Volvo’s VISTA Competition Sees Record Participation
The Volvo VISTA (Volvo International Service Training Award) 2015-16 competition broke its own record as the world’s biggest competition for aftermarket personnel with about 18,500 participants who represent the best Volvo Trucks and Volvo Buses workshop personnel from all over the world. 4,000 of those participants came from Asia Pacific region – the largest-ever contingent in this biennial event and double the number in the previous competition.
The six teams from Asia Pacific that competed in the world final in Gothenburg, Sweden were:
- Red Borneo from Indonesia (APAC champions)
- Barra’s from Australia
- Jungli 9 from Taiwan
- Chullora Blues from Australia
- Wuhan Kaili Henan from China
- Royal Challengers from Singapore
With the VISTA competition, Volvo aims to shine a spotlight on strong teamwork and problem-solving skills.
Mr 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 frontliners 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 recognize that.”
Starting as a local competition in 1957, 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 among employees from around the globe.
“VISTA is not merely a competition. It has a strong heritage and is a very effective competence development tool where teams are tested also 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 our customer satisfaction and also constantly pursue to be the most desired employer in our industry.”
Every Volvo personnel that takes part in VISTA benefits from the experience by acquiring new knowledge and development of their existing skills which has led to an overall increase in performance applicable to their day-to- day interaction with customers. Participating teams also receives the opportunity to strengthen the image of their respective workshops and improve customer satisfaction. In essence, everyone wins.
Mr 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 come away 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.”
The winner of the VISTA 2015-16 is Team Harju of Finland, who also won VISTA 2012-2013 and became the first team to win this award twice.
