Boosting New Worker Competencies and Resolving Sustainability Issues at Royal Canin

• Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
• Sensors - Environmental Sensors

• Education
• Equipment & Machinery

• Product Research & Development
• Quality Assurance

• Onsite Human Safety Management
• Virtual Training

• Testing & Certification
• Training

Royal Canin, a global provider of pet nutrition, faced several challenges at their Polish plant. The onboarding process for new hires was complicated and time-consuming, involving multiple departments and lacking clear organization. The leadership had no visibility into the process, making it difficult to refine and improve. Additionally, the company struggled with paper-based documentation and an unfriendly document management system. Work instructions were hard to access and difficult for associates to read. Updating instructions, especially before audits, was labor-intensive. The company also lacked data on associate progress and capabilities, hindering their ability to measure and analyze employee development. Furthermore, Royal Canin faced challenges in reporting and managing safety issues using paper forms. Analyzing data was a tedious task, as information had to be manually transferred into Excel files or other platforms before staff could extract any meaningful insights.

Royal Canin is a renowned provider of top-quality pet nutrition, striving to create a better world for pets. With 16 factories worldwide, including three in Europe, Royal Canin has been delivering exceptional pet nutrition for 50 years. Established in 2008, their Polish plant, located in Niepolomice, has a diverse portfolio of approximately 1,000 products based on 220 formulas, utilizing around 110 raw materials to ensure the highest standards of quality. In 2021, they embarked on a transformative journey with Poka to develop associate competencies and improve their onboarding process.

Royal Canin turned to Poka, a digital platform, to address these challenges. They used Poka’s digital forms builder to create an onboarding checklist that ensured new hire training was 100% completed. The form included instructions, tools, and a step-by-step checklist for the onboarding of new employees. This made the process more transparent, as all information was now shared with both the line manager and the HR department. They also used Poka’s Skills Management feature to build digital step-up cards, allowing line managers to track their team members' progress and skill history in one centralized location. A two-step assessment process involving the on-the-job trainer and a subject matter expert validation ensured comprehensive evaluation of skills. With Poka, Royal Canin was able to dive deep into issues data and achieve quick resolution times. Poka provided clarity about potential hazards thanks to the inclusion of photos and location details in reports, making identifying and closing issues much more efficient. The most important safety issues were also shared factory-wide in the newsfeed to increase awareness and visibility.

• The implementation of Poka brought about a transformative change in Royal Canin's operations. The digital platform made the onboarding process more efficient and transparent, with all information shared with both the line manager and the HR department. It also allowed for a comprehensive evaluation of skills through a two-step assessment process. The use of Poka also improved safety issue reporting and management, with the inclusion of photos and location details in reports making identifying and closing issues much more efficient. The most important safety issues were also shared factory-wide in the newsfeed to increase awareness and visibility. Furthermore, the digital platform facilitated the digital inclusion of frontline workers, who were provided with iPads to access all the digital tools they needed. This increased engagement, as employees saw their contributions were valued, acknowledged, and followed up on.

• 14% rise in operator-submitted reports for safety, sustainability and quality
• 500 reported near misses in 2022
• 30% faster onboarding time