Beiersdorf: Supporting employee development with growth
Grappling with a new breed in the workforce can be a challenge, but Beiersdorf sees it as more of an opportunity to grow employees and the company alike.
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“At Beiersdorf, we are cognizant of the needs of our changing workforce and work diligently to retain these important resources through our total rewards and career development programs,” said Lou Fata, director of field sales. “These ‘high-potentials’ want the investment by the company to mirror their own investment in their careers. Ongoing feedback and communication, timely and relevant recognition, and interesting assignments are critical to capture and maintain the interest and engagement of our burgeoning new talent.”
Fata noted that “global Beiersdorf” is taking steps aimed at building its next generation of new leaders. For instance, the company has allocated “headcount funding” to strategically critical areas, such as e-commerce and digitalization, with the objective of nurturing corporate and employee development alike.
Toward an identical end, Fata said managers strive to “build development opportunities organically”— for instance, through challenging assignments that require aspiring leaders to “stretch” their capabilities to address the tasks at hand, as well as via special projects.
Additionally, managers include employees in external share groups and industry organization memberships, special training opportunities and global workshops and projects. Internal functional programs allow employees to gain critical business competencies in their areas and/or to be identified to participate in special leadership and managerial excellence programs.
Similar concerted efforts are made to retain talent. These efforts encompass competitive total reward programs and the opening of doors for employees to further develop their careers in the United States and at other Beiersdorf affiliates entities abroad if they desire to be globally assigned. Each year, employees are evaluated and rewarded for their performance, as well as for the roles they have played in bolstering their departments’ growth potential and that of the Beiersdorf organization as a whole.
Employees also get the tools they need to adapt to changing business conditions and grow rapidly in the process. “As a sales organization, our teams manage their own P&Ls and are empowered to invest trade monies in the most effective and efficient programs to drive the business,” Fata stated. “As business conditions change, they have the autonomy to adjust and re-invest as they see fit in order to capitalize on emerging trends or changing market conditions.”
What’s more, employee development plans are constructed not only with the company’s desires in mind, but also in keeping with each employee’s interest in having a rich and varied career with Beiersdorf. An annual employee engagement program to ensure that all employees’ voices are heard, as well as each local affiliate and its managers, seeks to understand what actions drive increased employee involvement with the company and its brands.
“We feel it is important to continually cultivate all employees through career development planning,” Fata said. “Not only does it benefit the individual employee’s desires; it also creates more value and productivity, helping us to ultimately achieve our end goal of a successful Beiersdorf.”