Introduction

Siemens is a German-based global electronics business. It has a turnover of around £60 billion a year. It has around 100 sites in the UK with its HQ in Berkshire. Siemens products touch all our lives. They range from toasters to wind power and from traffic lights to hospital scanners. Siemens is built on a high performance culture.

'Culture' is a way to describe the typical way in which an organisation works. A culture is built over time. It is part of both the organisation and the people that work for it. In Siemens' culture, all share the same vision and values.

HR development

Siemens helps its staff to develop and fulfil themselves at work. Staff may want more training, more interesting jobs or a better work-life balance. Siemens has an excellent workforce. To maintain and improve this requires good people management. Siemens believes that its human resources should be actively involved (called 'engagement') in its activities. This is a key plank of its future plans. A set of plans is called a strategy.

People Excellence

This is the name given to the part of the strategy that relates to people management. There are four parts to this:

• to build a high performance culture

• to increase the global talent pool, i.e. make sure all staff can use their talents

• to make sure career moves lead to more experts

• to train managers through the Siemens Leadership Excellence Programme (SLE).

At its heart is the building of the culture. Employees know that they are valued and trusted. This helps to motivate them. Siemens makes sure that it shows it appreciates their efforts. This all helps them to feel part of a successful team. It helps Siemens to compete more effectively.

Creating the culture

The high performance culture is based on teamwork. Targets are set for the business. These are linked to people's targets and team targets. In this way, everyone works towards better results. As team performance improves over time, so does the business.

Talent management

Siemens makes sure that all of its staff can reach their potential. This means they are able to do the best they can. It matches individuals' talents with tasks. This is called talent management. It allows for:

• job enrichment. Extra tasks or responsibility can make a job more rewarding

• job enlargement. The scope of a job is widened. This builds extra skills.

Talent management is applied to all of the global business. It is a key part of strategy. It is closely linked to performance management. This is an honest exchange between staff and managers. It is used to check progress and set new aims for employees. Everyone knows how well they are performing and how they might improve. This feeds directly into the high performance culture.

Conclusion

Siemens knows that good people lead to greater success. It has built a high performance culture. This supports people and helps them to reach their potential. It also helps Siemens to be competitive.