For ten years now the thyssenkrupp Academy has been supporting the professional and personal development of employees and managers of the thyssenkrupp Group as an internal learning organization. “Our employees and managers represent our most important potential for business success. In times of digitization, demographic change and increasing diversity in the workforce as a whole and the duties of each individual, they have to face new challenges every day. The thyssenkrupp Academy is a key driver in ensuring that they succeed: It helps us advance change in the Group and use the right competencies and the right culture to gain an edge over competitors,” said Oliver Burkhard, Member of the Executive Board and CHRO of thyssenkrupp AG, at the thyssenkrupp Academy open day at the Quarter in Essen on November 7.

Launched as an academy for executives, the thyssenkrupp Academy has constantly expanded its offering since it was established in 2006. “Learning in modern companies is still – but not just – about further training. The Academy supports employees and managers on thyssenkrupp’s Strategic Way Forward. We help bring the culture change to life and impart the latest specialist knowledge to experts. We create space for teams working on innovations, offer a platform for exchange and networking, and ensure that all learning offerings Groupwide support these objectives,” explains Detlef Hunsdiek, Head of People Development & Executives Management at thyssenkrupp AG and Chairman of the Academy Board.

A key instrument for culture change in the leadership team is the Leadership Academy. Coaching, 360° feedback and new learning formats such as learning expeditions to other companies are utilized to communicate, discuss and reflect on the targeted leadership culture in the Group and develop personal leadership competencies. The Leadership Academy provides managers with important new ideas that enable them to perform their role in a better and more conscious manner and prepare them for new duties.

With the Functional Campus (a platform for cross-cutting functions such as purchasing or HR) the Academy particularly supports the Group’s operational excellence initiatives. Programs have been created that enable experts and managers to deepen their specialist knowledge of their function, learn new ways of working, exchange opinions and network. For example the campus for purchasing and supply chain management is providing important support for the implementation and roll-out of synergize+, the key initiative for leveraging synergy effects in purchasing. synergize+ has generated savings of more than €450 million for the Group to date.

Change Practice is supporting Academy leadership teams in driving the further development of thyssenkrupp in specific markets. One example here is the Innovation Garage program, the first round of which generated new business ideas with sales potential in the three digit million range. From January to June 2016 over 30 participants from a wide variety of functions, disciplines, business units, age groups and hierarchy levels developed more than 570 ideas and over 30 prototypes of innovative solutions for the mobile world of tomorrow. Two of the prototypes will receive further investment following the program. It is planned to roll out the Innovation Garage Groupwide from 2017 to supplement conventional innovation management.

Under the heading of Regional Learning the Academy is developing a core curriculum for region-specific learning programs in collaboration with the relevant Regional Headquarters. The aim is to ensure that all thyssenkrupp employees possess the core competencies they need despite the varying learning offerings in the different regions around the world. Regional Learning mainly focuses on the personal development of individual employees.

The thyssenkrupp Academy also acts as the Groupwide Learning & Transformation Center of Competence. In this role it offers new digital learning methods and develops standards, processes and systems for all learning providers in the Group.

The thyssenkrupp Academy currently offers 85 programs for managers and a growing number of employees in the Group. Every year around 2,700 participants attend some 250 programs. Since its establishment, the thyssenkrupp Academy GmbH has increased its sales by around 60% from €7.38 million to the current figure of around €12.4 million.

Contact:

Internet: www.thyssenkrupp.com