C-Level conversations
Interview with
ams Osram
People Power
At ams OSRAM Schwabmünchen, successful change management starts with empowering your people.
Thomas Edison would hardly recognize today’s lighting industry. “Lighting is changing dramatically, having moved from yesterday’s lightbulb to today’s LEDs and towards tomorrow’s smart lighting systems” says Ingo Hild, Plant Operations Manager at ams OSRAM, a global leader in intelligent sensors and emitters.
But, as they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same. According to Hild, while the technology and tools may change, the key to navigating change remains the same: successful change management starts with empowering your people. “The most powerful computers and most cutting-edge technology will be rendered useless if your people don’t know how to use it” he says.
In other words, the line between being a change leader and being disrupted by change is having the right team.
When Hild sees that line starting to widen, he makes moves to close it by getting the right talent. But for this he doesn’t go looking outside the company. Instead, he starts with his own people.
“I have a very intelligent, capable team and it is on me, as manager, to leverage this talent and develop it to meet our plant’s evolving needs” he explains.
Digital tools are at their most powerful when they are used to support your employees.
Ingo Hild,
Plant Operations Manager, ams OSRAM Schwabmünchen
Flip failure into opportunity
For instance, one thing Hild does to leverage his in-house talent is create an environment that helps employees learn new skills, even if that means sometimes making mistakes. “As children, we are taught that we learn from our mistakes, so why aren’t we encouraged to make mistakes in our professional lives” asks Hild?
To make sure his team stays curious, Hild works to facilitate a company culture that flips failure into opportunity. “When something goes wrong, we discuss it as a team and learn from each other” he says.
Hild also encourages his team to submit ideas for improvement. Each idea is fully evaluated by a dedicated management system, and employees are compensated and recognized for any idea that is ultimately implemented.
Collaboration Over Control
Another important aspect of ams OSRAM Schwabmünchen’s culture is that it favors collaboration over control. “Today’s factory is a far cry from the days when the plant manager was an all-knowing – and all-controlling – god” says Hild.
Instead, Hild makes it a point to implement strategies that facilitate collaboration between the shop floor and the top floor and to consider employee feedback when making decisions. For example, ams OSRAM Schwabmünchen kicks every year off with a team meeting where annual goals are clearly outlined. “When you communicate with your employees and they know where you’re going, they can independently figure out the best way to get you there – that’s the epitome of employee empowerment” explains Hild.
A regular feature on the ams OSRAM Schwabmünchen calendar are ‘skip-level-meetings’. These meetings further facilitate communication by ‘skipping’ the middle management and allowing employees to talk directly with Hild himself.
Technology as the Cart, Not the Horse
While the focus of Hild’s change management may be on the company’s people, this doesn’t mean technology isn’t involved. It’s just that at ams OSRAM Schwabmünchen the technology is the cart, not the horse.
“Digital tools are at their most powerful when they are used to support your employees” says Hild.
Hild uses this mantra when vetting new technologies. Instead of going for the shiniest thing on the shelf, he looks for solutions that can enhance his employee’s performance or answer unmet operational needs.
“At the end of the day, digitalization is a puzzle that is put together piece- by-piece” concludes Hild. “While I know what the end picture will look like, the challenge is to find the right pieces and fit them together in a way that creates this vision.”
At the end of the day, digitalization is a puzzle that is put together piece- by-piece.
says Ingo Hild.
