Mississauga, ON. Hino Motors Canada, Ltd. (HMC) held a very unique skills competition during its latest National Dealer Meeting (May 9-11, 2017) at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario.
Unique as, for the first time at HMC, the company gathered top-notch experts from three different departments (Sales, Parts and Service) for this competition in addition to having them compete separately.
“We really wanted to underline how important it is for our dealers and customers to understand that each and every individual in each department of our company is what makes the Hino experience so unique. We need everybody to pull in the same direction to ensure Total Support to our customers, whether it’s a matter of sales, parts, service or the three at the same time.” says Eric Smith, Senior VP, Sales and Customer Support at Hino Canada.
Qualification Process For The Finals
Regardless of which part of the business they’re in, all participants first had to succeed with flying colours (score of 80% or more) in online training modules and preliminary exams to be selected for the finals in London. Only the top scores in each department lead to the finals.
Skills Demonstration Before Peers
Participants needed to display their skills before their peers during the finals.
In the “Parts” category, each competitor had to complete 15 different stations, each covering a different aspect of the Hino business. These stations included a video and warehouse challenge, proper storage techniques, factory specifications, a lightning round and a “Beat the Champ” station where they had to go one-on-one with last year’s Skill Champion.
The “Service” category gathered technicians from three levels of certification: Premier, Platinum and Elite Master. These Elite Master technicians were put head-to-head in a hands-on competition, in which each had to diagnose and correct identical malfunctions installed on identical vehicles in a short amount time. They were also judged on their proper use of tooling and workshop manuals, their ability to monitor any data that can lead to conclude what the probable cause may be, as well as product knowledge.
The “Sales” category participants had to demonstrate the highest level of Hino product and specification knowledge. These experts were also among Hino’s top sales achievers for 2016 to be included in the finals. The Sales Competition challenge consisted of different stations such as customer sales simulation, competitor analysis and Hino product knowledge, along with interactive stations having a spontaneous and lighthearted nature but competitive in design to entertain the crowd of spectators. Hino’s adaptation of the popular game show Jeopardy was a big hit in that regards.
And the Winners Are…
The finals winners were announced at the end of the competition:
| Department | 1st Place Winners’ names | Dealership represented |
| Parts | Cam Taylor | Vancouver Hino (BC) |
| Service | Trevor Robertson | Hino Central (AB) |
| Sales | Thom Moody | Tri Truck Centre (ON) |
The winners are awarded an all-expense-paid Hino study trip to Costa Rica and Panama City later this year to visit Hino facilities, training and testing centres along with Hino dealership tours and additional activities.
Invited to comment on the competition itself and its results, Hino Canada’s President Yumiko Kawamura declared: “I believe that our strength is our people with high skills, loyalty and trust for the Hino Brand. HMC’S role is to provide any support to the dealers by providing them the proper tools and programs so they can deliver Total Support to our valued customers.”
About Hino: Hino Motors Canada, Ltd., a Toyota Group Company, produces and distributes light and medium duty commercial trucks in Canada and is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, with manufacturing operations in Woodstock, Ontario. Service is provided through its extensive coast-to-coast dealership network and is backed by its industry leading customer care protection program. For more information, please visit us at stage.tbkdev.com/dev/hinocanada.com/src.