Satisfying customers, employees and society

Visiting the terminal of assembly production line, Martin Winterkorn (first from right), chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen AG, and Xu Jianyi, chairman of FAW (third from left), present a gift to the German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Provided to China Daily

Volkswagen Group China impressed German Chancellor Angela Merkel by making people a priority when she visited an FAW-VW plant in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on July 6.

"I am convinced that she is interested in people," said President and CEO of Volkswagen Group China Jochem Heizmann, who accompanied Merkel as she toured the plant. He said Merkel showed special interest in Volkswagen's vocational training program when she visited the plant's training center.

Last year, the plant's 7,300 workers completed about 20,000 courses at the training center.

"The main purpose of the training center is not to make people work faster or something like that, but to enable them to do high-quality work, and ensure they have the right understanding of quality and are able to avoid mistakes," said Heizmann.

"If you are training people to do manual things the right way, they can do the work more calmly, with much less stress and in a more economic way - and they are less tired after work."

The company now has some 89,000 employees in China and another 350,000 in its dealerships across the country. And Heizmann believes they are the foundation of the group's success in China.

"They have the ideas, they do the R&D work, and come up with innovative ideas. They are enthusiastic about their job to do. It is important that those who stay with our company see chances for development and a long-term career. This is the basis for the future."

Apart from six different vocational training courses, FAW-Volkswagen also offers a dual course of studies at its Chengdu plant. The first Volkswagen plant in western China, it produces about 450,000 Jetta and Sagitar models each year.

"Our objective is to offer innovative, eco-friendly products and reliable service. Eficient use of resources and environmental compatibility are also among the top priorities at our plants. In such a fast-growing market as China, a well-trained workforce is essential for mastering these challenges."

Training its employees is just one part of Volkswagen's People Oriented strategy, which Heizmann announced in 2013.

"For me, it is important that we are not always talking about sales figures or profits but about people: customers, employees and society," he said.

Speaking of customers, Heizamann said what matters is making sure they are satisfied.

"I can sell a car to a customer, but if he's not satisfied with the car or the service or the quality, he will never come back. He may also tell his friends not to buy this car."

Volkswagen sold 3.27 million cars in China in 2013. And the sales in the first half of the year grew about 18 percent from the same period last year.

The German automaker is also making eforts to benefit society. And one program that Heizmann is particularly proud of is child safety.

Launched at the Guangzhou auto show in 2013, the program is designed to advocate the importance of children's seats among Chinese parents.

Volkswagen is rolling out the program in 17 cities across the country this year and donating 5,000 children's seats to new parents and kindergartens.

"Our donation program is only a minor part, because as I have always said China is so big. Donating some seats isn't my main concern. The main point is what are we doing to create awareness!"