Keeping in mind the strategic role played by Talent Management Leaders in managing human capital and shaping corporate destiny, Volkswagen conducted the National HR Managers’ Connect, a first of its kind platform where HR leads from Volkswagen dealerships across India came together to exchange views and ideas. With the all-encompassing theme of Engage, Educate and Excite, this conference held over a two-day period in Goa aptly used the medium of closed-door interactive sessions with peers, experts and business leaders, to enable HR leads to focus on sharing best practices from across zones.
The creation of the National HR Managers Connect is based on the recognition of the transitioning role of the HR professional. Seeking to provide a platform for all dealerships to engage with one another, the forum included team building activities to exploit their power of collective wisdom. In its inaugural year, the conference saw active participation from across the network of Volkswagen in India. The forum was not just limited to interaction amongst participants but also included, selective engagement with Mr. Steffen Knapp, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars on the sidelines to receive leadership perspectives.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Steffen Knapp, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars who set the tone for the outlook for 2018 said, “At Volkswagen, talent development and retention is our utmost priority and at the heart of this is the people who represent it. It is therefore time for leaders to elevate its strategic importance. The objective of this conference is to get all HR leads in sync to work as One Brand One Voice to deliver the best experience and build Brand Connect. The initiative is not just about what we do, but how we do things thereby creating a smoother path for supporting its overall goals. Moreover, it helps that the leadership team is speaking in a single voice and providing consistent messaging as we move into 2018.”
Increasingly winning auto companies globally are looking for HR leads that are willing to take on the responsibility for conceptualizing, and not merely executing, change initiatives across companies. With a need for a deeper strategic focus in the delivery of HR strategies and processes and to be able to develop the next generation of talent across all levels of hierarchy be it office executives, technicians, managers or senior leaders, HR leads need to have fluency in the financial language spoken by the operational side of the business. National HR Managers Connect was therefore envisaged to equip HR leads at dealerships with the right skills to recruit and retain the best talent.
Meanwhile as a part of the forum, the best HR managers across India were awarded in two categories: Best HR Practice & Best HR Manager. A total of 18 awards were handed out namely Top 3 Best HR Managers and Top 3 Best HR practices zone-wise across three zones by Mr. Steffen Knapp, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Mr. Kumar Priyesh , Head – Dealer Development, Volkswagen Passenger Cars.
