Employee ideas equal greater efficiency and hefty savings – Conti

It’s sometimes said that good employees are worth their weight in gold, and at Continental this may well be literally the case. The German tyre maker and automotive component supplier encourages those working at its 126 global locations to submit ideas on how efficiency and cost effectiveness can be boosted, and last year some 310,000 of these employee-driven suggestions were implemented. These ideas, says Continental, saved the company almost 120 million euros.

Continental facilities outside of Germany were responsible for the ideas behind a good 83 per cent of this amount. “In comparison to the previous year, the number of ideas submitted has risen by three per cent and net savings have increased by 22 per cent globally,” commented Continental human resources director Elke Strathmann. “In particular, the management and values culture in the company is a success factor and shows the employees’ strong identification with the company and their commitment to idea management.”

Each year, internal awards are presented within the framework of Continental’s Idea Management (CIM), which has been actively promoted in one form or another since 1930. The winner is the location that earns the highest number of points; these are calculated based on the number of participants, the number of ideas implemented and the calculated net savings. “CIM is a controlled process with which we actively promote our employees and their creativity,” explained Matthias Nehrhoff, head of Corporate Idea Management at Continental. “The focus of the ideas is not on cost saving. The employees’ ideas help optimise processes and quality as well as improve environmental protection, occupational health and safety. Furthermore, we boost the motivation and development of our employees while at the same time enhancing their sense of identification with our company.”

Icheon in South Korea again tops the worldwide locations category. Approximately 730 employees there submitted more than 33,500 ideas that were successfully implemented. This translates to 46 implemented ideas per employee at a participation rate of 100 per cent. Conti’s plant in Rubí, Spain is once again in second place; the participation rate at this plant was 100 per cent and as many as 60 ideas per employee were submitted, with over 97 per cent of these implemented. The Guadalajara plant in Mexico came third.

In the company’s homeland, savings achieved were calculated to be around 21 million euros in 2011. Continental’s Regensburg site was the frontrunner with a participation rate of 95 per cent and four implemented ideas per employee. With a participation rate of 68 per cent and three implemented ideas per employees, the automotive plant in Roding, Bavaria, took second place. The Rheinböllen location in Hesse came third.

In May 2012, Continental’s German locations were honoured by the German Institute of Economics (Deutsches Institut für Betriebswirtschaft) with third place for “best idea management 2011” in the automotive suppliers with more than 5,000 employees category. “This repeated honour for our idea management means that we can hold our own in the competition,” commented Nehrhoff. “However, it also shows that there is still potential for improvement.”