Semperit is a truly international company that develops and sells highly sophisticated rubber and plastic products for the medical and industrial sectors. Substantial growth has been achieved over the last 190 years through mergers and acquisitions, as well as organic expansion. In more recent years Semperit’s focus has been on sustainable growth, shifting to a more creative and innovative approach to customer relationships whilst enabling it to be reliable and loyal employer.
Positive Momentum showed right from the beginning that they keep their promise of: no nonsense business expertise. With their know-how and experience in leadership development they regularly challenged our talents to critically think outside the box. If there were secret ingredients for the success of the program they were reliability, professionalism and sustainability in both the collaboration and training delivery.
Berthold Stoeger, Vice President Global HR
What did the client need?
The Senior Leadership team, who were responsible for transforming the organisation, recognised that they wanted to create a diverse leadership team for the future. Whilst much had been achieved, investment was now required to develop future senior leaders who could operate in the global and multi-cultural environment that now existed.
Semperit had a genuine desire to develop people from within the business and to provide opportunities for individuals to learn as part of a structured development programme; the Talent Academy was born.
How did it work
Working closely with the Talent Academy Executive Committee, Positive Momentum encapsulated ‘what good looks like’ for a future Semperit leader. Talent Academy was designed to assess the ‘leadership potential’ of people in the business and then challenge and develop them so they could take on leadership roles with confidence.
The Talent Academy was designed to create networks across a geographically dispersed business and in doing so accelerated knowledge and understanding of the wider business.
What did Positive Momentum do?
- Engaged deeply with the Executive Committee to translate Semperit’s vision and values into measurable leadership behaviours
- Designed and ran annual Development Centres giving individuals the opportunity to explore their leadership style, and to receive feedback
- Designed and ran three 2–day highly interactive Leadership Modules for the successful candidates, creating a cohort of future leaders
- Provided one–to–one coaching to each candidate to help them utilise the experience and decide how to progress their leadership career
- Facilitated a Closing Event at which business critical projects were presented
What were the results?
Despite significant business challenges brought about by fluctuating demand and uncertain political situations in many of the markets in which Semperit operates, the company continue to reach its ambitions. The Talent Academy candidates contribute to this success by c80% of individuals taking up more senior positions within one year of attending a Development Centre, often relocating to a new country to support strategically important initiatives.
