Posted: 17/11/2016
Toyota Australia’s National Skills Final held on Friday November 11 saw six Toyota dealer staff crowned the ‘best of the best’ in their respective areas of expertise across technical, sales and customer service fields.
As the largest annual automotive skills development program in Australia, National Skills aims to develop and showcase the skills and knowledge of Toyota Australia dealer staff to enable them to deliver an outstanding guest experience.
Toyota Australia President Dave Buttner is a passionate supporter of the program and believes the National Skills program is all about human endeavour.
“It’s about celebrating the skill and knowledge of the people who face our guests every single day,” says Dave.
“In our respective businesses, whether it be Toyota Australia or our dealerships around Australia, it’s all about people striving to offer an exemplary experience to our guests that can set us apart from each and every one of our competitors.
“Since 1984 we’ve conducted this event all around Australia and in 2016 we’ve had 5000 contestants. So to get to where we are now when we actually celebrate the Final series, we get to experience the best of the best.”
After months of online quizzes and practical assessments, regional winners were selected in the categories of Guest Experience Managers, Vehicle Sales, Service Advisor, Diagnosis Technician, Technician and Parts Sales.
The Finals were held at Toyota Australia's Caringbah NSW headquarters where 30 Region Finalists took part in a series of role plays reflecting typical situations that arise every day in dealerships and through a series of practical workstations.
Judges determined the winners by assessing the manner in which each Finalist dealt with the situation presented to them using clear measures and competencies.
National Skills is an international program within Toyota and is run in over 90 countries and regions across the world. Toyota distributors each select their best who are inducted into Toyota’s International Assembly of Customer Service Champions in Japan.
Congratulations to the 2016 national champions for each category:
- Diagnosis Technician – Simon Genrich, Toowoomba Toyota, Qld
- Technician – Dalton Randall, CMI Toyota, Stepney, SA
- Service Advisor – Mark Oppedisano, Patterson Cheney Toyota, Dandenong, Vic
- Guest Experience Manager – Hayley Brown, John Madill Toyota, Qld
- Parts Sales – Zachary Dean, Clintons Toyota, NSW
- Sales Walkaround – Andrea Gehan, CMI Toyota, Christies Beach, SA
For their efforts, Mr Genrich, Mr Randall, Ms Brown, Mr Dean and Mr Oppedisano have won a study tour to Japan to join the International Assembly of Customer Service Champions, while Ms Gehan has won Panasonic equipment to the value of $5000.