How Deutz Engineering identified employees who are ready to take on more responsibility

Meet our client

Client: Deutz Engineering

Industry: Engineering - development of motor components

Size: 42 employees

Deutz Engineering is a subsidiary of the German Deutz AG Their priority is the development of components for diesel engines.

Main Challenges

Deutz Engineering has doubled the number of employees in the last two years. Most of the new hires are young engineers who have just completed their master's degrees.

Since different management rules apply to younger employees, the company wanted to check what young people expect and where they see themselves in the company.

In addition, increasing the number of employees by 100% was a big deal from a project management perspective.

Therefore, they wanted to identify possible additional improvements for an even smoother and less stressful project flow.

 

"I want to make it easy for young co-workers to integrate into the company's processes."

Janez Zadravec, CEO, Deutz Engineering 

Goals

·   Get a realistic picture of the situation in the company.

·   Identify simple opportunities for improvement.

Obstacles

1. Providing honest answers

In the past, annual interviews were conducted to determine employee satisfaction and opportunities for improvement. There was always the feeling that co-workers did not share everything that bothered them and that needed to be changed.

2. Obtaining a holistic picture at the company level and not just from selected individuals

An analysis focused only on selected employees would not have significant added value for solving their challenges. They wanted an integrated analysis that would present a realistic picture, not only at the employee level, but of the entire organization.

 

"I was very skeptical about such analyses – the result is often a report in which a lot is written but has no real value."

Janez Zadravec, CEO, Deutz Engineering

 

Solution

1. Presentation of the analysis and data collection

To ensure honest answers, a presentation was given for all employees. Together with the CEO, we addressed concerns about anonymity and explained the purpose and process of the analysis.

We agreed to provide one week to fill out the questionnaires would be possible. That way, everyone could find time for it without work suffering.

2. Data analysis and report presentation

Thanks to the guaranteed anonymity, we obtained useful and, above all, realistic information about the company’s situation.

Based on the collected data, we prepared an in-depth report with specific suggestions. Even though the company's results were above average, we jointly identified some opportunities for improvement.

“Things came to light that I didn't even know about. I was really surprised and, on the other hand, grateful that we could then change certain things.”

Janez Zadravec, CEO, Deutz Engineering

3. Individual sessions

Together we decided that some of the employees would attend individual sessions with experts from our team, while others would have conversations with the company's CEO.

During these sessions, the employees received an interpretation of their individual results and set goals for further work.

"I liked that co-workers evaluated co-workers. The result was a representation of the co-worker - how they see themselves, how others see them – and then they can see if it is consistent."

Janez Zadravec, CEO, Deutz Engineering

Outcome

Based on the analysis, Deutz Engineering identified some simple opportunities for improvement and implemented the following measures:

  • They recognized the desire employees had for higher social connection (which decreased during the pandemic due to remote work) and organized various social activities.
  • They found that it is necessary to improve the identification with the product. To achieve this, they connected more actively with employees from the German parent company and organized activities for product development.
  • To facilitate the integration of new employees into the company and work processes, they established a system that enables employees to regularly consult on problems and get support and help with tasks.
  • At their request, some employees took on more responsibilities, and their remuneration was increased accordingly. 

 

"Project management now functions at a satisfactory level. There is general satisfaction in the company, as the projects are progressing well – without overtime and a lot of stress."

Janez Zadravec, CEO, Deutz Engineering

 

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