Flooring products company Tandus Centiva (A Tarkett Company) offers a variety of certification programs for dealer partners, sales associates, corporate staff, and manufacturing employees. In 2014, approximately 350 employees and/or dealers were certified by Tandus Centiva or gained/maintained certification. Certifications help the company achieve corporate goals such as making superior product, growing the business, and attracting and retaining talent.
Certification Programs
- Dealers must be certified to install Tandus Centiva product unsupervised. A field technician provides on-the-job certification by coaching the installation team on acceptable installation methods. Bi-annual certification renewal is required to ensure each installer has received the most up-to-date information. Installation is a key part of product performance.
- IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, Restoration and Certification) certification is performed by an IICRC instructor. Tandus Centiva hosts three two-day IICRC certification classes annually. These courses certify attendees to properly inspect, clean, and restore floor covering.
- Sales employees can attain LEED accreditation. This certifies employees in LEED green building standards. In 2010, Tandus Centiva launched a 12-week “LEED Bootcamp” to prepare account executives (AEs) to successfully pass the LEED AP ID+C exam. Since inception, 95 percent of those who completed the “Bootcamp” prior to taking the exam passed it. Before being accredited, employees only had a marginal chance of winning a job where sustainability was a factor. With the new accreditation, employees become consultants and are able to close the sale more than 75 percent of the time.
- IFMA (International Facility Management Association) certification is available for sales employees. IFMA is a member-centric association that guides and develops facility management professionals. AEs can better understand their customers’ needs when they better understand facility management.
- More than 160 employees are CEU-certified instructors through the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Interior Design Continuing Education Council (IDCEC). These employees can present educational CEU sessions for people outside Tandus Centiva’s employee base (architects and designers) to assist them in maintaining their credentials. This assists Tandus Centiva in building relationships with 25 percent more customers that it never had the chance to get in front of before.
- Factory employees receive consistent safety training. This certifies that employees are up to date on safety rules and regulations. Due to increased training and safety initiatives, Tandus Centiva’s incident rate dropped from 10.66 percent in 2006 to 1.22 percent in 2014 in an industry where the current average is 3.5 percent.
- EMS 14001 certification validates Tandus Centiva’s commitment to sustainability. The company seeks environmental certification for all products and environmental processes yearly. This certification cannot be attained if employees are not trained to answer questions regarding the organization’s EMS policy when audited randomly.
In addition, many employees maintain a professional certification, including accountants, certified installation instructors, HR professionals, and company nurses. Tandus Centiva supports such certifications and funds courses and renewal fees that apply.
