Preparing the next top employer certification of our company I was asked in my role as chief of human resources by the interviewer what made us special as employer? That we are ourselves, I replied.
First of all, after four years of development our leadership team has been trained to target employees as whole human beings with an individual life purpose, personal values and convictions as well as capabilities; they have been trained to understand and honor subordinates in their entity of mind, heart and spirit and pay respect to this. At the same time, our leaders learned to reveal their own identities and bring in their own leadership style and values into their relation management. Being in contact means to be here and now with people. All of this happens as a matter of course on the platform of our core business and our corporate identity.
This is how we create trust and credibility in the best case and thus a high level of authenticity in our whole employer brand which is deeply rooted in our corporate culture. We are not listed in the stock market – we are an owner-driven, medium sized company with a Swabian background. That makes it personal and close. At the same time we deal with almost all German top automotive brands and their main suppliers. That makes it global.
This is also conveyed verbally through words and non-verbally though attitude during the interviews we are leading with our applicants.
Of course – as cultural change takes time and with it patience – we still have quite long a way to go to really build a working community sharing mutual resonance, pacing and understanding, however, after four years of work I know that change towards a humanistic and humanitarian economy is not only possible but in deep demand by the academic workforce we employ. And furthermore, the ethical grounding and the awareness for sustainable management is among the young integral part of their worldview. That is why we are proud to strategically enter topics like e-mobility and driving devices for the physically disabled.
By communicating and interacting with authenticity our employees share also high levels of belonging to each other – not as classical brand clones, a species often bread by concerns or consulting agencies – but simply because they remain themselves and share this on a basis of helpfulness and cooperativeness. And these prerequisites are already there, they are within the people – they just have to be unleashed.
“The freedom we grant to bring in the own identity fosters a culture of mutual respect and tolerance and more than this: creativity and innovative power.”
The freedom we grant to bring in the own identity fosters a culture of mutual respect and tolerance and more than this: creativity and innovative power. It opens – within our strategic channel and business opportunities – a space to activate the own potential. The moment potential unfolds authenticity is once again the result because activities are directly linked to our employees´ inner motivation and professional purpose. Activities become meaning- and powerful.
As employer we try hard to deliver work platforms which correspond to the demand for creativity and innovative power. It was helpful that the company re-adjusted the core business enlarging the existing business platform: we now offer our engineers job opportunities in the realm of service and consulting, system development and product development in the automotive industry focusing topics like telematic and multimedia solutions as well as automotive systems. Within these three columns under the umbrella of automotive electronics we offer the choice.
Authenticity in your employer brand assures you a strong and lasting brand appearance and at the same time it builds the solid basis of your employer brand credit, which in the end binds your workforce. And this is only achieved by people who master their communication through their attitude and their behavior and who, by doing so, create a strong corporate culture. So, gaining employer branding authenticity means investing into people as it is all about people and people skills.
Once you are about to arrive there, it might occur that your business journey is changing as you are changing paradigms: within our economic system your company starts to serve society as it is putting people first and before profit. That means not only embracing, but endearing people.
This is how your employer brand can challenge traditional business and the labor market by building a unique and innovative positioning, caring and authentic towards all stakeholders.
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