People Behind Polaris - Spotlight on Korinne C.

At Polaris, safety is foundational. From how we design our vehicles to educating our riders on responsible riding practice, our focus on responsible riding extends to our team and helping our employees know how to ride the right way. 

We sat down with Korinne, a Rider Safety manager for Off-Road Vehicles (ORV) and Snow, to talk about what she loves about her role in fostering safer riding experiences for Polaris employees and her advice to new riders. 

Korinne, you started at Polaris in Engineering. How did you end up in your Rider Safety role?

Korinne: I've worked at Polaris for almost five years now, with most of my career being spent as a powertrain project engineer. Most recently I have transitioned into my new role as the Rider Safety manager, and it all began with starting as an ATV instructor my first year. I have been teaching new employees how to ride since I started with the company. I was also able to help establish and develop the SxS training program for employees.  That experience led to me eventually leaving engineering to move into a full-time role within the Rider Safety department. As a Rider Safety manager for Off Road, I manage the employee rider safety programs for all of ORV, which includes developing rider safety courses, policies, procedures, and continue training our new employees on how to be safer, responsible riders.

How have your past roles helped you think about training?

Korinne: From a training perspective, I’m a certified trainer in almost every area you can think of, so if you want to learn how to drive or ride something, I'm your girl!

But I also believe my engineering background has helped me in my new role by allowing me to be able to understand our vehicles, not only in terms of how they handle and drive but also in terms of how they’re built. Vehicle testing teams also give us insight into new and improved training. They suggest different types of drills to keep up with our evolving vehicle portfolio. This knowledge aids training development by creating specialized courses for our employees. Recently, we’re focused on adding more training resources for our international employees, developing the next level of SXS training, and expanding our snowmobile training.

As a trainer, my goal is to make sure employees are safer and construct programs that give them the experience and insight necessary to be stewards of the sport. It’s been exciting to watch the courses I have helped develop come to life and see how the training impacts the growth of new and experienced employees. Helping contribute to creating a strong rider safety culture at Polaris has been the highlight of my new role.

Last month, Polaris celebrated Motorsports Awareness Month and emphasized the importance of safety. Why do you think Polaris spent the month talking about rider safety and promoting the importance of safety gear?