Volvo continues to shine a spotlight on strong teamwork and problem-solving skills through this year’s Asia Pacific VISTA Competition that concluded this month with more than 18,500 aftermarket personnel participation worldwide.
The 2015-2016 year of the international competition roped in more than 4,000 participants from Asia Pacific alone, doubling the number of entry from the region in the previous competition.
Jacques Michel, President of Volvo Trucks in Asia Pacific said, “We are extremely proud that the number of participants doubled in this year’s competition. Our aftermarket professionals are our front liners, who meet and interact with our customers each and every day. They are arguably the most important people when it comes to delivering customer satisfaction and we recognise that.”
Began in 1957 as a local competition aimed specifically at Volvo’s mechanics in Sweden, VISTA has outgrown its initial purpose to become the global benchmark for aftermarket professionals to meet and exceed by cultivating a desire to improve skills and form strong bonds amongst employees from around the globe.
In other words, Volvo provides employees the opportunity to simply be better at what they do every day through this competition.
“VISTA is not merely a competition. It has a strong heritage and is a very effective competence development tool where teams are tested on their ability to work together, solve problems together and meet Volvo’s required standards,” Michel elaborated.
VISTA is an effective way of motivating and inspiring employees, while also providing a competitive stage for them to learn and develop. It is also a way for Volvo to show workshop personnel how the company values the hard work carried out in its workshops across the world, and how it invests in them to perform beyond world-class standards.
Michel explained, “VISTA embodies the aspirations that we as a company have. We strive to be leading in customer satisfaction and also constantly pursue to be the most desired employer in our industry.”
Every Volvo personnel that participates in VISTA benefits from the experience, by acquiring new knowledge and development of their existing skillsets. This has led to an overall increase in performance applicable to employees’ day-to-day interaction with customers.
Participating teams also receive the opportunity to strengthen the image of their respective workshops and improve customer satisfaction. In essence, everyone wins.
Filip Van den Heede, Vice President Aftermarket of Volvo Trucks Asia Pacific is delighted with the competition, “Everyone who takes part in VISTA is guaranteed to take some learnings from this experience with improved skills and new knowledge, which is why we encourage all our employees to participate. Everything that the participants learn, while competing, has a direct impact on the quality of services we provide to our customers.”
