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 Education with a touch of TLC
In today's fast paced, highly competitive business world, it is rare for a company to not offer employees some form of continuing education. Taco Inc. is no exception. In December 1992, the company formally opened the doors to the Taco Learning Center, a 2000 sq. ft facility located in one wing of its corporate headquarters in Cranston, R.I.
But after several years, the Taco Learning Center (TLC) has become much more than a typical technical facility. It is a place for employees to mingle and acquire skills other than blueprint reading or machine operating.
"In addition to improving and elevating teamwork skills, we wanted to present employees with opportunities for and an understanding of an improved quality of life," says Kyle Adamonis, Vice President of Human Resources. "We wanted to give them more skills, not only for work but for their personal lives."
That thinking is very much in line with the philosophy of Taco owner and CEO John Hazen White Sr. "Business has an obligation to the community and to the people who work here and elsewhere to be sure that the poor and uneducated have a chance to realize the great American dream," he says. "We really ought to remember three objectives: Train all people to do their jobs better and learn higher-level jobs; second, expose them to a better quality of life; and third, have them learn about government and citizenship responsibilities so they can participate."
Range of Classes
Consisting of two classrooms, a computer lab, library and conference room, the center has offered, since its inception, about 45 different courses ranging from gauge reading to gardening. Generally, four or five courses run at a time, lasting anywhere from three full days to 3-1/2 hours a week for 15 weeks.
Because the TLC originally was developed to broaden and improve employee work skills, and thus improve business operations, Taco requires its employees to undergo some technical training. For example, engineers must attend classes on geometric tolerancing; office employees must attend customer-service training; and machining and assembly people must attend gauge-reading classes.
"To grow our business, we have to continue to move ahead and train our work force," Adamonis says. "We have to invest in high-technology machinery and equipment, and then we have to have people who can use that equipment. Without moving ahead this way, we wouldn't be able to compete globally."
During 1995, Taco implemented a company wide, cross-training program in which all employees, from upper management to maintenance personnel, are exposed to the key disciplines required for operating a business. The program includes marketing, sales, quality assurance, computer technology, engineering, manufacturing, finance, research and development, and human resources. By participating in this program, employees can gain an understanding of the various department' responsibilities and how the departments function
"It really broadens the interrelationship of the department and clears up a lot of bottlenecks that might occur," Adamonis says. "It also encourages participation in management and the decision-making process. And it may provide employees with insight into where they want their careers to go."
Don Gravell, director of marketing services, was the first to conduct cross-training classes to more than 500 employees. The hour-long sessions ranged in size from 13 to 50 people.
"We told them what marketing and sales does, and you'd be surprised how attentive they were and what questions they asked," Gravell says. "For example, we told them how we price our products, and who our competitors are. How we advertise, and who advertise with. They wanted to know why they never saw Taco ads in the newspaper or People magazine. We showed them typical ads we've had in trade journals."
A number of TLC courses also are developed based on company goals. Because the company wants ISO 9000 quality certification, personnel must learn about what it takes to achieve that goal. To complete a successful transition to team-based manufacturing, team-building and problem-solving sessions are offered explaining what will happen, why it is being done and how employees can adjust to the changes.
In addition to helping Taco better achieve its goals, these classes allow the center to qualify for funding from Work Force 2000, a federal grant program that recognizes efforts to improve quality management and workplace performance. Taco received its third Work Force 2000 grant in April.
With the majority of classes held on company time, employees are limited to one class at a time during work hours. They are free to take as many courses as they like, at no charge, on their personal time. Also if they attend a required course that runs beyond normal shift hours, employees are entitled to overtime pay.
In general, 15 to 25 people participate in a class at a time. Computer classes are limited to 10 people, one for each work station. Keeping class size limited prevents employees from being overwhelmed, Adamonis explains. A smaller class also makes it easier for people from different departments to meet and talk to each other.
"You find that everybody has a mutual respect," Adamonis says. "People don't hesitate. It really has been a great mix."
Non-required Courses
To develop a curriculum for non-required classes, the center solicits help from employees through questionnaires asking what types of programs they would like to attend. Two courses continually offered are English as a Second Language (ESL) offered at five different levels of English to help employees from other countries who want to improve their ability to read, write and speak English, and General Education Development (GED) for employees who want to obtain their high school equivalency diploma. In June 1995, Taco celebrated the success of its first five GED graduates. Also, eight ESL students are applying for U.S. citizenship.
"These are prime examples of where we've come in two years," Adamonis says.
Employees also can work toward a college degree by taking credit courses taught by faculty members from six nearby colleges and universities. These classes include Spanish I and II, oral communications, HVAC research and design, and accounting for non-financial people.
A variety of non-credit courses are offered to make life easier and a little more enjoyable. These have included basic drawing and art appreciation; health and safety classes, such as aerobics, back-injury prevention and home fire-extinguisher training; word processing; and financial planning.
The center also offers summer camp activities for employees' children. So far, these have consisted of an oceanography camp, with the help of University of Rhode Island (URI) Graduate School of Oceanography, and a combined art/music/drama camp led by Rhode Island of Design (RISD) students and members of the Rhode Island Philharmonic.
On camp days, children arrive at work with their parents, and human resources personnel take them to one of the camp sites. Art camp is held at an RISD satellite campus in Barrington, R.I., on a farm near the ocean. Here, students learn to paint and draw. Some might opt for musical instruction, like learning how to play the violin. In fact, the children of some employees recently presented their first public concert.
At oceanography camp, URI graduate students take the children on a research vessel and teach them how to sample ocean water, as well as how to work with different ocean life. They also go on a whale watch.
"It really gives them insight into that world," Adamonis says. "You hope that maybe it will influence a few of them to go into the oceanography field and pursue that type of career. We also see it as educating the future work force."
Future Plans
The Taco Learning Center has grown considerably. Just recently, Taco acquired enough materials to make its library a true lending library, where employees may borrow both fiction and non-fiction books, cassettes and videotapes. Before, it was only an in-house research center.
The center also has become an electronic branch of a very sophisticated library of a local university. This program is one of the first of its kind in U.S. industry.
Taco has opened another learning center at its Fall River, Mass., tank and heat exchanger manufacturing plant. "We have about 60 employees there, and we felt it was a big enough group where we could offer them some training on-site and make it more convenient for them," Adamonis says.
The classes there are being held in a 1,000 sq.ft. cafeteria completed just over a year ago and big enough to hold all employees at one sitting. "It was difficult for some of our employees to get to the Learning Center in Cranston," says Bob Lee, Vice President, Heat Transfer Division. "It's only 22 miles away but many of them have families, and they just can't shoot down there."
And then, the possibility exists for expanding the Cranston facility beyond its present physical boundaries.
"We've talked about a Taco University before," Adamonis says. "As we move along, expansion is in our minds. You always have to look at it that way, where will we go from here? Otherwise, you'll never get any better."
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