Friday, May 30, 2008

Volkswagen orients Human Resources Worldwide on Growth Strategy

An interesting article from the web site Machinist.In regarding the approach Volkswagen is taking in communicating their global business strategy to their global Human Resources staff. Factors mentioned include:
  • Competencies
  • Metrics
  • Mentoring
  • Training
  • Recognition
  • Talent Acquisition
  • Employee Participation

The other top challenge discussed is the need to accomplish this task on a global basis. See full article below.

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Volkswagen orients human resources work worldwide to its growth strategy

Written by Anand
Friday, 30 May 2008

Rane Engine Valve Ltd. of Chennai is one of the 15 winners of the “Volkswagen Group Award 2008"Wolfsburg / Pamplona: The Volkswagen Group is orienting its human resources worldwide to the company’s growth strategy. Some 70 HR managers from all of the Group’s sites met at the Pamplona plant to discuss this issue.

Dr. Horst Neumann, member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for Human Resources, commented: “Volkswagen is en route to becoming a top employer. That also involves outstanding HR work devoted to competence development and the personal mentoring of all employees.” Concrete standards and programs to that end were agreed in Pamplona.

Volkswagen Group honors its best suppliers

Rane Engine Valve Ltd. of Chennai is one of the 15 winners of the “Volkswagen Group Award 2008”. The “Volkswagen Group Award 2008” was presented to the Volkswagen Group’s top suppliers on the Spanish island of Ibizaon.

Prof. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, and Francisco J. Garcia Sanz, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft with responsibility for ‘Procurement’, presented a total of 15 international winners with their awards for outstanding achievement.

Addressing representatives from a total of 100 Group suppliers invited to the event, Francisco J. Garcia Sanz, Board member responsible for procurement, said: “With our unique brand world we are aiming to reach very diverse customer groups on global sales markets.” He pointed out that the solutions for markets such as China or India were not the same as those for the USA or Western Europe. Low-cost solutions were becoming increasingly important for the growth markets of India and Russia in particular. This called for flexible and “breathing” supplier relations in new markets as well as proximity to Volkswagen Group production facilities.

Standards and programs agreed at international Group conference

Around the world, Volkswagen will in future be orienting job qualification and training to high uniform standards. This is of particular relevance for countries which do not have vocational training legislation. In addition, the Group will be establishing its own training schemes at further sites. Globally valid basic building blocks for graduate entry programs were also agreed in Pamplona. These include customer contacts, involvement in the production process and knowledge modules relating to the Group and the respective brand and region.

Developing specialist skills will be more closely oriented to job families which encompass all the members of such a family from entry-level to expert jobs. Job family members will be offered individual qualification for their specific work situation; beginners will be supported by coaches. According to Dr. Neumann: “Volkswagen must move swiftly to become a teaching and learning organization. We can only achieve our growth targets with an excellently qualified and trained team.” At the same time, the Volkswagen Way, the ongoing efficiency enhancement program, fosters the participation of employees.

“Volkswagen must perceive itself as a high-performance organization,” the board member for human resources stressed. In a presentation entitled “Enjoying Job Performance”, Professor Felix von Cube, a pioneering behavioral biologist and motivation researcher, addressed the participants in Pamplona. He explained the evolutionary biology behind motivation: “Top performance is created by “flow”, or in other words, by a constant stream of new challenges, by acknowledging good job performance and by bonding in achievement-oriented teams.”

Working together with the Group’s HR managers, this concept will be used to define the basis of human resources work and organization at Volkswagen. Professor von Cube commented: “That is how Volkswagen can harness the findings of modern behavioral research to the benefit of all employees.”

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