1. AGENDA #2 2015 5AGENDA #2 2015 5
VOLVO CAR SWEDEN won gold together with the Smicker agency
for the Best Customer Loyalty Programme in the Golden Key
competition, which is open to all companies working with direct
marketing. The winning submission, My Volvo, is a loyalty
programme which, according to the customers themselves,
boosts the value of owning a Volvo.
In April,
Volvo Cars of North America
invited all its dealers to a
conference to unveil the company’s
strategy for the next five years,
and the plans were given an
enthusiastic reception.
“The new products, the design, the
ideas and the concepts are really
fantastic. Better than anything I’ve
seen,” was the response of Steve
Hinkle from San Diego.
Increasing customer satisfaction in China
Betty Chuah PHOTOVOLVOCARS
New recruits at VCT, Volvo Car Torslanda,
were welcomed in a series of major
employee events in Volvohallen. Ahead
of the third shift, another , people are
being hired by the plant.
The new recruits were given detailed infor-
mation, got the opportunity to sign their
employment contracts, and received their
new ID cards and work-clothes.
All told, three onboarding events were
held in March and April, with -
employees welcomed to the company on
each occasion.
Daniel Bexell and Denis Dindic have just fetched their work-clothes. Both are looking
forward to their new jobs at VCT. “I’ve always wanted to work at Volvo,” says Denis Dindic.
Welcoming the newcomers
With its SL, Volvo Cars in China has
overtaken both the BMW  Series and the
Mercedes Benz C Class as regards customer
satisfaction, thanks largely to a comprehensive
drive to boost quality.
“We aim to put  employees through level  of
the Lean -Sigma training course by end ,”
says Betty Chuah, -Sigma Corporate Deploy-
ment Champion.
For the construction of the Chengdu factory
and the launch of the first SL model, the goal
was that the China-developed car should be at
least as good as the European-built S.
“There are many factors behind our success
but one important aspect is of course the dedi-
cated and knowledgeable employees,” says Ola
Lindwall, Vice President Quality & Customer
Satisfaction.
One of the foremost tools in strengthening
the employees was the roll-out of Lean -Sigma,
which has been under way since May .
Certification is divided into three levels and by
The atmosphere was excellent, relates
Jonna Sandell, project manager for the third
shift.
“There was just so much positive energy
flowing! It was great seeing all the new
employees who were all longing to start
working.”
The factory’s management group was also
on site to personally welcome the new staff.
“It was good to be there and meet our
new employees. Welcoming and training
all the newcomers is our biggest challenge
right now,” says Mikael d’Aubigné, Plant
Manager VCT.
February ,  employees had undertaken
the five-day course at Level ,  had completed
the ten-day long Level  course, and three were
selected to participate in training for Level .
“All the candidates participating in the course
must implement real-life projects in order to
truly learn how to use the methodology,” ex-
plains Betty Chuah.
One example is a project known as “New
Car Smell”.The organisation is working hard
to strengthen “the Voice of China”, that is to
say learn more about what Chinese customers
actually want. By using a -Sigma tool known as
the Kano Model Survey, it was revealed that the
new-car smell that appeals to Swedish customers
actually has the opposite effect on the Chinese
market.
“In the long term we hope to integrate Lean
-Sigma into the Volvo Management System.
By adopting the approach of always first under-
standing the problem, many employees can work
in a more structured way and thus improve our
results,” concludes Betty Chuah.