Pepsi Learners Become Leaders

PepsiCo began by licensing IoPP’s Fundamentals of Packaging Technology online course and arranging an IoPP membership for each student (a requirement for IoPP certification). Some in the group needed to take the entire 41-module Fundamentals curriculum while others required only a few modules, George says.

All in the group of 20 who needed additional preparatory coursework completed their course modules by fall 2018. This coordination was important for moving on to the next step, George says, because it brought each learner up to the same level of packaging knowledge.

Next, in November and December 2018, IoPP coordinated with PepsiCo to schedule teleconference sessions in which IoPP certified Fundamentals instructors reviewed with the learners important points in the course content. The learners were divided into smaller groups based in part on time zones, each with its own schedule of review sessions.

Throughout the process, IoPP tracked each learner’s progress and reported it back to the PepsiCo management team.

After completing the review sessions, the first candidates within the group began the certification process in January 2019. This requires passing an extensive online exam testing knowledge proficiency in each major area of packaging, as well as completing a résumé of activities that included documenting their achievements in packaging, such as earning patents, writing professional articles, or presenting as subject matter experts at conferences.

“Not everyone passes the exam, at least not on the first try, often because they think their past experiences alone in packaging will carry them easily through certification. But this group at PepsiCo didn’t take anything for granted, and they did well,” George says. “We noted in particular that their writing skills tested strongly, and they demonstrated a significant grasp of critical subject areas.”

Benefits for PepsiCo
The certification initiative fits the big picture at PepsiCo, which operates in more than 200 countries, and currently has associates in a dozen countries IoPP-certified across its food and beverage businesses. The training program has elevated the caliber of each certified team member, giving them greater flexibility and depth of technical knowledge, while also “providing our associates with a common education and similar terminology, which will benefit our mission over the long term,” Kohl observes.

As one example, their newfound packaging skills could come in handy as PepsiCo responds to ever-changing market details and executes initiatives such as its 2025 “Sustainability Agenda,” as outlined in a recent IoPP webinar, to support the development of a circular economy in which plastics never become waste. Specifically, PepsiCo’s packaging goals are to make all its packaging recyclable, biodegradable, or compostable by 2025, as well as reduce its carbon footprint by 20% by 2030.

On an individual basis, certification is having an excellent return on investment for those who have completed the program. The training required those in the group to fit education around their work schedules, but was well worth the effort, according to one of the newly certified PepsiCo professionals.

“Although I’ve worked in the packaging industry for over 30 years and am proficient in a number of disciplines, I’m happy I took the time to study all 41 modules,” says Steven Tucker, CPP, PepsiCo associate principle engineer. “I learned something from each and every one. That new insight paid immediate dividends on two projects I was working on at the time, resulting in improved factory efficiencies and, ultimately, a better consumer experience.”

IoPP’s George notes that it took many meetings and phone calls to iron out the details of such an ambitious training program on a global scale. The keys to success were having a clear overall plan and the PepsiCo team’s ability to have very organized communication among multiple offices to sort out the many steps required to make the program work globally. At times, that meant bringing multiple managers into planning calls from both the U.S. and the U.K.

“It starts with a champion from within an organization, especially of PepsiCo’s size, to truly have that vision for the desired outcomes for their team. With a clear initial vision, good planning usually follows from there,” George explains. “In this case, all the effort was well worth it. We’ve seen many cases in the past where companies have put groups through our training and certification, and the rewards include the flexibility to confidently reassign packaging team members from one brand to another as market conditions change. I say confidently because managers will know their team members can do the job because they all learned the same information the same way. I have no doubt the same could occur at PepsiCo.”

PepsiCo’s program with IoPP is now more than one year old, and Kohl anticipates the initial group will be the first of many to go through the program and become certified. “There is general excitement about the program,” he says. “Many of the new CPPs are saying that the course work helped them with a deeper technical understanding of many things that they just had base knowledge of previously. Additionally, they learned of newer technologies in which they had no experience.

“We plan to continue to offer the program for the next several years. We will never make it a formal requirement, but we estimate that more than half of our packaging community will have the certification at some point in the future,” Kohl adds.

What’s the lesson for success in training your employees? Perseverance is key. “It is very easy for associates to focus on their ‘day job’ and let training drop off their priorities. So it is important to keep positive energy and give them a little nudge,” Kohl says. “I really think (CPP) is a valuable program, and many corporations will adopt our transformational practice because it sets an industry standard for performance.”