Driving Employee Engagement Whilst Changing Lanes

Toyota implemented a new learning tool named “My Development” and needed a solution to effectively launch to their 13,000 strong dealer network across Australia. Communic8 was utilised to help Toyota with their change management strategy to drive a seamless execution of “My Development” and to initiate employee engagement.

Toyota Australia has held their position as Australia’s leading automotive group since launching in 1963. The company currently employs over 2,000 people across a wide range of departments and has a network of more than 1,600 dealers spread across multiple regions.

Toyota embarked on a new learning and development tool which they branded “My Development” with the objective of ensuring all employees and dealers would adopt their new digital way of learning. Collaboration and feedback from dealers were at the forefront of their change strategy, along with the need to heighten anticipation and drive excitement prior to the launch.

Kate Longmore, Toyota’s Learning and Development Coordinator, describes the selection process:

“We initially engaged with Communic8 purely because of their digital communications tool. The fact that they had a digital strategy, and a digital platform to engage the dealer network in a more experience-driven way was what drew us to their business in the first instance. Having analytics behind the tool to track the engagement of our dealer network when we previously had no data to go off was a game changer for us.”

Ultimately, this communications tool would change the way the team worked on the project every day. “Being able to create a captivating campaign with simple instructions, view analytics in real time and with absolute ease really shapes the communication strategy. This allows me to engage with a wider 13,000 plus audience and most importantly connect with the right people at the right time”, explains Kate Longmore.

Creating a two-way feedback culture was a key consideration for Toyota, to help ensure an organisational experience that would foster ongoing collaboration and communication. This would later be a key to Toyota’s success was a major drawcard for partnering with Communic8.

Communic8 was the key enabler to educate and drive awareness of “My Development” and also to build excitement and anticipation for the next phase of the project. Having insights into the engagement levels across all our different regions was invaluable to the project team.

Feedback received around the initiative has been overwhelmingly positive. “A significant number of dealers have contacted us through the platform asking to be more involved or at the very least, asking for more information. This in turn allows us to pivot in how we continually develop the product as well as create an even greater digital experience strategy for the next phase which we will be rolling out over the next three to six months,” says Kate Longmore. These key outcomes have helped the project team to sustain momentum around upcoming transformation initiatives that are now in planning.

Toyota’s People and Development team are currently working with Communic8 on a proof-of-concept to release the mobile app across Australia. The app will enable staff to quickly access, search and educate themselves on elements of car sales and, as a channel, to more consistently communicate with their dealer network.

Communic8 and Toyota are continuing to partner in areas related to “My Development” and are further exploring other areas where they can continue to support Toyota in their dealer and employee engagement and transformation initiatives.