Deutsche Bahn’s leadership sparring program wins the German Excellence Award 2022 in the Strategy, Transformation & New Work category! Reason for us at CHEMISTREE to be very happy: Linking the sparring tandems as well as the entire digital process around it happen on the Deutsche Bahn matching platform, powered by CHEMISTREE!
Sparring helps executives move faster
With each algorithm-based run, managers are matched with a suitable sparring partner for their respective challenge: lightning-fast (matched overnight) and tailor-made. Each manager can be a case giver and/or sparring partner at the same time. The sparring enables a direct, needs-based and short-term exchange on challenges in everyday management across the 11 DB companies involved. The offer is being used with great interest: around 350 managers are now taking part, and more than160 tandemshave been formed. Winning the German Excellence Award 2022 is now attracting public attention and recognition.
Four programs – one platform
Deutsche Bahn’s matching platform is not only home to management sparring, but is also the virtual hub for four different HR programs in the group. It started in 2017 with a mentoring program for trainees, junior staff mentoring, management sparring and women’s mentoring programs were added, and a group-wide interdisciplinary exchange program is to follow. Each of them with new, own groups of participants and goals or criteria for matching. The platform’s user interface and database structure were gradually adapted to this. What was needed for the co-existence of different programs was newly developed: a centrally underlying questionnaire on personality preferences as well as differentiated visibility for the various people involved on the HR side. Group employees can use the matching platform to access the appropriate programs depending on their organisational unit and role. They can enter easily via the DB intranet, thanks to the implemented single sign-on procedure.
Angela Steinebach, specialist in management development at DB Netz AG, presents two of the programs in more detail and talks to CHEMISTREE Managing Director Rosmarie Steininger about working together:
The participative, constructive involvement of all stakeholder groups within the group has left a lasting impression – and empowered us – since the beginning of the cooperation. The DB matching platform impressively demonstrates the effect of involving employee representatives from the outset and incorporating their questions and perspectives into the design (of the software): A transparent, fair and all the more trustworthy tool – and we believe: THIS is what human-centered AI ideally looks like!