Driving networking and change with new working methods

The future of work always means change. This is especially true for companies that are constantly driving technical improvements and innovations with their products and face tough international competition. 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. The MyWay Community sees itself on the one hand as a programme for developing corporate culture and innovative strength and on the other hand as a programme for needs-oriented and individual support for programme participants. 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.

Establishing future skills with targeted methodological training, strengthening future viability and the ability to change

More than 6,000 employees worldwide belong to the family-owned company Schmitz Cargobull. Founded over 130 years ago in Altenberge, Münsterland, the company still has strong regional roots today. In addition to technical innovation, the transformation of work and the quality of management are among the important topics for the future. 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.

The "MyWay" programme was developed and set up by the HR department to identify and promote employees who have the potential to drive networking and change in the organisation to a particular degree. The programme enables future managers and specialists to get to know and discuss various management methods that can enrich their future leadership and collaboration at Schmitz Cargobull.

The noventum training series "Agile Methods/ Design Thinking/ Change Management", which was specially designed for the "MyWay" programme, focuses on the so-called "21st centrury skills", i.e. the skills needed to drive transformation and change.  "The noventum training approach emphasises the practical application of the methods taught and the development of the corresponding mindset for transformation processes," explains noventum consultant Dr Kerstin Kurzhals, who designed and conducted the training units. "Our content is not only conveyed in theory, but also brought to life through practical exercises."

"Working agile means reacting flexibly. Agile working requires self-discipline and structures"

The two-day workshop "Agile Methods" was designed to teach the theoretical principles in a practical way right from the start. Examples from the participants' day-to-day work quickly showed everyone where the concrete benefits of this management approach lie and where it also has its limitations.  "You don't need to be afraid of Scrum. Scrum can help you in various ways in your day-to-day work," said one participant at the end, summarising her experiences. "One of my current projects is agile, but important elements are missing and therefore it doesn't work," was the experience of another participant. The joint discussion, but also the testing of agile principles and routines through the use of agile games (such as Lego Serious Play®) enabled self-awareness and reflection during the workshop, made "agility" more tangible for all participants and increased the motivation to continue testing and using this approach in daily work.

Systematic change management - tools for practice

The seminar participants also experienced the methodological training on change management in a similarly practical way. With the ADKAR model, a framework for change management, Dr Kerstin Kurzhals was able to offer a complex introduction to the topic. From a management perspective in particular, the five stages of the model are a good orientation for challenging change processes. Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability and Reinforcement are the stages of the process by which change can be effectively planned and implemented in organisations. At the centre of the management activities are the people who are to support the change. Organisations use ADKAR to ensure that employees understand, accept and successfully implement change. The training participants from Schmitz Cargobull were consistently impressed by the concept of not only explaining the change management toolbox in theory, but also applying it to their own change projects, which the participants brought with them. "Super practical methods that help me to structure projects, cluster target groups and identify obstacles/challenges."

Sharpening the mindset for more user-centricity with design thinking

Design Thinking, the next noventum workshop topic, is also a people-orientated approach to problem solving and idea generation based on multidisciplinary teams, flexible spaces and a structured process model. The process comprises six phases: Understand, Observe, Define Perspective, Generate Ideas, Develop Prototypes and Test. Design thinking is primarily used in the user-centred development and improvement of products, services and processes in companies, promotes innovation and interdisciplinarity and helps to manage complexity. What is special about the noventum training approach is that the innovation method was practically applied to a real Schmitz Cargobull development task ("Design Challenge") from product development. This challenge-based learning approach enables participants to go through the innovation process once, from understanding the problem and generating ideas through to prototyping and testing, thereby familiarising themselves with the entire design thinking toolbox. In addition, the interdisciplinary approach helped to generate a common understanding between the different departments and break down existing barriers.