The Caliber family of brands, including Caliber Collision alongside Caliber Auto Care and Caliber Auto Glass, had an extraordinary 2022 by focusing on the communities it serves and the more than 25,000 teammates that live Caliber's purpose of Restoring the Rhythm of Your Life®.
It was a year of growth for Caliber, achieving both company and industry-related milestones and accolades, such as:
Celebrating Caliber's 25th anniversary as one of the nation's leading automotive services providers and proudly Restoring the Rhythm of Your Life for more than 9 million customers since 1997. This was possible because of the 25,000-plus dedicated teammates who provide outstanding customer experiences and help Caliber achieve its mission to be the most trusted automotive service provider in every community served.
Commemorating the opening of Caliber's 1,500th location nationwide, further expanding its footprint and creating even more opportunities for teammates to reach their full potential across all Caliber lines of business.
Opening more than 140 new Collision centers in multiple states, increasing Caliber Auto Glass' presence across the country and expanding to 33 Caliber Auto Care center locations in Texas.
Being presented with the 3M Partnership Award for Applying Science to Life, acknowledging Caliber's enduring commitment to technician safety and environmental responsibility.
Appointing David Dart as Caliber's new chief people officer. Dart leads all facets of teammate services, including career and leadership development, recruiting and human resources operations.
Honoring outstanding Caliber leaders, including:
- Shirin Hezar, director of strategic accounts, recipient of the WIN Most Influential Women Award, highlighting her many contributions and leadership within the collision industry.
- Blair Womble, integrated client support manager, joined the 2022-2023 leadership officers and Board of Directors for WIN.
- Vicki Werling, vice president of organizational development, was recognized as one of the Top 50 learning and development professionals in the world at the OnCon 2022 Leadership and Development Summit, a recognition selected by industry peers for her organizational observation of work.
- Debbie Braden, director of internal communications, was awarded a Top Women in Communications honor, presented by Ragan and PR Daily, an organization that delivers practical advice and real-world solutions for today's corporate communicator.
As part of Caliber's community-focused Restoring You™ platform of programs, teammates supported programs benefiting children, military service members, veterans, first responders and more throughout the year.
"With our growing national footprint, Caliber's commitment to the communities we serve also grows," said Caliber President and CEO Mark Sanders. "Our purpose is Restoring the Rhythm of Your Life, which is much bigger than automotive services; it is about lending a hand, supporting our neighbors and our teammates throughout the country."
In 2022, the company served the community through initiatives such as:
Caliber and National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides® program gifted vehicles to active-duty military and veterans in need of reliable transportation across the country. Caliber teammates volunteered their time and expertise to restore 50-plus NABC Recycled Rides throughout the year. Caliber has gifted more than 500 vehicles since 2012.
Caliber hosted its 11th annual Restoring You™ Food Drive, partnering with 110 food bank partners across the nation to address childhood food insecurity when schools closed for summer break. The 2022 Restoring You Food Drive raised 3.1 million meals in these communities for local children.
In August, American Heart Association appointed Sanders to board chair-elect in the Dallas Division. Caliber has been an avid supporter of the AHA and its work on heart disease and stroke research in an effort to help improve the lives of teammates, customers and communities. In partnership with AHA, 2,100 Caliber teammates were trained in CPR during Caliber's 2022 Leadership Summit. Since the partnership began in 2011, more than 25,000 teammates have been CPR trained at Caliber centers and events.
For the 11th consecutive year, Caliber Auto Care centers partnered with the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation as a toy collection site, ensuring children in nearby communities receive a toy during the holiday season. Caliber collected thousands of toys in 2022, spreading joy to families across Texas.
Another exciting development for Caliber in 2022 was an increased focus on creating new career opportunities and inspiring teammates to reach their full potential. Caliber made a significant investment by championing two proprietary training initiatives: the Caliber Technician Apprentice Program (TAP) and Changing Lanes.
TAP is an auto body technician apprentice program open to students, veterans and anyone seeking a new career in the auto services industry. On average, apprentices receive paid, on-the-job training from an experienced body tech mentor during a 10– to 12-month program. These apprentices later graduate, moving down a path to receive industry-recognized auto body repair certifications. More than 1,800 apprentices and graduates are currently involved in the program.
TAP also creates career-expanding opportunities for senior auto body technicians as they become mentors and trainers, sharing their knowledge with the next generation of Caliber collision repair professionals. TAP mentors can earn bonuses when apprentices graduate from the program and start their new careers with Caliber. Presently, more than 1,000 Caliber teammates are elevating their careers and influencing the future of their industry as TAP mentors.
"Caliber is committed to inspiring and investing in programs for all teammates that support professional development and career growth in the automotive services industry," said Sanders. "Through our TAP and Changing Lanes programs, we are highlighting the unlimited career potential and advancing Caliber's future with programs that deliver highly-skilled, certified auto body technicians. We are committed to providing the support, training and tools that will help teammates reach their full potential within a career path they may not have previously considered."
Changing Lanes provides career opportunities for active-duty service members transitioning out of the military, offering free, hands-on auto body technician training during a 15-week cohort. Graduates of Changing Lanes are then employed at Caliber centers as certified auto body technicians. In 2022, 68 active-duty service members graduated from the program and became official Caliber teammates.
"Our 2022 accomplishments were due to the hard work and dedication of our teammates and support from our valuable insurance carrier partners," said Sanders. "We are highly motivated to continue Restoring the Rhythm of Your Life in 2023 and beyond."
Source: Caliber
Abby Andrews