Value-oriented Corporate Culture
3.1 Kienbaum Consulting Group
3.1.5 Corporate Culture and Change Management
Referring to the employees’ motivation and retention, consulting companies face high requirements as they have to deal with their high demands on their employ-
ees’ individual performance and, accordingly, possible high negative deviations of these individual objectives; furthermore, with the requirements determined di- rectly by the clients and the competitors, and the dynamic changes of the markets consulting businesses have been confronted with during the last years. In particu- lar, the demands for qualified consultants who have several years of experience requires long-term work-life-balance concepts that are linked to an attractive cor- porate culture. The forecasted, increasingly narrow job markets and thus, an at least medium-sized “war for talents“ preserve our outlined attractiveness as an employer due to the described essential aspects as image, career chances, variety of tasks, compensation etc. To us, the internal corporate culture and the external image as an employer are ‘two sides of the coin’. These aspects have to be under- pinned by long-term instruments for leading employees and for designing our cor- porate culture (see Figure 3.10.).
Perf ormance-M anagement
Competency M anagement Culture M anagement
A ttractivit y as e mplo ye r
A ttractiv e corpo rat e culture
»Va lu es, L ea dersh ip a nd Co-o pera tion
»Cha ng e com p e te nce
»Com pe nsa tio n-b enchm arks
»Flex ib ility in c om pe nsa tio n
»Enha ncem en t o f p o te n tia l
»Em ploya bility
Fig. 3.10.Management of Culture and Change
Our understanding and model of leadership is expressed in the competency model. On the one hand, it is based on the two pillars ’motivation’ and ’team inte- gration’, and on the other hand, on ‘management by objectives’ and the ‘optimal use of potential’. The support and challenge of our outstanding employees is a definite factor for success which we underline with leadership key performance indicators (number of identified talents, internal placement and key positions, competency-fit and retention rates) within the scope of our balanced score card.
While the quality of leadership can immediately be optimized through feedback and qualifying measures, changing the corporate culture is a medium-term proc- ess. On a regular basis, we accomplish 360-degree-feedbacks and comprehensive employee surveys in our company to document improvements made as well as po- tential short- and long-term threats with respect to the employees’ motivation and retention (see Figure 3.11.). In these processes, we are in particular eager to match with our company’s values that have been binding for us for almost 20 years now;
thus, our goal is to be:
Competent
x Top-know how in all fields of hr-management;
x be convincing as far as the consultant’s personality and the service’s contents are concerned;
x convey to the client our experience regarding the realization and application of solutions in a plausible way.
A Partner to the Client
x Avoid giving the client the impression of arrogance/elitism;
x develop important contents of the project together with the client’s managers in charge;
x be a creditable partner, not only to the client’s top-management but for all employees, and groups of people that will apply the developed strategies and systems.
Innovative
x Up-to-date knowledge and clear assessment on international hr-trends;
x be a stimulator for creative and innovative solutions;
x be sensible for changes regarding business and society.
Fig. 3.11. Kienbaum Employee Survey
Moreover, Kienbaum executives and senior managers have developed a leader- ship and co-operation model that, for instance, defines the following self-demands and objectives:
x Our competence and strength, – is our team. We assure that all employees are familiarized in their jobs systematically, support them in their permanent further development, and assure the establishment of a long-term relationship with our company.
x Our executives and senior managers, – concentrate on their key tasks which are leadership and acquisition.
x We set trends, – we develop new, innovative products and improve our exist- ing portfolio.
x We lay all workforce in the projects, – continuously, we gear our organiza- tional structure towards the profit of our clients and guarantee them optimal consulting services.
x We are reliable, – we are goal-oriented and keep our promises.
x We support the personal work-life-balance, – we support our employees in balancing their profession against their personal needs for well-being, free time, and their family.
Each of the 11 guidelines is underlined by activities and set by measurement categories (see Figure 3.12.) for the determination of work-life-balancing.
"We support the personal work-life balance, - we support our employees in balancing their profession against their personal needs for well-being, free
time, and their family."
Our Way:
We
»enable and foster a flexible working-hours model.
»have developed a sabbatical concept.
»give our employees sufficient free time to spend with their family or on their hobbies.
»accept that our consultants realize different monetary results, - according to their individual ambition and situation of life (with respect to the employee discussion, the budget, and our flexible salary system)
»reduce inconvenient travelling through staffing projects with consultants closest to the clients
Results:
»Lower absenteeism ratio
» realization of the sabbatical concept
» wellness is defined as an aspect of leadership qualities
» technical support and acceptance of home offices (also for project assistants)
» reduction of time consultants spend on travelling
» health-seminars offered by the Kienbaum-academy
» employees receive a reduction on membership-cards for fitness clubs
Fig. 3.12. Guideline Work-Life Balance
The external image as an employer has been established on a long-term basis as one of our company’s eight goals and gets measured with the help of company rankings. The preservation and optimization of our company’s internal culture is a permanent process in which
x Established and potential executives have to be supported and qualified.
x Successful teams have to be “welded together” (in particular when restruc- turing processes take place and with the help of external coaches).
x The results of employee surveys and 360-degree-feedbacks have to be docu- mented in generally binding, division-specific activity plans.
x Symbolic experiences/ symbolic violations that have a negative impact have to be cleared.
x Transparency, regarding the situation of the company and the market has to be guaranteed through the continuous use of communication instruments.
x On a regular (cascaded) basis in monthly meetings of the single divisions, reviews and activity planning are discussed and organized.
x The communicated values and beliefs of our company become plausible and reliable by the exemplary behavior of our top-management.