Through its labor practices, Bridgestone Costa Rica contributes to the achievement of the SDG 8, Target 8.5:By 2030, achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.
Bridgestone Costa Rica recognizes that its employees are the foundation and driving force behind the company’s sustainability. Their skills, motivation, safety and comprehensive development are the foundations for the profitability of the business and the satisfaction and trust that the stakeholders place in the company.
Employees
In 2017, the Bridgestone Costa Rica team was comprised of 999 members, 7% (68) of whom were women and the remaining 93% (931) were men. The company had 69 new hires over the course of the year, adding 10 women and 59 men to the workforce. Employee turnover was 0.94% per month.
The Bridgestone Costa Rica workforce information and statistics are obtained from the company’s databases for December 31, 2016 through December 31, 2017. They consider only full-time collaborators.
Training
Bridgestone Costa Rica seeks to promote the development of its employees. Improving the team members’ skills and abilities is essential to building a work environment that presents challenges to ensure their professional development. Daily operations include efforts to provide complementary training to each worker, and this work is reflected in the positive contributions that each one makes with their ideas and work on projects that encourage quality at work and creativity for innovation.
In 2017, 995 employees received training, including senior management, middle managers, assistants, and operators. This indicates that 99% of all Bridgestone Costa Rica received some type of training over the course of the year.
The company provided 85,823 training hours, for an average of 86 hours per employee. Bridgestone Costa Rica invested USD 471,900 in training in 2017, representing a 156% increase over 2016.
Performance Evaluation
Bridgestone Costa Rica values continuous feedback as a means for each employee to find areas for improvement and opportunities to enhance their talent. All team members are subject to regular performance reviews scheduled for the middle and end of each year. In 2017, 100% of all staff received a performance evaluation.
In order to ensure an effective performance process, Bridgestone Costa Rica applies the Performance Management and Appraisal (PMA) System to set simple and clear metrics for each worker. In 2017, 78% of all employees were rated as having a “solid” performance, while 17% exceeded performance expectations.
Talent Attraction, Retention, and Development
Bridgestone Costa Rica is a company that takes responsibility for its stakeholders. The company knows that in order to deliver the best quality of customer service, it must have the best talent and ensure their well-being in the workplace. The organization engages in a variety of activities to achieve this goal, aimed at attracting, retaining, and developing its talent. Some of these programs are outlined below:
a) The Bridgestone Professional Experience
This program seeks to build solid ties with the university community. It is used to evaluate and retain young university talent among students who wish to strengthen their academic knowledge and gain professional experience in an internship and with possibility of being hired at the end of that period. 25 interns participated in the program in 2017, and 28% were offered a full time position at Bridgestone Costa Rica.
b) Mentoring for Leaders
As part of the initiatives created to develop talent in Bridgestone LAN, the company implemented the Mentoring Program at a regional level in 2017, to allow staff members to exchange experiences, develop competencies and receive guidance through their Mentor-Mentee relationships. The purpose of this program is to contribute to both their personal and professional development and provide exposure for each one at a regional level.
The program was structured the following way:
1. Fields of interests and learning areas
2. Build the mentor-mentee relationship / objectives
3. Maintaining the relationship
4. Measure of effectiveness
The program, which focuses on members of the team with strong potential across the organization, was started in September 2017 with 13 high potential members.
c) Dan-Totsu Leadership Program
This is a certificate program coordinated with the ADEN International Business School, that aims to train the Bridgestone team through a comprehensive platform that strengthens their business capabilities and develops their leadership skills. The program graduated its first generation of 32 participants in 2017, who received 120 hours of training. Employees that have participated in this program or that will do so in the future acquire a perspective and vision that will allow them to continue guiding Bridgestone in their Transformative Journey.
