Apart from Finland, Kiilto operates in eight countries.Sharing information and knowledge between international business units is essential to ensure coherent customer experience and business operations within the Group. To this end, Kiilto has established Kiilto-academy, where Kiilto employees from different countries get training on Kiilto products and their use.
Kiilto building and construction unit has trained its employees in the Kiilto-academy for several years already, but Kiilto industry unit launched academy trainings at the end of 2016.The very first Kiilto-academy on industrial adhesives was arranged in Russian. The participants were local regional customer and sales managers from Russia and Belarus.
Alongside with live seminars Kiilto-academy uses e-training materials, which makes participation and learning more flexible.
“This was the first Kiilto-academy merely on industrial adhesives and business, and the experience was very positive”, comments Tero Mäkinen, Customer Service Manager, Kiilto industrial business area.
Juha Rinne, Customer Service Manager as well, shares the same opinion:
“Participants were genuinely interested. There were a lot of questions and discussion, and we all learned from each other.”
Building connections and sharing information across land borders
Kiilto-academy’s practical trainings have succeeded in delivering information in an accessible form.
“The combination of theory and practise works well. Now I know our products more deeply, and I can deliver my expertise to my customers”, says Anton Rodionov, Product Manager of Kiilto Klei industry unit.
However, both the participants and trainers agree that meeting colleagues face-to-face is the best in these seminars. At the same time, cooperation between countries has strengthened.
“The best thing is to get to know these people, find common interests and the same wave length”, summarizes Rinne after training in the academy.
“From my point of view, it has been valuable to share experiences with my Finnish colleagues and discuss the special needs of the Russian market with them”, adds Rodionov.
Practical content motivates
The themes covered in the Kiilto industry trainings are adhesion in general, different adhesive types and spreading techniques. At the same time Kiilto adhesives are treated in detail.
“The participants have been really enthusiastic, and they are motivated to learn more”, says Mäkinen and continues: “The trainings are designed to include such information that the participants can use in their everyday work.”
People responsible for arranging Kiilto industrial trainings are Customer Service Managers Tero Mäkinen and Juha Rinne, and R&D Managers Tapani Harjunalanen, Petri Heljo, Ilkka Salonenand Soilikki Kotanen, as well as R&D Developers Christopher Mills and Heini Siekkinen deliver their R&D expertise to the trainings. Also Kiilto’s export coordinator Marina Bondarenko has an important role, since she is responsible for translating the materials and interpreting the lectures.
In the coming spring Kiilto is planning to arrange Kiilto-academy on adhesives also in English for other Kiilto international companies.