Over the past few years, Hyundai in South Africa has evolved into one of the fastest growing brands in the South African Motor Industry. The commitment to research and development from Hyundai Motor Company in Korea is evident in every new model introduced.
Good quality new products are only one leg of overall customer satisfaction. This has to be backed up by superior sales and after-sales service. In order to ensure that customer expectations are met, Hyundai Automotive South Africa has invested a significant amount in the development and building of a new training centre.
“We now have 76 showrooms that have to function with the precision and professionalism that our customers have come to expect and enjoy from Hyundai. Business today is all about customer satisfaction and good after-sales service levels while they own and drive our products”, says Alan Ross, Managing Director of Hyundai SA.
Henry Gerber, National Training Manager, will head up an all-new skills competency centre in the purpose-built training centre in Benoni.
“Hyundai’s phenomenal growth in South Africa resulted in a natural internal expansion on the service and technical side of our business,” says Michael Rohde, General Manager for After Sales.
The way electrical and non-electrical technicians and front-line staff do their work today has become a vital part of the ownership experience for drivers today.
With the skills shortage in South Africa and the lack of experienced people, the need to train your own people in every area of diagnostics and business management has become a necessity to ensure future growth for the company.
Hyundai Automotive South Africa has set their objective at 220 specialist-training sessions for 2007. The state-of-the art centre houses R14-million worth of new specialized training equipment that includes bar code readers, cut-away engines, gearbox parts and audio-visual interactive learning aids to enhance the quality of the training courses offered.
Hyundai aims to take on 200 mechanical and electrical trainees during 2007, which will be put on a fast track apprentice programme in order for them to qualify as technicians within the next 3 years, with top performers qualifying within 2 years. The fast track programme had to be put in place in order to address the shortage of skilled staff for the service departments.
All Service Managers will be enrolled in a Business Management course which will enable them to focus on the management and monitoring of their department, resulting in more efficient departments offering superior customer service.
All front-line staff will be trained in all aspects of customer interaction, ensuring a pleasant customer experience.
When Hyundai South Africa was awarded the “Global Distributor of the Year award” in 2006, the standard was set to rise even higher.
Hyundai Automotive South Africa was awarded “Regional Training Centre” status, a feat only achieved by two other distributors in the world. This training centre will provide training for the following distributors in the Sub-Sahara Africa Region:
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Zimbabwe
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Angola
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DRC
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Reunion
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Seychelles
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Mozambique
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Zambia
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Mauritius
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Namibia.
Research has shown that class numbers are best kept to around eight to 10 people per course and the duration of the training sessions are conducted over two days to keep it effective and dynamic.
The combination of both practical sessions interspersed with theory training in intensive formats will ensure the best results with the training offered at the Training Centre in Boksburg.
The new Training Centre and the course content is fully underwritten and acknowledged by Hyundai Motor Company in Korea and technicians receive international recognition for training received at the RTC.
