should have listed. Technicians are spending too much time in the supplement process, which can lead to technician inefficiency. They often end up doing paperwork when they should be fixing cars. If the estimating environment requires a technician's involvement in the supplement process, then the technician should be compensated for his or her time.The Fix?
In many situations, an estimator is rushed, barely having enough time to complete an estimate before having to move on to the next. At some point adding another estimator to absorb the demand may be needed so the quality and profitability of the estimate can be maintained. Adding another estimator to spread out the workload would be the first choice, but another consideration would be having an existing staff person assist with some of the duties, such as parts ordering and supplement chasing. Most importantly, management must be well connected to the increasing responsibilities of our estimators and recognize the need for help.There are many talented, successful estimators throughout the industry who produce high sales and quality estimates. We also know there are many estimators who struggle because they are overwhelmed with their workloads. Awareness of what our estimators deal with on a daily basis is what must be recognized. After all, look at the complexity of today's vehicle compared to just a few years ago. Today's vehicle requires much more time to produce an accurate estimate.
