Annual Report 2012 - Knorr-Bremse AG.

42
THAT THE NEWLY DEFINED
VALUES ARE INTEGRATED INTO
DAILY ROUTINES AND LIVED BY
ALL THE EMPLOYEES
Julia Thiele-Schürhoff: Of course
it’s not that simple, but we’ll
continue to follow up and work
to present the values not as
something abstract, but as
something to be applied in every
workplace situation. This is a
long-term cultural process;
realistically speaking, we expect it
to last somewhere between three
and five years. We’ve decided to
move forward with activities that
target the application of the
values. For example, we are
planning to hold Culture Days in
2013. As part of this program we
intend to invite all employees to
take part in discussions about our
corporate culture, something
there usually isn’t time for during
working hours. The idea here is to
enable our employees to experience
the values and to get
everyone more actively involved
in the debate. We know that this
process will take time and that it’s
up to us to put the necessary
framework in place. But we also
believe that every individual has a
personal responsibility to
approach the redefined values
with an open mind and try to
integrate them in their own
environment. Only then will we
be able to successfully and
permanently anchor the values in
the company.
Dr. Marc Pastowsky: That’s right.
It’s very important that the values
are not just seen as requirements
set down on paper. They have to
be flowed into our policies,
processes and conduct. Management
in particular must lead by
example. When it comes to the
values, we call on our managers to
be authentic, active role models,
demonstrating that the values
are not targets for measuring
employee performance, but rather
sources of inspiration and motivation
for each individual. That’s why
our second step has been to
develop the first ever leadership
principles for Knorr-Bremse, based
on the corporate values, to specify
what we expect of our managers.
For our junior managers in particular,
we believe it is essential to
define leadership more clearly and
signpost the direction it should
take.
SO THE NEW CORPORATE
VALUES PROVIDE A FRAME OF
REFERENCE THAT IS NOW BEING
FLESHED OUT AND BROUGHT
TO LIFE. HOW DO YOU SEE THE
REDEFINED VALUE SYSTEM
SHAPING THE FUTURE DEVELOP-
MENT OF KNORR-BREMSE
Dr. Marc Pastowsky: I am convinced
that the values will
strengthen our internal cohesion
and help us to leverage our
growth potential even more
successfully in the long run. We
want our employees and talented
applicants to appreciate Knorr-
Bremse as an attractive employer
with strong and clearly defined
values that set us apart around the
globe. We are also sure that,
figuratively speaking, our shared
system of values provides us with
strong guardrails to guide
decision-making processes within
the company.
Julia Thiele-Schürhoff: We have
identified our strengths and are