Cherkizovo’s forepersons complete training to refresh skills

Moscow, Russia – June 2 – Cherkizovo Group, Russia’s largest meat producer, has summed up the results of Foreperson Reloaded, a training program that saw its meat processing specialists enhance their professional competencies.

Over 130 employees from six meat processing plants took part in the training. For some 18 months, they honed their knowledge of production processes, food and occupational safety and HR procedures, while also learning to analyze and identify the root causes of problems and improving their management skills. The training was conducted by 19 internal coaches from Cherkizovo’s R&D, OHS, HR and other functions, as well as two professional business trainers who focused on leadership, with the trainees ranked according to their performance indicators.

In late May, the 22 highest-ranked employees gathered in Moscow for an intensive course. At a poultry processing facility in Konstantinovo, Moscow region, they had to study the workings of a production line for patties, fillets, strips and wings and come up with ideas on how to improve the process. The task was to describe the problem, identify and name its causes, suggest possible solutions, and do economic calculations. For the trainees, this was an opportunity to apply the newly acquired competencies in an unfamiliar production setting.

The final stage of the training was held at Cherkizovo’s fully automated smoked sausage plant in Kashira. After examining the automated production, the participants had to defend their projects, which were evaluated on the merits of detail and applicability. The forepersons proposed many potential improvements in such areas as food and occupational safety, process waste reduction, and HR.