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Engaging for success: Enhancing performance through employee engagement
Case Study
Unipart Group
Unipart Group is an international logistics company, developed out of the
parts operation of British Leyland. It supplies automotive vehicle products,
supply chain services and operational excellence consultancy to a number of
different market sectors. Unipart relies on high levels of engagement for
continuous improvement and innovation which characterise its productive way
of working.
Engagement is at the centre of the Unipart way of working. Unipart has
engaged its workforce through a commitment to employee well-being and
development, a shared culture which defines a set of guiding principles and
behaviours, a good understanding of how each employee fits within the
business, and structures which encourage and reward employee contributions
and voice.
For Unipart, engagement is essential for the continuous improvement and
innovation that make them market leaders. The company uses Lean processes
to ensure continuous improvement, but this technique relies on employees
being engaged in the improvement of the business in order to identify
problems and solve them at a local level. Unipart has developed a range of
methods to empower employees to undertake team working and joint
problem solving, and identify solutions which can improve Unipart products
and processes. Contribution Counts Circles train all employees in problem
solving and daily improvements occur through the ‘3Cs’ in which employees
identify concerns, the causes of the concerns and the countermeasures.
Unipart believe that the engagement of their workforce has led to greater
productivity – CC Circles, for example, which have 100 per cent participation
at some sites, have delivered benefits of approximately £3 million of direct
cash savings year on year. The success of Unipart’s way of working is also
reflected in their diversification into consultancy services. Unipart have advised
organisations such as HMRC and Zurich on engagement and process
improvement.
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