The Unipart Story
The Unipart Group was created from the parts operation of British Leyland, a state-run business notorious for conflict with its employees. Privatising Unipart in 1987 created the agenda for a different kind of company that would reverse the trend for disastrous employee relations and become a model of operational excellence providing logistics and consultancy services for a wide new range of companies.
On the day of its launch as a private company, all Unipart employees were invited to participate as shareholders in a bid to ensure they did not miss out on this new opportunity to shape and share in their own destinies. This sense of authentic interest in employee well-being, backed by tangible actions such as the opening of the Unipart U – one of Europe's first corporate universities, offering employees the chance to learn continuously within the workplace – has shaped Unipart's history.
While learning and personal development was at the heart of Unipart's culture, it did not stop with formal "training". Programmes such as Our Contribution Counts Circles trained all employees in a simple, six stage approach to problem solving, then encouraged and empowered then to seek out problems in the workplace and form teams to drive effective solutions. With 100% participation on many sites, OCC Circles have delivered benefits of some £3 million of direct cash savings year on year.
Many of the improvements are directed towards the company's drive to inspire employees to deliver outstanding customer service. For individuals and teams who demonstrate their commitment to "going the extra mile" for customers, the Mark in Action programme provides public recognition.
Each employee is measured against a set of competencies published on team visual display boards called Communication Cells. Teams are responsible for promoting the personal development of their peers to achieve Expert Practitioner status, the highest level of competency. This then qualifies employees to work with extenal companies as part of Unipart's growing consultancy business.
