By Sandy Blalock • ARA Executive Director
Happy New Year to everyone. I hope that each of you had wonderful holidays and have set your resolutions to make this your best year yet. I write this article in the first month of 2024 with some deep emotional thoughts as I begin my last year as the Executive Director of ARA. As many of you know, I announced at the ARA Convention last fall that I will be leaving ARA at the end of October of this year. I will mentor the leadership team of ARA into their next chapter following this year’s Convention in Reno. Have no fears as there is a succession plan in place to assure that the transition goes well, and the new leadership of ARA will have a seamless transition. I plan to continue working in the industry at the state and affiliate level as I have for the last 13 years, so I will still be around to assure professional auto recyclers continue to have the resources they need within their states and national level.
I would like to start this new year with thoughts on KPIs.
Keep People Interested: Your team members will feel more valuable when they are learning and provided training programs and development opportunities. To keep your team motivated and inspired, you will see greater results when you offer them opportunities for growth within our industry.
Make sure to look for ways to tailor the opportunities that best suits the employee. Some of those opportunities can be as simple as further training (do not forget ARA University), invite them to shadow you or other leaders within your organization and get to know what they are interested in achieving in their automotive recycling career path.
Evaluate and look at potential transferable skills they could use in different positions and encourage them to set their own learning goals.
Keep People Informed: A huge part of clear goal-setting relies on effective communication with your team. Communication is a two-way street. Make sure that there is a constant flow of communication between you and your employees, keeping them up to date with what needs to be done while also listening to their ideas, opinions, and feedback.
Most importantly, check-in regularly with your team and assure them that you are always available to talk and listen. This will make your staff feel involved in the business and its operations, which will further motivate them to achieve the best results.
Keep People Involved: The ideal companies are those where everyone works together cohesively. Make sure your team alignment is on point. As leaders within your organization, promoting and inspiring will go a long way to boost the productivity of your team. You can do this by consistently offering opportunities for your team members to bond and get to know one another.
When hiring new staff, consider how they will add to the team and the company culture. Even if someone is experienced in a role, it does not necessarily mean that they will work well with the rest of your employees.
Keep People Inspired: Make sure your employees are aware of your vision and what your ultimate goals are for the business.
This encourages everyone to work together to achieve the goals. Regularly set clear and measurable goals that are framed by this vision so that you and your team can track progress in a tangible way.
Supporting alignment within and across your team cultivates increased productivity and will go a long way helping employees to feel valued and motivated.
Do Not Stifle Creativity: By giving your employees space and autonomy, you clearly show that you trust them to get the work done in their own way. This can inspire individuals to find more efficient or streamlined ways of completing tasks or to discover gaps in their skillset.
When you give your employees space it goes hand-in-hand with reducing meetings and checking in asynchronously when possible. By clearing the calendar, you can give valuable time back to employees so they can do their best work.
You should constantly be striving to make your employees feel motivated and inspired. If you do this, you are sure to achieve the results that you need. In the end, your team and organization will achieve operational excellence.
I am looking forward to working on behalf of the professional auto recycling industry in 2024. Let’s plan to make this the best year yet. I will do my best if you promise to do YOUR BEST!
Reach Sandy Blalock at sandy@a-r-a.org. Share your thoughts pertaining to the advancement of professional automotive recycling. Your letter could be published in an upcoming issue.
