Working at Toyota Australia
All Toyota Australia award employees are covered by the Toyota Australia 2010 Workplace Agreement, which ensures fairness of workplace conditions and outlines the processes, policies and systems in place for achieving these aims.
To attract and retain high-quality employees, benefits provided go above and beyond legal compliance and industry norms. Benefits include:
Discounted Vehicles and Spare Parts
The opportunity to purchase vehicles at a discounted rate is available for employees and immediate family members. In addition, employees can benefit from subsidised lease vehicles and allocated vehicles depending on job grade. Employees and immediate family members are also able to purchase spare parts at a discounted rate.
Overseas Career Development
Toyota Australia participates in an Inter-Company Transferee (ICT) program where employees are selected to work overseas either with Toyota Australia or with an affiliate company. The aim of the program is to enhance training and development opportunities for employees. The skills and experience acquired by the employee whilst on assignment benefit TMCA and provide career development opportunities to the employee.
Parental Leave
Toyota Australia offers its employees 14 weeks paid maternity leave and one week paid paternity leave following the birth of a child, after 12 months of continuous service.
Learning and Development Programs
Employees have access to Toyota Australia's Open Learning Centre which is based at the manufacturing plant in Altona. The centre supports individual learning and career development in a range of areas including library self-paced learning and computer training. Training is also provided by Toyota Institute Australia and the Toyota Production System office.
Employee Assistance Program
Employees and their family members have access to an Employee Assistance Program that provides confidential counselling free-of-charge to help cope with work and personal issues. The program is administered by an external, independent company and is paid for by Toyota Australia.
Superannuation
Employees have a choice of superannuation funds to which employer and employee contributions can be made. Permanent employees who joined the company prior to 1 July 1999 may be eligible to receive a defined benefit on retirement after age 55. All other employees receive an accumulation style benefit. Award employees receive superannuation benefits at least equivalent to a 9.5 per cent employer contribution and non-award a 14 per cent employer contribution. Death and disability insurance benefits are also provided through the Toyota superannuation funds.
Employee Satisfaction Survey
Toyota Australia's 2010 Employee Satisfaction Index (ESi) survey was conducted in October 2010. The survey provides data on employees' job engagement and company commitment.
The scores for the company as a whole remained stable, with an overall ESi score of 77.2. Results indicate that employees continue to understand the company's business goals and objectives, and feel that their work contributes to the company's success.
Given the challenges faced by Toyota Australia over the past 12 months, maintaining the same level of satisfaction is encouraging. The most improved scores across the company were achieved within the Manufacturing operating arm, the largest component of Toyota Australia's workforce. Key issues identified for focus are communication, management behaviour and performance management.
Professional Development and Training
To maintain its competitive edge, Toyota Australia acknowledges the importance of structured and sustainable training programs, so that our people are well placed to meet the dynamic challenges of the automotive industry. Human resources development is fundamental to our success and achieving our long-term business plan.
Toyota Institute Australia (TIA) facilitates training opportunities for employees, suppliers and dealers via its dedicated training business units. TIA uses global content developed by Toyota Motor Corporation for the training courses, which include workshops on Toyota Way foundations, Toyota Business Practices, On Job Development and role training. Using Toyota's common language and approach to business practice, Toyota employees and business partners can communicate and operate in any Toyota environment regardless of culture or location.
During 2010, TIA continued its commitment to training employees in Toyota global business management principles, both in the corporate and manufacturing areas. A total of 4,844.5 hours of training was delivered to employees on Toyota Way Foundations, Toyota Business Practices, Peer to Peer, A3 Communication and On Job Development during this reporting period. TIA has also engaged an external training provider to deliver Certificate III in Frontline Management, which has been adapted to support the specific needs of Toyota.
The tables below show the number of participants and hours of training delivered by TIA in 2010/11.
Training - Number of Participants
| Toyota Way Foundation | Toyota Business Practices | Peer to Peer | A3 Communication | On Job Development | Front Line Management | Success in Automotive Manufacturing | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate | 26 | 38 | 17 | 11 | 20 | |||
| Finance | 14 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| Manufacturing | 47 | 143 | 60 | 33 | 3 | 69 | 39 | |
| Sales and Marketing | 13 | 35 | 35 | 29 | 9 | |||
| Total | 100 | 227 | 113 | 74 | 34 | 69 | 39 | 656 |
Training - Number of Hours
In total, 6,830.5 training hours were delivered in 2010/11.
| Toyota Way Foundation | Toyota Business Practices | Peer to Peer | A3 Communication | On Job Development | Front Line Management | Success in Automotive Manufacturing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate | 117 | 608 | 42.5 | 38.5 | 130 | ||
| Finance | 63 | 176 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 13 | ||
| Manufacturing | 211.5 | 2,288 | 150 | 115.5 | 19.5 | 1,380 | 606 |
| Sales and Marketing | 58.5 | 560 | 87.5 | 101.5 | 58.5 | ||
| Total | 450 | 3,632 | 282.5 | 259 | 221 | 1,380 | 606 |
| Hrs/Person | 4.5 | 16 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 6.5 | 20 | 16 |
Health and Safety
The number one objective for Toyota Australia is to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for employees, contractors, visitors and persons present at the company's sites.
To support the provision of a safe work environment and the prevention of work-related injuries and illness, the company has a Health and Safety Policy and an Occupational Health and Safety Management System. Toyota Australia uses the WorkSafe Victoria National Self-Insurer OHS Audit Tool to measure Toyota Australia's Health and Safety Management System.
One hundred per cent of the workforce is represented by health and safety committees, consisting of elected employee and management representatives which meet at least once a quarter.
In 2010/11 Toyota Australia's Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) was 12.00, compared to 11.08 in 2009/10. The LTIFR is the number of injuries/lost time injuries for each one million hours worked. To reduce the LTIFR, Toyota Australia is rolling out the Toyota Ergonomic Burden Assessment (TEBA) to the remaining manufacturing processes. TEBA examines how production line jobs affect the body and identifies improvements that can be made.
Safety Month
As part of Safety Month in October 2010, Toyota Australia promoted and provided:
- A Quit Smoking programme which included GP counselling, quit smoking patches and access to the official Quit Smoking programme
- Free three-session gym passes for various classes including Zumba, Yoga and Karate
- Access to a dietician for advice on nutrition, healthy eating and healthy living
- Healthy food options provided at the onsite canteens
- WorkHealth checks
Case Study: WorkHealth Checks
Toyota has long had a strong global focus on looking after the health and safety of its workforce. Toyota Australia's President, Max Yasuda, set a goal of 'zero harm' which is not just about protecting employees from injury but about supporting employees to be healthy and having a good sense of wellbeing.
In support of this, the company organised health checks for its employees in 2010/11. With a diverse workforce, including staff on the production line and office workers, facilitating health checks for more than 60 per cent of employees during the working day might seem like a daunting task.
Yet Toyota Australia, with over 4,600 staff and 10 worksites, made it work. The result was a greater awareness of health risks among staff.
Both corporate and manufacturing employees participated in confidential WorkHealth checks which identified health risks for employees. Toyota Australia received a Workplace Profile Report from WorkHealth which included a summary of the anonymous results and highlighted areas that may be an issue for some workers. This has allowed the company to understand the workforce's broad health issues and risks.
Dale Berrie, Manager of Health and Safety, said: "Positive results were obvious almost immediately. I had people coming up to me and letting me know they'd seen their doctor after being told they may have a health risk in their WorkHealth check. Others have told me about their new exercise regimes and healthy eating plans. The change has been great to witness."
As a result of the WorkHealth checks, Toyota Australia will launch two programs in areas highlighted as a health issue in the workforce - physical activity and nutrition.