Training is a daily concern at our company. As a matter of fact, we spend about 4% of our annual salary envelope helping our employees develop their professional talents and acquire new skills.
Kaïzen Workshops:
Kaïzen - Continuous improvement on a daily basis
The Kaïzen workshops have been highly successful at Domtar. Participants become more aware of the need for continuous improvement and learn how to tackle problems as a team. Our two-week workshops are divided into three parts: training, presentation of a real problem, and presentation of participants' common solutions. This tried and true formula leverages employee creativity and initiative as well as collaborative input across company sectors. This way, a variety of proposals that are often simple, effective, and readily implemented in the workplace can be put forward. Furthermore, the Kaïzen workshops heighten employees’ awareness of the importance of doing a good job every day.
Kaïzen is a Japanese methodology that Domtar has adopted as its own. Results have been extremely positive. "Kaïzen innovation doesn't cost a lot of money, but it changes the way that people do their jobs. The Kaïzen approach is to make better use of your existing resources."
(Masaaki Imai, author of the book Kaïzen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success, 1986, McGraw-Hill).
In May 1998, inspired by positive feedback from other major Canadian companies, Domtar adopted the Kaïzen approach to business in its plants and sawmills. Says Bernard Poirier, Manager, Quality & Productivity Improvement, "The important point for us was the fact that the Kaïzen approach got all levels of personnel and management involved in the running of the company. Everyone contributed, and when all levels of a company work together with a single goal in mind, productivity increases and quality improves."
Claude Doré, Director of Quality and Productivity Improvement, asked coordinators to brainstorm the best ways to implement the Kaïzen modules. Participants use the modules to uncover the fundamental cause of a problem, research solutions, and implement them. "It's about all of us doing a better teaching job when we host a Kaïzen," said Doré. "Continuous improvement is about sharing information and implementing best practices. Since the Kaïzen methodology is a strategic tool in our efforts to match and surpass the competition, a meeting of the session coordinators is a great opportunity to do just that."
Domtar continues to use the Kaïzen approach to business, holding coordinators meetings every six months to discuss and refine the process.
PMP – Performance Management Program
This program is based on the principle that participants must take an active part in Domtar’s business strategy if the company is to succeed. Performance Management is a 12-month program, beginning with a one-day training session covering the three main components: planning, follow-up, and performance assessment. PMP lays the groundwork for the achievement of:
- Improving employee performance, the employee’s activity sector, and Domtar as a whole
- Communicating Domtar’s values
- Clarifying individual roles
- Fostering better communication between employees and managers.
The PMP is based on commitment, cooperation, and shared responsibilities, and it clearly demonstrates that the quality of an organization reflects the quality of its employees.