Corporate-Wide Training: Start Small, Win Big

There are many good reasons for any large food-manufacturing company with multiple locations to have a consistent, corporate-wide program in place for training production employees. Systemizing training across the organization can foster the efficient use of resources, maximize training-program investments, and help to instill a common culture and shared values among all employees.

But what is the best way to proceed to ensure the success of systemized training? It might seem to make sense, if the goal is consistency and common values, to involve all of a large organization's many – and often far-flung – manufacturing operations in corporate-wide training from the very start of such an initiative. But at least one company's experience suggests that starting small may really be the key to winning big.

Case in Point
Silliker and partner Alchemy Systems recently worked with American Foods Group (AFG) LLC to roll out Alchemy's automated, group-based training for production employees, SISTEM™. The implementation started with a pilot program for training new hires at the company's three meat-processing facilities in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Once AFG began to see measurable benefits from that initial implementation, they proceeded to roll out the program corporate-wide throughout all of its eight facilities across the Midwest.

SISTEM is a highly interactive training product that is specifically geared toward food-manufacturing production workers at all levels, including both English- and Spanish-speaking employees and those with few or no computer skills. AFG chose SISTEM for several reasons. The training is rapidly growing in popularity, and is endorsed by the National Meat Association (NMA). And in keeping with AFG's stated purpose for employee education, SISTEM provides a vehicle to teach fundamental job skills as well as problem-solving and other core workplace skills.

In selecting SISTEM training for new hires at its Green Bay plants, AFG took into account a number of product benefits, including:

• Improved compliance with public and private industry training requirements
• Integrated, automated attendance documentation and recordkeeping
• Competency-based testing using simple remote controls to demonstrate mastery
• Coverage of multiple topics including safety and other legally mandated training
• Continual product updating, with regular additions of new topics and courses
• Simplification and streamlining of employee on-boarding processes
• Ability to leverage existing AFG training courses within the same training platform

Before and After
Prior to rolling out SISTEM training at its three Green Bay meat processing plants, AFG had relied on traditional instructor-led training for its production employees.

"The problem with traditional live training is that there's no mechanism for students to readily understand what they're being taught, nor to evaluate and measure how well they're learning," according to Jeff Eastman, president of Alchemy Systems, "whereas with a technology-based, interactive training tools like SISTEM, workers learn easily through a web-based media experience, and the results are instantly documented in an online reporting system."

AFG initially implemented SISTEM technology as a six-month pilot, training 1,500 employees at its three Green Bay plants. During the course of this initial implementation, AFG saw a reduction in employee turnover, which contributed to significant cost reductions and resulted in a solid return on its investment in the training. Because of this success, AFG elected to sign a new twelve-month contract for its three Green Bay facilities.

Moving Forward
AFG followed up its twelve-month commitment to SISTEM training at Green Bay with a two-year renewal of its contract there. At the same time, the company made the decision to move forward with using the SISTEM product as a training tool for production employees at all of its facilities for beef harvesting and processing, ground beef processing, and case-ready processing in Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia, and Ohio.

As the sixth-largest meat packing company in the United States, AFG LLC is constantly seeking new, more efficient ways to carry out training and other employee on-boarding processes. The SISTEM product allows the company to train up to 32 students at one time, using 15-minute training modules that each equate to an hour of traditional classroom training. Citing an independent study by the Food Training Institute in conjunction with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), Alchemy reports that in addition to helping reduce overall production costs, SISTEM training has been shown to improve employee satisfaction.

According to Trudy Kamps, vice president of human resources at AFG LLC, "Over the long term, it's desirable to have a culture where employees are engaged in their individual development and understand the need for ongoing learning."

To download the full Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) report and to see how SISTEM is helping other food processing companies combat food safety issues, log on to SISTEMtraining.com/foodsafety or indicate your interest on the information request page.

[Return to Top] | [Request Information]

Silliker, Inc., a leading food industry safety trainer for over two decades, has been accredited as a Safe Quality Food Institute (SQFI) Training Center. As one of a handful of recognized SQFI training centers in the U.S., Silliker can assist companies with:

• An understanding and awareness of food safety practices, such as HACCP
• An understanding of SQF System principles, activities and terminology
• A common approach for the implementation and auditing of SQF Systems
• Skills to properly implement and audit an SQF System
• A consistent and effective approach to ensure the implementation and auditing of an SQF System

The SQF Program is recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative, a group of major international retailers committed to strengthening consumer confidence in food sold by retail outlets.

To learn more about our SQF training services and certified HACCP offerings, please indicate your interest on the request information page.

[Return to Top] | [Request Information]

Click on the following links to learn more about or register for upcoming Silliker short courses:

Microbiological Concerns in Food Plant Sanitation and Hygiene
3/26/08 - 3/28/08 in Chicago, IL

Food Safety Trainer
4/9/08 - 4/11/08 in Chicago, IL

Intermediate Lab Methods in Food Microbiology
5/6/08 - 5/8/08 in Summit Argo, IL

Practical HACCP for Food Processors
5/21/08 - 5/23/08 in Chicago, IL

To request a free PDF of the Silliker, Inc. Food Safety Training Catalog, please indicate your interest on the request information page.

[Return to Top] | [Request Information]