AX Academy scheme introduced to digitise training process

• The accident aftercare specialist has digitised its training process to boost effectiveness and ease of use with the introduction of the AX Academy

• First to introduce comprehensive training for dealers 21 years ago, AX has raised the bar with its new automated, digital platform

• Accident aftercare services provide valuable income and support customer service excellence

• The AX Academy scheme is far more time efficient and ensures opportunities are not lost

AX has digitised its training scheme with the introduction of the AX Academy platform, helping dealers to boost revenue and customer service while prioritising ease of use.

Providing a new digital, automated platform for its accident aftercare training, the initiative is the first of its kind and will ensure dealers are positioned to optimise the lifetime value of their customers. 

The new scheme has already trained 1,300 dealer staff with a 93% pass rate, resulting in increases of up to 60% on aftercare calls from customers. 

AX first introduced comprehensive training for automotive retailers 21 years ago, helping hundreds of dealers to implement staff training on the process and benefits of accident aftercare services. 

New for this year, the AX Academy automates and digitises the process to make it easier to ensure experienced dealer staff are kept abreast of the latest developments and that new staff can be quickly informed about key processes. 

The training themes include understanding the process of accident management, adhering to legal and safety requirements, how to improve customer service using accident aftercare, and helping to identify which route is best for different customer needs.

The digitised AX Academy enables faster dealer staff training and is more convenient for the whole Group, including their learning & development teams. 

This has led to an increase in engagement and awareness, not just with the training process but the ease of customer and claim support, programme updates and income monitoring. Training accreditations are tracked in real time, helping management teams to administer their Accident Aftercare service. Additionally, any changes in the programme details can also be updated by AX over the air, meaning it is always up to date.

Accident aftercare services not only provide a valuable income, but they allow dealers to extend and optimise the lifetime value of customers. 

As well as supporting improved customer service with the provision of an appropriate replacement vehicle, repairs are kept in-house, providing valuable parts income, and customers are more likely to be retained in the long term.  

Scott Hamilton-Cooper, Chief Commercial Officer at AX, said: “We are delighted with the results following the digital launch of the AX Academy. We are now able to train all colleagues across a dealership or Group in a fraction of the time as part of their standard company induction process or in parallel to their standard compliance testing. This really embeds important processes into the day-to-day role of all employees within our partner’s organisation, generating significant returns and improved customers satisfaction.

“Ensuring accident aftercare training is clear and consistent has always been a very labour intensive and difficult process to manage, often due to staff availability or reluctance of management to allow staff downtime. Our automated, digital training process removes these issues, enabling us to train thousands of employees simultaneously as part of standard dealer training processes.”