The chancellors of 20 (technical) universities from North Rhine-Westphalia meet annually as part of a closed conference to take up innovative ideas and discuss how these can be incorporated into their everyday lives. On 24 October 2024, Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences hosted this meeting in the person of Chancellor Sandra Schlösser. The focus was on the potential of artificial intelligence and modern and agile forms of collaboration. The topics were to be communicated and framed in an interactive and entertaining way - exactly our thing!
Generational changes in management and constant growth often put companies in the situation of having to put their management methods to the test. Openness to new management methods and the desire to be up to date in an agile working environment also act as a driver for change in management. Following a detailed cultural analysis, Borgel Elementbau GmbH decided to place more decision-making freedom and responsibility in the hands of its project managers. Supported by noventum consultants, a change process was initiated that included new management structures and agile methods. A kick-start workshop and the creation of a project manager handbook were key measures.
More than 6,000 employees worldwide belong to the family-owned company Schmitz Cargobull. In addition to technical innovation, important topics for the future include the transformation of work and the quality of leadership. Demographics and the company's global market position make the ongoing qualification of the next generation of managers and specialists a strategic issue for the future. With the support of noventum consulting, the company's HR department is restructuring its operational work using the OKR (Objectives & Key Results) method, thereby strengthening the strategic focus of its HR work.
The Ostbevern municipal administration is to develop significantly in terms of corporate culture, leadership quality and organisational structure in order to improve its attractiveness as an employer and at the same time increase trust, motivation, commitment, cooperation, identification, customer focus, efficiency, speed and citizen service. These were the objectives of the newly elected mayor Karl Piochowiak, with which he approached the noventum team in 2022.
The MyWay programme of the Münsterland-based vehicle manufacturer Schmitz Cargobull is all about promoting networking, exchanging knowledge and, overall, sharing expertise and driving innovation faster and more efficiently. noventum consultants have been active as trainers in the MyWay programme for more than a year with great success and have already familiarised more than 50 employees with the basics of agile methods, change management and design thinking in the training series.
Companies are under great pressure to change. Work is being redefined, employees are striving for meaningfulness and want to actively participate in the work process. Digitalisation, agility and staff shortages are driving the demand for "New Work". These changes are a challenge for managers. They have to adapt the way they work and find new roles for themselves and their teams. Leadership training is therefore becoming increasingly important. Successful leadership training can help managers to further develop their skills and potential.
To ensure the success of a management seminar, there are a few steps that the client and participants should take into account.
For Stadtsparkasse Lengerich, the time was ripe for a new mission statement in spring 2023. One reason for this was the generational change on the Management Board, but it was also important to align the bank for the challenging years ahead and to create a strong, easy-to-understand and attractive orientation for employees and applicants. Customers and business partners also needed to understand what Stadtsparkasse Lengerich stands for and why it is so important that this organisation exists and plays a very useful and important role in the business ecosystem. noventum organisational consultants moderated the process.
In autumn 2022, Backstube MALZERS set up a project lasting several months to further develop its attractiveness as an employer. Motivated by participation in the Great Place to Work® employee survey, a project group made up of employees and managers from all areas of the company drew up suggestions for improvement, which were implemented in individual projects. Organisational developers from noventum consulting supported the agile process. Following the great success of the first round, the second "Future Kneaders" group has been working at MALZERS since June 2023.
Trust is more than a concept or an attitude, it needs to be actively built and nurtured. Most institutions emphasise the importance of trust between staff and with clients in their mission or vision statements. Few, however, have defined the cultivation of a culture of trust as a process and a leadership task. In his contribution, Uwe Rotermund advocates treating trust consistently as a management task and pursuing it systematically and sustainably.
The Sparkassenverbund Olpe-Drolshagen-Wenden invited local entrepreneurs to the 11th "Sparkasse Entrepreneur Forum". The topic of the event was effective strategies and instruments for employee retention. noventum managing director Uwe Rotermund explained to the lively audience how important active participation and opportunities for employees to get involved can be as an instrument in combating the shortage of skilled workers.
With a fundamental renewal of its organizational and leadership culture, the Ibbenbüren-based mechanical engineering company MBH is meeting the challenge of being positioned for the future with technical and organizational excellence, even in its anniversary year of 2027. Under the programmatic title "Fit for Fifty", they have set out with the organization and culture experts from noventum to further develop the organizational and leadership culture of MBH using agile methods.
In 2020, the Corona epidemic radically hit the travel industry. Almost all trips were cancelled, new contracts were no longer concluded and only with the help of emergency government aid were the travel agencies able to prevent the immediate end. The three Lufthansa City Center travel agencies ReiseArt, Lückertz and Schlagheck from Münsterland had already been negotiating a stronger cooperation before Corona, but now the catastrophic market situation accelerated their plans and since April 2022 they have been united under the brand "reiseart". The change consultants from noventum consulting accompanied the merger process since August 2021.
Alliance Automotive Germany GmbH (AAGG) is part of the Alliance Automotive Group, the second largest car parts dealer and full-service workshop provider in Europe. It is working on the introduction of a uniform ERP system for the entire company. After the technical start of the project in 2019, those responsible prepared themselves in intensive change management workshops in the summer and autumn of 2021 to take the project into the company. noventum change management consultants Jan Helmchen and Rabea Wolters moderated the workshops.
Traditional methods of hierarchical leadership are increasingly less suitable in companies and institutions to deal with the complexity and confusion that have to be managed on a daily basis in the digital age. Self-organisation and agility are replacing the "top-down principle" and unfolding an inspiring dynamic in organisation and operation. The management of the Allwetterzoos Münster is also agile today after Advanced Training in "agile project management". The change management consultants from noventum consulting opened up the goal and methodology of agile management in an intensive workshop.
Mastering the technology and methodology of the digital professional world is part of the armor of future managers in all industries. For some, this is a real challenge that also requires personal courage to embrace change. With Zert-Ex, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is promoting a corresponding continuing education program for future specialists and managers, which was conducted by the North Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Uwe Rotermund, change expert and "missionary" for a new leadership culture, opened up perspectives for an agile future to the training participants.
For some years now, terms from the world of agility have increasingly been shaping change management in large organizations. Teams develop their tasks in rapid, intensive and agile intervals in the ongoing process, and the customer himself has the chance for concrete participation. Public administrations are also facing major challenges such as the Corona crisis, digitalization, the shortage of skilled workers or the climate crisis and need to review their way of working. Does agile working also fit the mission, thinking and actions of public administrations? nc360° interview with Münster's Lord Mayor Markus Lewe.
Objectives and Key Results (OKR) are among the much discussed leadership and management methods worldwide. The idea behind them is to steer companies through ambitious goals and measurable measures and to strengthen results, motivation and togetherness through maximum transparency. At Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, the "IT & Digital" department began structuring its work with OKRs a year ago. With the support of the management consultancy noventum consulting, representatives from different IT teams have now reviewed their previous approach in several workshops and set new standards for future work.
In a large-scale change project, , the IT oft he WBS GRUPPE developed new principles for its own work. Communication, performance and employee satisfaction were to be promoted in equal measure. In order to motivate as many people as possible to participate, the change initiative was launched openly and as an agile process. The noventum corporate culture experts provided the agile tools and managed the multi-layered project.
With OSPlus_neo, Kreissparkasse Düsseldorf is increasingly focusing on digital customer communication. In a workshop on the implementation of agile working methods and the further development of the digitalisation strategy, the board and management worked on the future direction of the bank in the open air in a Corona-like manner. But that was not the only special feature of this unusual conference, which was moderated by culture change consultant Uwe Rotermund.
IT teams are currently under pressure from two sides: the business demands new and complex solutions that drive the digital transformation process, while at the same time the existing infrastructure must be kept up-to-date and operated smoothly. The lack of IT specialists is blocking staff growth, and outsourcing alone is not always the way out. In addition, the pressure in IT departments is increasing and employees are as dissatisfied as the longer queues of customers at the door.
„Preliminary and right from the start temporally restricted regulation (in delineation from organisation). These are ad-hoc regulations that are created intuitively (controlled by feelings) or heuristically (driven by experience). They do often only have a preliminary character since the thorough analysis of their underlying decision situation is omitted. Improvisation is a sign of insufficient organisation (sub-organisation). In organisational science, improvisation is juxtaposed to organisation. While organisation is striving for a permanently and comprehensively structuring of division of labour systems, improvisation deals with the structuring of a limited number of cases...“
