The company’s Stansted site was used to launch the SPARK initiative
ProCo’s new training initiative SPARK is open to staff, suppliers, customers and even competitors. Barney Cox went to learn more.
When Jon Bailey read that companies with a dedicated training and innovation department are 12% more profitable than those without he came up with a plan to provide something along those line for his own staff. However, there is more to this programme than just pennies and pounds. The new initiative ran on 7-8 December 2016 at the company’s Stansted site, with the aim of bringing new talent into the industry.
Why the need for education? Mr Bailey continued, ‘We felt due to technology advancement and the need to increase customer service and sales levels that we could recruit from outside the industry to bring in best practice from other industries and teach them about print. However, in practice, are you really able to teach them the core knowledge? At the same time, our customers were focussing on new marketing methods and bringing in new skill sets so we suddenly find ourselves with a knowledge gap. We had to find a way to grow and learn together and to collaborate.’
Collaboration being the key word. The programme is not just for ProCo staff, the aim is to include people from suppliers such as Duplo and Direct Smile, its own staff and those of its customers. ‘SPARK is about creating the environment that fosters group learning and collaboration. It comes with its own challenges. There has been a big resource invested, the sheer amount of time has been immense. Initiatives like this sound great and everyone says they love it but without support from all parts of the supply chain they can very quickly into museums. By working together we can ensure SPARK adds value to us all for years to come.’
On site
First impressions of the site were that this was not your average printer. On the outside of the factory there was a small clue in the form of the pulsing neon sign saying SPARK but otherwise it could have been any other print shop. Once inside things were very different. The large reception area, painted white but low lit was not the norm. While it is common to find an unpersoned space these days they normally run to a few carpet tiles, white painted breeze block walls and a door or stairs to the office proper. If you’re very lucky you might get a couple of chairs, a table with some trade magazines and a cabinet with a couple of awards. Here was more neon and chairs. Not any chairs though. Two were the seats from a project to build a working Lexus from cardboard. Made from layers of contour cut honeycomb board they provided tangible evidence of what is possible with paper, while a video loop provided the whole story. The other two again used cardboard, albeit a single sheet, and one that looked like it had seen better days. However, again they had a story and showed the potential of paper and the importance of good design.
All parts of the printing supply chain are encouraged to get involved with the programme
Through plate glass walls and doors lay the factory itself, a model of lean layout. Design and artwork in one office off the main floor, the press next door in its own controlled environment and then a larger shop floor clearly laid out with all the finishing equipment and plenty of room for work in progress. Again, the whole place was white and spotless. The effect was a production area of considered calm and pride in a job well done.
Working with ProCo on the project is John Charnock, print industry consultant at Print Research International. ‘We’ve done a lot of work on the environment, it makes a big difference to the workplace culture,’ said Mr Charnock. The site is air conditioned and humidity controlled, with the presses themselves and the paper store further separated from the rest of production to ensure maximum reliability and uptime.
Mr Bailey adds that SPARK can also be accessed virtually if it isn’t possible to physically visit, making it possible to show people around the site remotely or to demonstrate a particular piece of equipment or process. ‘We can show products and the production processes behind them.’
Remember your training
Currently there are four courses covering the basics of print, bringing ideas to life, campaign planning and management and lastly what is called keeping print relevant, which looks at emerging print applications and developments and where they could be deployed. Having had our tasters of the sessions us guinea pigs were asked for our feedback. Unanimously everyone found value in the sessions. What was very clear was that even as seasoned industry veterans everyone picked up useful information, even, or especially, in the basics session, highlighting that all of us have gaps in our knowledge, that if filled help us do a better job. One of the powerful lessons was gaining an understanding of the roles and responsibilities of different parts of the supply chain, and in particular how they interact. Being on the course with people from across the chain helped understanding each other’s issues, why they matter and why things you might assume are obvious aren’t necessarily to other people. ProCo’s plan is to start by ensuring that any new starters at the firm will undertake at least two modules of the course in their first 90 days at the company, which it expects to be up and running with in the first quarter of 2017.
