How DSS has helped Tyson Foods optimize its workforce

An e-learning tool from Dupont Sustainable Solutions has helped Tyson Foods optimize its 8,500-strong workforce over the course of a decade. A roundup of the project and its impact.

Arkansas-based Tyson Foods is the world’s second largest processor of meat products – chicken, beef, pork, etc. – with a team of over 8,500 workers and revenues in excess of $42 billion. In 2009, the firm was looking for ways to decrease downtime and increase worker productivity, with the end goal of cutting costs and boosting revenues.

Working on the principle that skill-training would help employees increase their turnover, the firm tapped DSS to implement a digital learning solution – DSS eLearning Suite – through the whole organization. Today, Tyson’s standardized learning and professional development program is a benchmark for the entire food processing industry.

DSS eLearning Suite is an end-to-end employee training solution – fitted with over 800 courses in 20+ languages, and supplemented with a proprietary learning management system and interactive courseware to engage employees through video-based learning.

Also in the mix is an authoring tool, which allows businesses to customize training programs to their organization’s specific needs. The tool allowed Tyson’s management – including senior director for maintenance and refrigeration Mike Rogers – to create tailored learning for the entire operation, and standardize these programs across the company’s 10+ production plants.

Tyson and the DSS’ independent team of experts together developed 40 customized simulations on pneumatics, motor controls, gearbox and hydraulics – among others – where employees could practice their work in a safe, risk-free environment.

Employees are more engaged with learning through the solution, while management can use a centralized dashboard to track and monitor employee progress – spanning classes taken, events attended, and trainings completed. The data can be accessed on any device, and gives a real-time overview of workforce competencies.

And the results have been tremendous. Over more than a decade of eLearning Suite, Tyson workers at all stages of their career have been able to develop professionally, and the company has been able to develop a learning-based compensation scheme to incentivize training.

“The benefit is a two-way street: Tyson employees increase their income and job satisfaction as they become more confident in their skills, while the company experiences a better-prepared workforce and reduced employee turnover,” explained Rogers. On the whole, Tyson boasts lower downtime and higher productivity than it did a decade ago.