The rankings for the 125 leading organizations will be unveiled during a black-tie awards gala February 25, 2019 during the Training 2019 Conference & Expo, February 25-27, in Orlando, Florida.
Today, Ricoh USA, Inc. announced its fifth consecutive inclusion in Training magazine’s annual Training Top 125, which ranks companies’ excellence in employer-sponsored training and development programs. Throughout Ricoh’s transformation to a services company that empowers digital workplaces, employee training was identified early on as crucial to establishing new and building on existing competencies and culture. Ricoh has continued to build on the successes that have earned it a spot on the Training Top 125 for 16 of the past 17 years.
“A company is its employees. Without excellent employees at every organizational level, we cannot be an excellent company. That’s why we invest so much in our people,” said Donna Venable, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Deputy General Manager, Shared Services, Ricoh Americas. “It is our mission to build a customer-first culture composed of deeply skilled experts ready to help customers meet any challenge. To do that, you need to reinforce the culture, teach the skills and pass down the field expertise. Our training programs, tailored to meet the broad and varied needs of Ricoh’s customers, are designed to deliver on each of those fronts. We are honored that our work in this department has once again received this recognition.”
Now in its 19th year, the Training Top 125 ranking is based on myriad benchmarking statistics such as total training budget; percentage of payroll; number of training hours per employee program; hours of training per employee annually; detailed formal programs; learning goals; Kirkpatrick Level 3 and 4 evaluation; and business outcomes measurement. The ranking is determined by assessing a range of qualitative and quantitative factors, including financial investment in employee development, the scope of development programs, how closely such development efforts are linked to business goals and objectives, and the results they achieve.
A major area of focus for this year was training sales personnel and technicians, the employees who interface with customers the most, to develop deep and broad knowledge of the Ricoh portfolio, and to use consultative strategies to address customers’ unique needs. One such program, the Inside Sales Portfolio Enablement Learning Program, encouraged sales representatives to view problems – and solutions – holistically, exploring ways different areas of Ricoh’s portfolio can provide a more complete, more effective solution for customers. The results were nothing short of incredible, with a 277 percent year-over-year increase in professional services and software sales from the Inside Sales division. Furthermore, the rate of hardware orders that also included a software component increased 130 percent year-over-year, to 22.5 percent of hardware sales, in FY2017. This holistic, customer-centric approach helped instil confidence in customers that Ricoh understands their business needs, with 84 percent of those surveyed saying so. At the same time, 83 percent of customers responding to post-service call surveys gave high ratings for quality of service. Perhaps most importantly for a company built around long-term positive customer relationships, surveys indicate 87 percent of responding customers agree with the statement “I can depend on Ricoh.”
“The 2019 Training Top 125 winners highlight the importance and value of training — to their organizations, to their employees, and to their industries and communities,” said Lorri Freifeld, Editor-in-Chief, Training magazine. “They are on the leading edge as they effectively deliver employee training that pushes the needle forward to meet organizational goals while developing an engaged, creative, and committed workforce. Congratulations to these standout organizations for their stellar dedication to learning and employee growth.”
To learn more about Ricoh’s dedication to employee development and enhanced customer experiences, visit its Work For Us Facebook page.
About Ricoh
Ricoh is empowering digital workplaces using innovative technologies and services enabling individuals to work smarter. For more than 80 years, Ricoh has been driving innovation and is a leading provider of document management solutions, IT services, commercial and industrial printing, digital cameras, and industrial systems.
Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in approximately 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ended March 2018, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 2,063 billion yen (approx. 19.4 billion USD).
For further information, please visit www.ricoh.com.