The courage to make cultural change.
The world is in upheaval: issues such as climate change, a shortage of skilled labor, artificial intelligence and numerous international crises are setting the agenda and presenting us with new challenges. This affects how we live and work together in a variety of ways. We need to rethink many ideas that have been working well for a long time. For us as a company, it’s a matter of being flexible, agile and resilient in order to remain successful.
Corporate culture plays a key role in our ability to respond appropriately to the challenges of the future. Knorr-Bremse recognized this and started the journey of cultural change long ago. The company aims to become even more diverse, inclusive and forward-looking. Alongside technical innovations, a modern work culture will be crucial to our future success. Only through continuous change can we maintain our position as a global market leader, become even more attractive as an employer and at the same time empower our employees to fully develop their individual potential.
1. Change at the top: a new management culture
Cultural change concerns all levels of an organization, including the top. We support and practice an open leadership culture. That’s why the Knorr-Bremse Executive Board has worked with the top 150 managers to redefine the basis for leadership behavior at the company: with five Leadership Principles. Under the guiding principle of “Leading by example”, these clearly describe what leadership means at Knorr-Bremse. Leadership culture workshops with senior management and integration into HR processes and training help our managers to anchor these principles in their day-to-day activities.
Cultural change cannot be imposed from above. So it’s crucial to bring everyone on board. Management decisions must be communicated transparently, so everyone can follow the reasoning. Regular employee surveys are a core component – they provide the Executive Board with a basis to guide future activities in the context of cultural change. The Executive Board members personally attend to key issues that arise from the global employee survey. They have formed a tandem for each of these topics and act as sponsors for the ongoing implementation within the global organization.
2. Diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI)
Active diversity management is the duty of both the company and each manager. Diversity, equity and inclusion should therefore be a matter of course. To meet the challenges of the future, we have developed a holistic, global DEI strategy that provides guidance for the entire Knorr-Bremse group. In 2024, we will initially focus our measures on three key dimensions: Age & Generation, Internationality and Gender & Identity. We will then expand our focus to other dimensions. We have also created the role of Global Diversity Officer, introduced regional Diversity Champions and set targets for gender diversity. We want to achieve a 25% share of female employees worldwide, with 20% of them in management positions. We are proud of our very active Women@KB networks, which can be found at multiple Knorr-Bremse locations. Women@KB provides a platform for female employees to network with each other and supports them in their career planning.
3. Room to grow: career & development
Our employees are the beating heart of the company. To ensure they all feel at home and to attract new talent, we focus on outstanding working conditions, targeted development opportunities and above-average benefits.
We know that flexibility is a key element of our modern working world. That’s why we offer flexible working hours, mobile working (even from abroad), sabbaticals and attractive additional benefits such as the Knorr-Bremse employee share program.
We make lifelong learning an integral part of our learning culture and see it as an innovation driver. Our measures to further our colleagues’ individual careers include talent development programs and coaching. In addition, everyone has the opportunity to continue their education independently through targeted courses on LinkedIn Learning.
We see mentoring as a crucial measure for individual development. Our local mentoring programs have proven their worth over many years. In future, we want to sharpen our focus on mentoring with a global approach.
Not everyone aspires to a career in management. We are therefore introducing expert careers and thus raising the profile of professional excellence.
4. No fear of mistakes: strengthening communication
It’s vital to have different points of view. We want to create a cooperative and respectful environment in which no one is afraid to express themselves. All constructive feedback is valuable and makes a difference. We encourage a speak-up mentality, a culture of experimentation and discussion in which mistakes are not a weakness, but a learning opportunity.
Many of the changes at Knorr-Bremse can already be felt. But change is a long journey – it takes time and is a collaborative process. So the transformation will only succeed if everyone plays their part and sees themselves as part of the bigger picture. Nevertheless, change does not mean that everything has to change: entrepreneurship, technological excellence, reliability, passion and responsibility remain Knorr-Bremse’s corporate values and continue to form our solid foundation for the future.