Jeremy Wilks manager at dealership owned North Shore BMW Bodyshop, Artarmon, Sydney takes out our inaugural Manager Of The Year award.
Jeremy is responsible for managing a team of 18 staff within a 3,500m2 shop across the areas of paint, panel, mechanical and administration and has over 27 years of industry experience under his belt. Jeremy's primary responsibility is to direct all work activities undertaken at the bodyshop to ensure deadlines and productivity levels are met and the optimum level of customer service is achieved. Jeremy achieves this by establishing and maintaining good working relationships with customers and monitoring the bodyshop performance through iBodyshop reporting, tracking and survey analysis. Jeremy also consults, negotiates and networks with insurers, industry experts and other industry counterparts.
Jeremy was instrumental in assisting general manager Glen O’Donnell in the design and set up of the new shop at Artarmon, contributing several months of his own time. Once the shop was set up, he then implemented systems and procedures with a view to creating a great customer experience with quality outcomes which he, once again, excelled at.
He worked tirelessly and in his own time to engage in an extensive recruitment campaign to source suitably trained and qualified staff with the expertise to work in a BMW Bodyshop. The business was awarded Paint & Panel Bodyshop Awards of Best Dealer Owned Bodyshop Award and Best Safety Award in its first year of operation which can be attributed to Jeremy's tireless work.
His pragmatic approach of focusing on practical solutions for any problem or challenge that he faces, assists the bodyshop in achieving speedy and best practice outcomes for staff and customers. This is why North Shore BMW Bodyshop has achieved so much success in the short time it has been operational.
Prior to opening North Shore BMW Bodyshop, he helped set the foundation for the way in which the shop would operate now and into the future by setting up operational systems in consultation with relevant key stakeholders to ensure this business met the opening schedule.
Jeremy invests time in staff by prioritising their own personal and professional development. Glenn says: “He is practical yet strategic in the way he thinks and operates which are qualities that make him a successful and well respected leader. He has exceptional organisational skills which are critical to enabling the work to flow smoothly across all areas which is paramount in a shop of this size. It is my opinion that Jeremy exhibits all of the attributes required to run a modern prestige bodyshop operation.
“The most important skill a successful bodyshop manager must be able to demonstrate is the ability to effectively negotiate and liaise with customers, insurers, suppliers and manufacturers. The ability to pull all of this together and achieve a positive outcome and experience is a rare attribute. Jeremy's personality and trade knowledge assists him to exceed across all benchmarks.”