The team of Business Partners Production Duisburg led by team leader Christian Ott tells us in an interview how they manage to do just that and also make a contribution to the Green Transformation at thyssenkrupp Steel Europe with their work.

What have you achieved as a team?

"For around 6,500 employees in more than ten different plants in Duisburg, we have established an HR Business Partner support structure with different areas of responsibility. We are the first point of contact for our managers and works councils in these areas and aim to drive forward important strategic HR issues. And we did it at a site five times the size of Monaco in terms of area – our plant in Duisburg. Why did we do this? To be able to look after the interests of our managers and works councils in the best possible way now and in the future and to be equally well prepared for the changing labor market. A constant balancing act. After all, the change from employer market to employee market makes it all the more important to recruit new skilled workers and at the same time retain existing employees.

Among others, one project worker who, together with the specialist department, take care of employees whose abilities have changed from a social point of view supports us in this. These employees are no longer able to do their old work due to an accident or illness. Projects to offer affected employees an alternative workplace include a current Lean&Agile project.”

How did you achieve this together?

"The starting point for the merger of the previously existing HR areas was the restructuring at thyssenkrupp Steel. Through this reorganization and with the help of team-building measures, we brought together HR employees with different focuses in 2.5 years. Our goal: to have an expert on the team for almost every important HR topic in order to be as broadly positioned as possible. Our strength: Our cohesion. Mutual support and understanding as well as the trust of our employees are indispensable. That's why we regularly visit the plants. In this way, we get to know the managers we supervise and their requirements.

The starting point for all this is our common bond with the mill. A piece of home, which we are allowed to help shape. Many of us have children of the same age or similar experiences growing up in the Ruhr area, so that we have found a great way of working together through mutual understanding of each other's circumstances, which is described by the team as particularly valuable. As a basic attitude of our team we live the credo: To produce a good performance with as much individual freedom as possible. Because this individual freedom brings us closer together as a team and at the same time creates scope for innovation. Feedback from other areas shows us time and time again that this attitude also has strong impact on others."

What is the significance of your performance for thyssenkrupp?

"On the production side, for example, we look after the employees in thyssenkrupp Steel's plant park in Duisburg. This site is of great importance for the 20-30 strategy and the transformation to green steel (Phase2Green). This in turn is a key starting point for the continued existence of steel production in Germany.

Not an easy task with such a high significance: Together with the operational managers, we ensure that many existing employees are placed in suitable positions and are happy to stay with us. At the same time, we are taking care to recruit hundreds of new applicants for the newly created facilities. In this way, together we are tackling the coming challenges of the Green Transformation – for Steel Europe, thyssenkrupp and our society.“

Congratulations to Steel Europe's #topteam on this great achievement!

Are you also part of a #topteams or do you know people who are? Then send us an email. We look forward to celebrating your successes together!