How Judi Haglin is Always Learning to Lead

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Read time: 3 min

At Haglin Automotive, we’ve picked up new ideas and found new ways of doing things over the years. We’re always looking, we’re always helping, we’re always training, and we’re always learning. We’re lifelong learners.

“You want your team to be a family. You have to be there for each other.”

We pay for lunch every Friday for our team meeting. Sometimes we have a meeting, but sometimes we just eat together and have a good time.

It’s important to always treat your employees like family. You want to get to know them on a personal level, listen to what their goals are, and help them reach their dreams.

We want to give each of our employees a career path. Whether they want a house, kids, retirement, anything, you can always ask yourself how you can help them get there. You want your team to be a family. You have to be there for each other.

Over the fall I planted a few pumpkin seeds and was expecting only a handful of pumpkins. But, to my surprise, we ended up with a whole pumpkin patch.

There were at least 60 pumpkins in our yard. So what we ended up doing was inviting our team over to do a pumpkin patch event. It was really fun.

Our team brought their kids and we did a pumpkin carving contest. It was a blast, and we all got to talk and get to know one another on a more meaningful level.   

“We want to give our team a clear path.” 

We find people who are interested in learning auto repair and we teach them the trade.

Not everyone who walks through the door needs 30 years of auto repair experience. We focus on bringing our team up. 

And as they climb the ladder, we train them on our shop’s values, our shop’s culture, who we all are as a team, and who I am as a business owner. 

We also teach them The Haglin Way:

Honesty and Integrity

Do the right thing in every action we take. Build on the foundation of being honest.

Do What Is Right—Every Time

All services recommended will be in the best interest of the customer, the vehicle, and the company.

Family 

Treat our employees and clients as our family. Strive to understand their situations and needs, and to exceed their expectations.

Everything Speaks

Lead by example and show your excellence. Everything has your signature. Sign in bold ink.

Bring It—Every Day

Approach every task with energy, focus, purpose and enthusiasm. 

Personal Growth

Empower each individual to grow and change, creating synergy and excitement while enriching their lives and realizing their own personal potential.

Technology and Industry

We work in an industry of constant change. The better and faster we are at adapting to change, the stronger and more successful we become as individuals and as a company.

At Haglin Automotive, our culture is taking care of everybody: our customers, our community, and our team. We want to give our team a clear path—they can make money in this industry, they can be taken care of, and they can take vacations.

“We celebrate all wins. We want to build each other up.”

Our crew’s hard work pays off. We raise our labor rates when we can. Last year, we gave everyone a 10% raise. Just recently, one of my employees said to me, “This is the first time I haven’t had to live paycheck to paycheck.”

That is our goal at the shop. We want our team to make a good living. We celebrate all wins. We want to build each other up. 

If one of our employees, or anyone we know for that matter needs help, we support them however we can. It’s like Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.

If your basic needs aren’t met, then we are unable to meet other needs. We want our employees to have the ability to be the best possible versions of themselves. 

If someone is struggling, we’ll be there. We don’t want our employees to have to live paycheck to paycheck. It all goes back to hiring the right people, right personalities, right goals, and right mindsets. Hire the right people, and you and your team can do amazing things together.

“If you want to be a better leader, you have to become a better learner.”

If you're having problems with your staff or your crew, you need to look in the mirror and ask yourself: 

  • What does teamwork look like in our shop? 
  • What's the culture at the shop like?
  • What am I doing? What am I not doing? 
  • What are we not doing correctly? 
  • How can we make improvements? 

You have to really take a hard look at yourself and answer those questions. If you want to be a better leader, you have to become a better learner. 

Judi’s Top Books On Leadership

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Tekmetric, the leading Houston-based automotive repair technology company, has been recognized as a 2022 MOTOR Top 20 Award winner for its recent integration with RepairLink by OEConnection (OEC), a renowned technology provider for the aftersales industry.

The integration, selected by industry experts as well as public popular vote, allows shop owners to seamlessly order original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts directly from the Tekmetric Shop Management System.

For over three decades, the annual MOTOR Top 20 Awards have recognized outstanding new industry solutions across the automotive industry, from the most innovative tool or equipment to creating the best customer experience.

Winners are selected by automotive professionals and experts who voted over a thirty-day open voting process from a selection of this year’s most valuable contributions to the industry.

“As a leading shop management system, our team at Tekmetric shares a mutual belief with our partners at OEC that we best support shop owners in all their business needs by providing modern and relevant solutions,” said Sunil Patel, Co-Founder and CEO of Tekmetric.

“We are honored and humbled to have the Tekmetric-RepairLink integration recognized by both our customers – shop owners – and our industry peers as one of this year’s most innovative solutions.”

With its combination of Tekmetric’s cloud-based capabilities and RepairLink’s parts ordering platform, the integration builds upon Tekmetric’s existing parts ordering offerings to streamline the process of ordering OEM parts for auto repair shops. Through the integration, shop owners can track orders or returns with real-time online updates, as well as address orders in one screen, transferring any quoted parts and VIN numbers automatically into Tekmetric.

“Vehicle sophistication is growing rapidly, and all signs point to even more advancements, meaning it’s absolutely necessary for repairers to have enhanced access to critical parts and information,” said Bonnie Coleman, OEC Director, Mechanical Retail.

“This is why OEC is thrilled to partner with Tekmetric, and that this integration has been recognized for the valuable contribution it offers to the industry.”

To learn more about the MOTOR Awards and view the 2022 Top 20 Awards, visit https://www.motor.com/top20awards-winners.

About Tekmetric

Tekmetric, a Houston-based auto repair technology company, offers a cloud-based platform that enables auto repair shop owners to enhance productivity and increase profitability through its streamlined workflow management processes.

Designed by a former shop owner, Tekmetric’s platform drives shop efficiency through real-time data, a customizable user interface and customer-centric communication tools.

Since its launch in 2016, Tekmetric has disrupted the industry with its robust fully-integrated system, developed with an emphasis on customer transparency and user collaboration.

For more information, visit www.tekmetric.com

About OEConnection Holdings LLC

OEConnection Holdings’ portfolio includes OEC, the leading parts ecommerce technology provider for OEM distribution networks, serving over 20 OEMs and 100,000 dealership and repair customers.

Providence Equity Partners is the majority stakeholder of OEConnection Holdings; Ford Motor Company and General Motors are minority stakeholders.

The company is headquartered in the greater Cleveland area at 4205 Highlander Parkway, Richfield, Ohio, 44286

Additional information is available at www.OEConnection.com.

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