Archive for the ‘International Ambassadors’ Category

Best Practices, International Ambassadors

The Double-Burden Syndrome

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011 by Astrid Bosten

There is a new word popping up in media: The double burden syndrome. Sounds like a medical diagnostic? Somehow that’s right. The double burden syndrome is a phrase first time mentioned in McKinsey’s latest Women Matter study and describes the predominant barrier for women to proceed in their careers – the dual role and the double responsibility of women for their professional and domestic lives. This might not be a challenge on its own but in combination with the second most important burden for women to go to the top – the “anytime, anywhere” attitude – enormously collides with this a double-burden situation.

In a time when more mothers work full-time than ever before, My Family Care, an English work-life-balance strategy consultancy, asked about 1,400 parents and adult dependent carers about their double-burden challenges. The main results: over 60% of working parents are not happy with their work life balance and over half (54%) felt requesting flexibility may negatively affect their career.

One reason for this negative assumption is the rarely support of relatives or private networks who help out in a caring emergency (45%). 85% of all respondent parents need extra help when their regular care is unavailable and 33% of those responsible for eldercare also do.

So, what’s the cure for this situation? The old but always stay the same demand for flexible working opportunities: “When the leadership group sees flexibility as a way of doing business then there is no stigma in being a parent or carer who delivers outcomes in a range of ways other than sitting at a desk 9 to 5” says Ben Black of My Family Care. “More parents need to work full time but don’t want to miss out on those important milestones such as their child’s first school play or arriving home in time to see their children before bed and then catch up on work that evening; it is all about understanding mangers and a relationship of trust.”

For Henkel the family value is one of five corporate values and comes from the very beginning of our company history. Henkel has recognized the importance of a balanced professional and private life situation for male and female employees. Therefore trust-based working time is also part of our working principles as increasing offers of flexible workplace designs.

The reasons why it’s important to invest in those opportunities is obvious: companies will get greater engagement and productivity of their employees, increased employer retention and loyalty and reduced absenteeism. Enough reason for that?

What are your experiences? Do you face a double-burden challenge? And do you (already) take advantage of flexible working opportunities?

International Ambassadors

Labor markets of the Future / Arbeitsmärkte der Zukunft

Friday, October 7th, 2011 by Astrid Bosten

How do students appreciate their own career? This question was raised for the 4th representative “Continental Student Survey”. Therefore, 1,000 Rumanian students – future engineers and business economists – were interviewed. The result: Rumanian students see their future career mainly abroad. Thus the Western European region was ranked as most attractive, followed by Switzerland and the United States. The proportion of students who can imagine a future in South America, has doubled compared to 2009 (to around 32%), and China even tripled the proportion to nearly 23%.

The optimism of the students, however, to really find an attractive workplace after studying is relatively small: while around 70% of male students and 50% of female students in Germany rate their job opportunities as well, only 17% of the Romanian students appreciated their chances as very good.

The reconciliation of family and career assess the students negatively, too. Their estimation: both, politics and economy have great development potential in this subject area. To improve the reconciliation of family and career, according to the students would be most likely through higher pay, more vacation time and flexible working arrangements.

Altogether the students in Romania see a big catch up in the context of diversity dimensions, age, gender and nationality, yet an equally great potential: in particular the concepts of “lifelong learning” and the “heterogeneous teams” are promising concepts for Romania, appraise the students.

The whole study of Continental AG is available at http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/com/en/continental/pressportal/themes/press_releases/categoryNavigation_overview_press_en.html?ovMode=showDocM&dlmKeyword=&ssanum=&DocId=5671468

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International Ambassadors

My first Experience at Henkel

Monday, September 26th, 2011 by Luisa Perez

Last August, 12th and 19th, for the first time in the history of Henkel in Mexico, our corporate offices opened the doors to approximately 50 children who literally came to work with mom or dad. This activity allowed the young to learn more about our organization, spend a joyful time for family life and discover what is dad or mom daily life in “the office”

It started with a breakfast in where parents and children participated in a brief conference about the origin of Henkel in Mexico. Subsequently, all in a row, led by a children’s group manager and Mr Pritt. Children had to visit our facilities to meet the people in the corporate office. Employees welcome the children as they came by, some bear gifts and others detailed explanations, and some were even allowed participating at meetings.

The experience did not end with the office tour, the group was divided, the youngest ones were sent to their parents to assist them in various administrative activities, including filing, write notes or other things, the older went to Human Resources department who trained them by applying mini job interview. After interviewing each of them joined with their parent to “work” for some hours else.

After this great work experience children were taken to the auditorium, where the group of animators started a series of fun games and activities, through these Henkel’s working culture was showcased. During the game course, children were to collect some “money”, which later was traded on the “Mini Henkel little shop” for various awards, such as detergents, promotional gifts or school supplies.

Still people talk about the laughter and shouts of joy lived along the 3 floors of our offices, having this positive contagious feeling to those who were present. All activities were properly guarded by a professional security team, who was carefully taking responsibility on safety, and of course to avoid disruption of normal flow of operations.

During this year Henkel in Mexico has implemented activities with the purpose of promoting work-life balance culture. Encouraging employees to learn to balance their personal lives and their work, which results in more effective performance of employees while, strengthens their commitment to the company.

My first experience Henkel was definitely a success. Both, children and their parents were amazed by how enriching it was this day of family life in our facilities.

International Ambassadors

Gender Sensibilization Seminar at Henkel Iberica

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011 by Lourdes Abrisquetta

Within our Equal Opportunity Plan, one of the most important actions is to spread all this key information to all the employees of Henkel Iberica.

For this reason, the Equal Commission has prepared a special action called “Gender Sensibilization” which main objective is to explain to our organization the gender perspective and the Equal principles between men and women.

There are 13 sessions planned covering the headquarters and the different sides (Montornes, Madrid, Sevilla) starting on September 1st until the middle of October.

The content of the seminar is split into two parts: the first one is focused in the explanation of the gender perspective in general terms including two group exercises and the second one is dedicated to the content of the Equal Opportunity Plan of Henkel Ibérica.

With this action, we will consider the Equal Opportunity Plan of Henkel Ibérica implemented within the term foreseen by the Equal Commission.

International Ambassadors

Missing Women in Britain / Fehlende Führungsfrauen in Großbritannien

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011 by Astrid Bosten

The “Sex & Power 2011” report published on August 17, 2011 by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) shows a continuing trend of women being passed over for top positions in Great Britain. If women were to achieve equal representation among Britain’s 26,000 top positions of power, the EHCR estimates that 5,400 “missing” women would rise through the ranks to positions of real influence.

For the report the number of women in positions of power and influence across 27 occupational categories in both, the public and private sectors, has been measured. It found that advancement towards equality was not only tortuously slow but regularly stalls or even reverses in some sectors.

Although, more British women than ever are graduating from university, with a high number gaining better degrees then men, not to mention the vast number of women entering law, accountancy and …More medicine, they are still not taking up management roles at the same rate as their male counterparts. In their 20s they are par with men and we would expect them to enter the management ranks at the same rate as men. However, several years down the track a different picture emerges – one where many disappeared from the paid workforce or remain trapped in the ‘marzipan layer’ below senior management, leaving to higher ranks to be dominated by men.

The report suggests that outdated working patterns and inflexible organizations continue to be major barriers to women’s participation in positions on authority. Also part-time work remains undervalued. The desire for greater freedom, autonomy, work-life balance and professional development are reasons why women often leave the corporate sector to set their own businesses. The rate of self-employed women increases while their proportion on corporate boards and high management ranks remains or even decreases.

Thus, the report demands to stop wasting talents by structural or attitudinal barriers if Britain will further succeed in the global marketplace.

Der am 17. August 2011 von der Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) veröffentlichte Bericht “Sex & Power 2011” zeigt einen kontinuierlichen Trend, dass Frauen in Großbritannien bei Top-Jobs übergangen werden. Wenn Frauen eine gleichberechtigte Repräsentanz innerhalb der 26.000 höchsten Machtpositionen in Großbritannien erreichen wollten, müssten 5.400 „fehlende“ Frauen in wirklich einflussreiche Positionen aufsteigen, schätzt die EHRC.

Für den Bericht wurde die Anzahl von Frauen in Positionen mit Macht und Einfluss in 27 Berufsgruppen im öffentlichen und privaten Sektor erfasst. Dabei wurde festgestellt, dass Fortschritte in Richtung einer Gleichstellung nicht nur quälend langsam gemacht werden, sondern regelmäßig stagnieren oder sich in manchen Bereichen sogar in die entgegengesetzte Richtung bewegen.

Obwohl mehr britische Frauen als je zuvor eine universitäre Ausbildung absolvieren, und dabei in großer Zahl bessere Abschlüsse vorweisen als Männer, insbesondere die enorme Menge von Frauen in den Bereichen Recht, Rechnungswesen und Medizin, haben sie trotzdem noch nicht denselben Anteil an Managementpositionen erreicht wie ihre männlichen Kollegen. In Alter von 20 Jahren liegen sie zwar mit den Männern gleich und man würde erwarten, dass sie auch in gleicher Anzahl in die Führungsriege aufsteigen. Doch einige Jahre später stellt sich ein ganz anderes Bild dar – viele sind aus dem Erwerbsleben verschwunden oder verweilen auf einer Manager-Ebene unterhalb der Führungsspitze, was zu einer weiteren Dominanz der Männer in Top-Führungspositionen führt.

Der Bericht vermutet, dass veraltete Arbeitsstrukturen und eine unflexible Organisation nach wie vor die größten Hindernisse für die Beteiligung von Frauen in Machtpositionen darstellen. Auch Teilzeitarbeit bleibt unterbewertet. Der Wunsch nach größerer Freiheit, Autonomie, Work-Life-Balance und persönlicher Entwicklung sind Gründe dafür, warum Frauen den Unternehmenssektor verlassen und häufig ihre eigenen Firmen gründen. Die Rate der selbstständig erwerbstätigen Frauen steigt, während ihr Anteil in den Vorstandsetagen und Führungsriegen gleich bleibt oder sogar sinkt. Die Forderung der Studie ist dem zu Folge, die Verschwendung von Talenten durch strukturelle oder einstellungsbezogene Hindernisse zu stoppen, um Großbritannien weiterhin auf dem globalen Markt erfolgreich zu positionieren.

International Ambassadors, Women in Business

Lady’s Lunch with Kasper Rorsted

Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 by Monica Sun

Currently, Henkel CEO, Kasper Rorsted, visits the Henkel sites in Asia Pacific. On August 17, a lady’s lunch was organized at Henkel’s Asia Pacific headquarter, the Zhangjiang office in Shanghai, China.

36 female leaders were invited to attend the lunch. Kasper Rorsted,  together with three top female leadership manager from Asia Pacific - Monica Sun, Vice President Human Resources, Michelle Cheung, General Manager of the cosmetics business in China and Katharina Höhne, Regional Head of the professional cosmetics business in Asia Pacific – hosted the event.

Kasper shared his point of view on Diversity & Inclusion with the female attendees. At the same time, a variety of questions on talent, career path, the Asia Pacific markets, performance culture, work-life balance, etc. were raised from the audience and discussed with Kasper in a face to face manner. Although the lunch time was very short, all participants felt that they had a great added value.

International Ambassadors

The Equity in Business

Thursday, August 18th, 2011 by Luisa Perez

The latest publication of Expansion, Top Mexican Business Magazine, referred to the 50 most powerful women in business in Mexico. The ranking included not only domestic companies like Pemex but also international companies like General Electric. All of them agreed on the fact that companies with female directors are more profitable; however their organizations have done something different to foster women career development.

In Mexico females are the 46% of bachelor students and represent the 38% of the occupied population. According to the magazine; while in the world 14% of the senior management positions are held by female in Mexico only 18 of the 500  Mexico’s top companies are manage by a woman. Even if the ration tripled from the last 5 years this is not only not representing the global trend in not reflecting the availability of female with higher education.

So what have the companies from these 50 powerful woman done different in Mexico?

They have leverage from the female leadership during the uncertain and volatile market environment.  They recognized that the female ability to inspire and motivate, take shared decisions, set expectations and recognition, were attributes needed during the economical crisis. 

All of these women have been recognized by their companies because of their performance in fulfillment of ambitious objectives. But also these companies have overcome the taboos and uncertainties of having female in business by creating an inclusive environment in where both men and women can deliver at their utmost best.  These organizations have understood that employee’s life cycle is challenging and implemented programs that allowed them to take the best decisions for their life and profession.

As for specific of women some of these companies have develop mentorship programs, flexible hours and work flexible plans. They have all understood that even if quotas is not their desire, getting a woman in upper management requires a specific plan and program in where both men and woman participates. All of them acknowledge that women require getting a different exposure and setting up to discuss their career path. However, none of them have compromise quality on performance. This mind set has allowed them to get the best value for their company requirements.

Source: Expansion ; Mexico August 15, 2011

Best Practices, International Ambassadors

Top ten tips to successfully introduce a flexible worker

Friday, August 12th, 2011 by Diane Humphrey

Maximise the value of your new flexible worker by following these simple tips:

CLARIFY THE WORKING PATTERN ON THE FIRST DAY

Whilst it is essential to agree this during recruitment, it is good to clarify the format of the job, the working hours and specific working days on the first day.  We all know things change as you get into a job but confirming this on day one removes uncertainty.

ESTABLISH ‘OUT OF HOURS’ AVAILABILITY

Flexible workers are often happy to do some work or take calls out of hours if they are not at work during a normal working day.  This shouldn’t become the norm but can work well for both parties if you agree the instances when it is OK to make contact, the method (call, email or text) and best times.

SET UP A HANDOVER PROCESS

Flexible workers become accustomed to ensuring there are no loose ends when the y leave the office – the end of a short day or the last day or a short week is treated like having a week off.  However there will be times when a formal handover procedure will be needed so identify what and to whom things can be handed over when required.

ADJUST YOUR TEAM COMMUNICATIONS

When the team are not together every day you need to think about how to ensure the message gets to everyone.  It sounds obvious but do try to ensure team meetings are held at a time and day everyone is in. 

CHECK THE TEAM UNDERSTANDS HOW IT WORKS

Communicate to ensure a successful induction.  Discuss the reasons for taking a flexible worker with the rest of the team, especially how it will work and why it is a good idea and what benefits the new team member will bring. 

SET CLEAR AND ACHIEVABLE OBJECTIVES AND TARGETS

Set clear objectives and targets that can be achieved given their skills, experience and working hours.  If you judge your team by the fact that they’re in the office it’s time to change!

SET UP REGULAR REVIEWS

Set up regular reviews, preferably monthly, to discuss performance, achievement against objectives and the success of the working format.  This can be an effective way to ensure that the flexible working pattern fits the job, the person, the team and the company.

GET THE TECHNOLOGY RIGHT

Provide the right technology so that the flexible worker can maintain contact whilst working away from the office.

TREAT THEM LIKE A NORMAL EMPLOYEE

There’s no need to give special treatment to a flexible worker. They need to be on time, achieve their objectives and follow company policy just like everyone else.  If they are not performing follow the usual performance improvement process.

GIVE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN EFFECTIVENESS

Encourage the flexible worker to take control of their own effectiveness, for example regularly talking to their line manager about progress, proposing any adjustments to their working pattern and taking the initiatives on internal communications issues.

International Ambassadors

Quota in Italian Politics

Thursday, August 11th, 2011 by Ilaria Cantu

Women generally have many difficulties to emerge in politics: only 21 percent of Italian Members of Parliament are women, and only 800 mayors in Italy are women. (Italy has 8000 mayors in total).

Despite a law which establish that in the administrative team of each mayor, men a women should be well represented, in many cities this criteria hadn’t been always followed.

Recently the mayor of Rome has been obliged to nominate more women in his executive team. This example has been reported by many newspapers and had been then followed by other cities: from Sardegna to Puglia.

“Too often the presence of women in the Italian government represents a symbolic gift and not the necessary contribution of a group which represents the half of the population”, says Serena Sapegno, an activist for an Italian women representation.

The way to change Italy’s political set up is still quite long but this is a concrete example of how quota in politics could help all citizens to be better represented and women to make hear their voice!

International Ambassadors

Fierce Conversations at Henkel in Bridgwater

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 by Angela Curley

End of June Diversity Days were held in several Henkel locations in the US. Here are some impressions from Bridgewater

Susan Scott, author of Fierce Leadership and Fierce Conversations, served as the keynote speaker at the Diversity Awareness Day recently held in Bridgewater, NJ.

Scott began her message by highlighting the importance of inclusion in the workplace: “Employee engagement plus inclusion equals execution muscle.” She shared many of the teachings from her books which are used in Henkel’s “Fierce” training programs and provided useful advice on how to increase inclusion in workplace settings. In closing, Scott focused on communication as the key to success. “The success of Henkel, your teams, your own career – and, in a very real sense, the world – depends on your progress as an individual,” she said. “If you want to be a valued employee, a good friend, a good parent, gain the capacity to connect with others at a deep level. The ability to connect is the new frontier for exponential growth.”

Following Scott’s keynote, members of an executive panel addressed questions highlighting the positive impact inclusion plays in developing relationships with customers, suppliers, alliance partners and minority-owned businesses. Panel members included: Kate Graue - Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, National Container Corp.; George Hill – Chairman & CEO, Diversified Chemical Technologies, Inc.; Michael Schiavoni - Managing Partner, Schiavoni Leadership Group; and Jermaine Pharmes – Business Compliance Specialist, MBE Services, New York & New Jersey Minority Supplier Development Council.

Messages presented by the guest speakers, as well as Henkel’s speakers, reinforced the theme of “Raising the Bar through Inclusion.” Opening remarks were provided by Jerry Perkins, Senior Vice President, Packaging, Consumer Goods & Construction Adhesives. Manager of Corporate Diversity and Inclusion Angela Curley provided an overview of Henkel’s most recent internal and external accomplishments in diversity, and Linda Chase, Vice President, Human Resources, Adhesive Technologies, introduced Susan Scott as the keynote speaker and highlighted Henkel’s use of Scott’s teachings in “Fierce” training programs. Waly Sarr, Business Development Director, introduced the panel members and served as moderator for the panel discussion.

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