The Volkswagen team in the United States. Volkswagen Chattanooga last week marked the start of series production of the Volkswagen Atlas SUV which will go on sale next year.
WOLFSBURG: German doesn’t exactly have the global appeal as Chinese or English. So finally Volkswagen has realised this (apart from external events that have forced its hand) and is making English the default language for the group.
It all means that if you aspire to work for the German car maker you better be fluent in English if you want to advance your career.
This is all part of the global company’s management revamp to cross pollinate its ranks with a diversity of people and skills, with English as the “glue” that binds them together.
Dr Blessing
"In future, English is to be the group language," said VW AG human resources management board member Dr Karlheinz Blessing. “This will improve access to the top management level for international top performers and cooperation among top managers.”
"Digitalisation, connectivity and e-mobility will fundamentally change our industry. This is why we are realigning our management culture,” he said.
“Diversity and international experience will be more important for management than ever before. We will promote a culture of discussion and decision-making, accept that errors are made, support self-correction, strengthen entrepreneurial thinking and action, encourage agility and reinforce overarching cooperation throughout the group."
Among other things, greater priority will be given to foreign assignments and knowledge gained in different business areas and brands. The objective is to foster internationality, diversity and a change of perspective.
Volkswagen said it would develop a culture of inclusiveness for women managers to allow them to gain the experience and capabilities they need for appointment to top management positions faster.
"As a globally positioned group, we need the best people in the world," said Dr Blessing. He said international assignments and experience in different markets and business areas will be taken into consideration in future appointments. In a transitional phase up to the end of 2021, the criteria will be taken as guidelines, after which they will become binding, he added.
