Personnel development is business development
By promoting a Group-wide culture of innovation and providing customized development opportunities for both experienced and new employees, HOERBIGER is making itself fit for the future.
HOERBIGER employed 6,174 people worldwide in 2023, including 5,909 permanent employees and 265 temporary workers. This corresponds to a slight increase of 3.2 percent, accompanied by strong sales growth. The fact that HOERBIGER is a stable and attractive employer is demonstrated in particular by the average length of service of eleven years and a low voluntary turnover rate of 4.3 percent, which is well below the market average for companies with a similar global footprint.
To ensure that we continue to transform into sustainable growth markets and remain an attractive employer, HOERBIGER has initiated comprehensive organizational and personnel development measures in recent years. After all, successful change requires talented employees, good managers, and internal career prospects. One of the most important and effective tools for this is feedback, which was the focus of last year’s employee survey.
Feedback in the focus of the employee survey
Under the motto “We love feedback”, the biennial Voice for Excellence (V4E) employee survey was conducted in September 2023. The participation rate reached a remarkable 82 percent – exceeding the high level of 2021 by 3 percent. At −3 percent and −1 percent respectively, the engagement and performance environment indicators were slightly lower than in 2021. This decline corresponds to a trend that can generally be observed in the post-Covid era. However, HOERBIGER remains in the top quintile in a cross-industry comparison. In other words, the engagement of our employees as well as the performance environment are comparable to the results of the top 20 percent of comparable employers worldwide.
The survey results are discussed in detail in all teams at HOERBIGER, and actions are derived and implemented. In addition, top management has used the results to define four key topics and corresponding measures that will be implemented throughout the Group in the coming years.
The aim is to involve employees at all levels more closely in transformation processes and give them the opportunity to understand the impact of various measures and help shape change. An open feedback culture is crucial here to successfully shape change in the long term.
“One of HOERBIGER’s strengths has always been our internal development paths. Managers who see personnel development as a core task enable growth and innovation.”
Roll-out of new personnel development programs
Based on the Leadership Capabilities introduced in 2021, which serve as the basis for expectations of managers and their development, the Learning & Development team placed a particular focus on the development of talent and managers. Two new programs, the Talent Pool and the Leadership Campus, were recently designed and successfully piloted. The feedback gathered from last year’s test runs was carefully integrated into the planning. Since the beginning of 2024, the programs have been rolled out across the Group as an integral part of people and leadership development and will be continuously expanded over the coming years.
These offerings, coupled with the establishment of a feedback culture, support HOERBIGER employees in their development and promote personal responsibility, creativity, and collaboration across functional and divisional boundaries. This creates room for the development of individual potential and strengthens the innovative power of the entire Group.
Digitalization of People & Culture is progressing
In addition to personnel development, digitalization was also expanded. To this end, the “Digitalization & Rewards” section was established in 2023 and numerous solutions were implemented, including expanded self-service offerings for employees and managers. An important milestone was the introduction of self-service terminals at several production sites. In addition, all digital People & Culture applications were bundled on a central platform so that HOERBIGER employees can now find everything from vacation requests and remuneration statements to digital learning content and the internal job market in one place.
Innovative and user-oriented applications not only make HOERBIGER more efficient, but are also an important part of a modern and attractive working environment.