It’s International Women’s Day 2022 on 8th March, a global event celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
Paula Varley, Director of Insurance & Customer Service Centre at Copart UK, is a name well-known to many within our industry, as this year she celebrates 30 years with the business.
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2022, Paula, who is a key member of Copart UK’s leadership team, shares some insights and experiences from her 30-year career with Copart.
My Copart Journey
When I was younger, I left school with absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. I really admired those people who always knew what they wanted to do, but that wasn’t me!
I had a few jobs before entering the world of salvage. My very first job, which I remember very fondly, was as a window dresser at Debenhams as part of a YTS scheme. After that I moved into a number of office roles.
It was during that time I realised I had great organisational skills and was pretty good at getting things done! I’ve always had a can-do attitude, which has ended up serving me well. I spotted an advert for a call centre role at what was then called Universal Salvage before it was acquired later down the line by Copart.
I got the job and 30 years on I can honestly say it’s been a fantastic journey.
After starting off in the Customer Support Centre I was promoted to CSC Manager, overseeing a team of 25. After a while I moved into Business Implementation, which was a natural progression having built up plenty of operational knowledge, and I was responsible for onboarding new customers and managing changes to processes.
This eventually led to me moving into the Account Management side of things and my current role as Director of Insurance & Customer Services Centre. I’m very lucky as I really enjoy what I do, and I always have done.
People have said to me that 30 years is a long time to be at one company, but because Copart is always changing and evolving, I enjoy working here as much today as I did when I first started.
Industry Milestones
Over the last 30 years there have been many milestone moments within the industry, but one thing that stands out for me from when I started and where we are today is governance and compliance.
I remember the time when contracts were just one page with an outline of pricing and service levels and that was it. Today’s world is very different! The focus we have today on compliance and regulations has shaped the industry for the better and the difference in where we are now is absolutely huge.
Another stand out moment for me was when the revised ABI Code of Practice came into effect. It caused a great deal of debate in the industry and a lot of work by a lot of people went into the review. But it resulted in better controls and measures which have ensured that the right decisions are made, so again, another huge improvement within the industry and a moment that sticks in my mind.
More so in recent years is the embracing of diversity and inclusion across the industry, and one area being the increase in the number of women now in the industry.
I remember when I went to my first industry event, the room was filled with about 500 black bow ties and just three ball gowns. Today’s world is very different, there are definitely more ball gowns now!
Customer Insights
Our customers have very high expectations of service and quite rightly so! For us, it’s not just about collecting, storing, and disposing of cars – there’s so much more to it. Our customers don’t want a ‘one size fits all’ approach. They all have specific needs and requirements, and it’s important for us to work to that. We remain driven by focusing on how we can continuously find ways to create and add value throughout the entire total loss process for our customers.
We are seeing more and more vehicles entering the total loss arena and customers are making more informed decisions around things like the cost of repair, hire charges, and parts delays, versus the strong auction returns they can get for their salvage through Copart.
With more dynamic decision making happening in the marketplace, we have to remain one step ahead, whether that’s handling different types of vehicles like EVs or ensuring that we have the latest technology in place. Reinvesting in tech, as well as services and infrastructure, is key to making sure we continually improve on what we do.
We are also seeing more and more customers outsourcing services to us, especially since we opened the doors to our Customer Excellence Centre in Bedford last year. With our end-to-end claims management and engineering teams now all under one roof, our customers are seeing quicker cycle times and reduced claims cost.
Post Pandemic
Now that restrictions have been lifted, me and my team are really looking forward to getting back on the road to see our customers! We have missed physically meeting people, as we have some fantastic relationships with our partners.
Zoom and Teams is great tech that has allowed us to interact throughout the pandemic, but it wasn’t the same. I often refer to myself and my team as ‘social butterflies’ as we love being out and about, talking to people. However, I have to say, we probably did get to know some of our customers better during the pandemic as we got to meet many family members and pets during our video calls!
But we’ll definitely be pleased to get back out again and be with our customers in person, like we did before.
Global Business
The Copart Global Family has grown significantly during my years with the business, and we now operate in more than 200 locations across 11 countries.
Copart’s strategy is focused on continual investment and continual improvement in everything we do, and as a business we challenge ourselves every day.
Our Managing Director Jane Pocock is very passionate about how we can be better tomorrow compared to how we were yesterday, and this mantra is echoed by teammates all across our business.
I’m very proud that we work with the majority of UK motor insurers, as well as wide range of accident management, fleet, and lease companies. We now handle around 500,000 vehicles a year in the UK alone and our nationwide operational capabilities remain unrivalled with 18 operational sites spanning over 400 acres across the UK & Ireland, and there’s more to come!
We own our entire network of UK Operation Centres and have complete control over all of our resources and the services we offer. That’s really important to us as it means we can be flexible and dynamic and can continually maintain and improve upon our high standards of operational excellence.
This is even more important now than ever with the regular extreme weather and flooding events we are seeing. We have the ability to be agile and fully in control of these situations through the deployment of our specialist Surge Management Team, using a wide range of mobile technology solutions to rapidly assess, image, and process vehicles on-site.
Maximising Value
There are three key components that all come together to help us maximise value – our people, our relationships with our customers, and our technology – none of which can work without the others!
We fully appreciate that it’s our people who drive our success. It is important to take the time to recognise talent and expertise through schemes like our very successful Copart Apprenticeships and our wide range of personal development programmes.
We also have Copart Superstars, our employee recognition awards. We have a real can-do culture at Copart and the people we have in our business amaze me every day. I am always hearing stories about how teammates have gone above and beyond for our customers and for each other. I am genuinely proud of what our people do.
Strong customer relationships are so important and it’s vital to have open discussions to agree goals and objectives together. We do a lot of this through active account management. That’s pretty crucial for us as it results in the best outcome for everyone – our customers, their customers, and us as a business.
Last but by no means least, technology is also very important and one of our mantras is to keep innovating. If I look back over the last year and see what we have achieved, it’s truly impressive. To name a few, we’ve launched our Virtual Visits service, 360° imaging (C360), the Copart Transportation App, Owner Connect SMS Service, and numerous upgrades to our patented live auction platform. The list goes on!
Looking Forward
If I was asked what the future holds for Copart, I’d say it’s about ensuring that we continue to improve on our service offering and deliver more innovation. A question we need to keep asking as a business is, how can we make our customer experience better?
For us, that will mean making sure we are focused on our people and providing them with the right skills our industry needs as it continues to grow and change. Succession management is key, and we must continue to have the right people in the right roles and with the right skills, so that we remain fit for the future.
I’m pleased to work for a company that supports and encourages gender balance. In addition to female Drivers, Engineers, and Yard Operatives there is also strong female representation within the senior management team, including a female Managing Director.
I hope the long and successful career I have had within the automotive industry is seen as a positive example to other women and inspires them to seek progression.
I’m sometimes asked if I would change anything about my career journey with Copart. It’s a difficult question to answer as I really don’t think there is anything I would change. I have personally loved every moment and I’m very lucky to have worked with so many innovative and passionate people over the years. I also have an amazing team, which I am extremely proud of, they truly care about doing the very best for our customers and Copart.
It’s been an amazing 30 years and I’m looking forward to many more!
Find out more about International Women’s Day 2022 at internationalwomensday.com