With the third and final round of theoretical questions ending last month, VISTA 2011 has unfortunately come to an end for many of the thousands of teams who took part. But as we go over the results and statistics from all three rounds, it is clear that the lucky teams who progress to the semi finals are not the only winners.
A record number of participants, from a record number of markets, took part in the biggest VISTA competition yet, and all over the world Volvo personnel received over 370,000 hours of extra training.
Participation
Last September, 3740 teams from 75 countries registered to take part in VISTA 2011, the highest number of participants in VISTA’s 53-year history. This was 2% higher than VISTA 2009, 15% more than VISTA 2007 and 60% more than VISTA 2005.
As with all VISTA competitions, teams gradually dropped out as the competition wore on, however this time the dropout rate between rounds was never higher than 5%. 3276 teams completed Round Three, meaning that of the 3740 teams who registered, 87% completed all three theoretical rounds.
Most incredibly, the ATO region didn’t record a single drop out, with all 565 teams completing all three rounds. This is quite possibly the first time in VISTA’s history that such an extraordinary feat has been achieved on such a large scale.
VISTA is first and foremost a training event, and taking part requires participants to engage in self-education, research and teamwork. It is estimated that the first three rounds of VISTA 2011 produced around 375,000 hours of extra training.
Results
Each round was designed to be progressively more difficult than the first, yet average scores continued to rise. In Round One, the average global score was 20.7 (out of a possible 30), with 69% of questions being answered correctly. Round Two, which many participants thought was actually easier than Round One, the average score rose to 22.6, with 76% of questions answered correctly.
In Round Three, the consensus from most participants was that it was indeed the most challenging of the three rounds. Accordingly the average score dropped slightly to 21.4, with 71% of questioned answered correctly. Yet despite being more difficult, the average scores were still above those in Round One, suggesting that many teams were getting better and improving as the competition progressed.
Best-performing regions and markets
Many markets and regions performing strongly throughout the competition, and each round produced a different leader. In Round One, Benelux and Russia were equal best with 78% of questions being answered correctly. In Round Two, East Europe had the best results with 85% correct answers, the highest percentage recorded by any region in a single round for the whole competition. In Round Three, Central Europe performed strongest with 83%.
After finishing equal first in Round One, and second in both Rounds Two and Three, Russia was the most consistent of the high performing markets across all three rounds, closely followed by East Europe.
VISTA 2011 also saw a number of regions significantly improve over the three rounds. ATO’s scores rose from 56% in Round One to 65% in Round Three, while NAME (Northern Africa, Middle East) rose from 61% to 67%. However the biggest improver was Italy, who went from having one of the lowest percentages of correct answers (64%) in Round One, to the equal third highest in Round Three (76%).
Next week: the semi finals
From next Monday semi finals begin in Verona, Beesd (Netherlands), and Dubai, in what will be the first of sixteen semi finals held in nine locations worldwide and involving around 150 teams. Apart from the opportunity to test their skills against the best and make new friends from other markets, participants will also get the opportunity to qualify for the VISTA 2011 World Final in Gothenburg this June.
However regardless of which lucky teams make it to Sweden this summer, every single one of the 13,700 participants have helped contribute to fulfilling VISTA objectives, namely securing growth in the aftermarket for Volvo Trucks and Volvo Buses, improving customer satisfaction, strengthen the image of Volvo as an attractive employer and showing that Volvo Trucks is a leader in competence development.
