\u201cOne team leading together\u201d \u2013 this is the motto for how the Oil Seals Powertrain & Driveline (P&D) Division has long been addressing social and cultural issues at its sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, happens to be on October 24 this year. \u201cHow do our colleagues in India celebrate this day?\u201d This is the question that Project Manager Tanya Sollenberger, Assistant to the Management of the Oil Seals Powertrain & Driveline (P&D) Division in Cleveland, asked the P&D Division sites. Not out of pure self-interest, but to steer communication about the locations within P&D to reinforce they are truly part of a global company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter all, we are a global organization. I want to promote this global mindset at all our sites. Such a cosmopolitan mindset will also help us to drive diversity, equity and inclusion in our division.\u201d She immediately adds reasons for this objective: \u201cJust like sustainability, diversity, equity, and inclusion of our employees are also a business necessity. We want everyone to feel accepted and respected and to enjoy coming to work. Such a work environment makes us more productive and innovative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing social and cultural aspects of business life is nothing new for the P&D Division. There have been many local initiatives in Cleveland, for example, and another initiative with the motto \u201cOne team one heart\u201d at the sites in Italy. \u201cIn 2019, we brought everyone together in the \u2018One team leading together\u2019 initiative and created a global \u2018P&D Culture Team.\u2019 It includes representatives from all our sites around the globe,\u201d says Sollenberger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The team focuses on anchoring Freudenberg\u2019s Guiding Principles even more fi rmly in a variety of ways. For example, through activities such as a global culture week at all sites, a focus on equal opportunities for women to mark International Women\u2019s Day, or a focus on autism. The idea of \u201cGemba Culture Walks\u201d goes back to the Queretaro plant: Members of the \u201cP&D Culture Team\u201d and managers approach employees directly at their workplaces and ask them for concrete examples of how the Freudenberg Principles are put into practice locally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At so-called \u201cSkip Level Meetings,\u201d managers do not report to the next higher hierarchical level \u2013 as is usually the case \u2013 but rather meet with their employees to discuss current issues. \u201cOur goal is to give all employees a voice,\u201d Sollenberger explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where such a culture is practiced every day, Freudenberg\u2019s \u201cDiversity & Inclusion\u201d (D&I) initiative falls on fertile soil. \u201cWe can use the P&D Culture Team and our \u2019One team leading together\u2018 community to bring D&I to our division,\u201d says Claudio Zoppi, who represents the division on FST\u2019s D&I Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The division will soon also form its own \u201cD&I\u201d team consisting of HR managers and representatives from all lead centers. However, the fi rst step for each site was to analyze its current situation and identify potential for improvement \u2013 for example, in the number of women in management positions or the racial and ethnic composition of the workforce. The Cleveland site used a \u201csurvey kiosk\u201d for this purpose, a screen terminal like those found in airports or restaurants. Here, all employees had the opportunity to openly answer questions about diversity, equity, and inclusion at their site. Their assessment of the situation serves as the basis for specifi c \u201cD&I\u201d activities later on.<\/p>\n