Top Employer China 2021
"Passionate people are one of our supporting pillars"
Participating for the first time and already granted an award: the world-renowned “Top Employers Institute” has honored Vorwerk China for its outstanding staff orientation. To receive the Top Employer certificate, employers have to be convincing in areas such as talent strategy, training and development, career planning, and corporate culture. Human Resources Director Eva Shen accompanied the certification process. In an interview, she explains what makes a top employer in China.
First of all, congratulations on the Top Employer award, Eva! Last year you sent an application to the “Top Employers Institute”, the leading certification company in human resources management, for the first time. What were the reasons for doing so?
Our initial intention was to have our practices and principles in corporate strategy and human resources management assessed through the institute's strict, uniform certification standard. We are now able to further analyze and develop Vorwerk China as an employer brand according to the findings.
We were reviewed in six areas on 20 topics and 360 practice-related subjects. The measures with which we develop talent and establish our corporate cultural identity were particularly well. The Top Employer award has shown us that we are on the right track.
To help us understand your values and mindset – how would you describe Vorwerk China’s corporate culture?
The corporate culture at Vorwerk China is marked by the values that our global group goes by – a balance between continuity and change, as well as proximity to the people. We show our customers how they can improve their quality of life with our products. For our sales advisors, the focus is not only on sales performance. They also recognize the importance of values, especially the value of a caring family – a value they share with our customers.
Our office staff is also ready to share the healthy and innovative lifestyle encouraged by Vorwerk products – not only at work, but also in their social environment. The essence of our work lies in emotional communication and in the conveying of values between people – because we know that if we create added value for individuals and families, we are creating added value for the company. Our sharing culture at Vorwerk China is unique and inspirational.
Vorwerk China is becoming an attractive employer brand for the Chinese. How did this come about?
As mentioned earlier, we set great store by people – we trust people. Passionate people are one of our most important pillars. We promote the know-how and talents of our employees by enabling agile working methods and ensuring an attractive culture. We involve all of the company's departments in the process. We put together a project team with members from different departments and evaluate existing practices consistently to identify any deficiencies that we can improve. These changes inspire us to become a better employer. And of course the certification process with the “Top Employers Institute” has also helped us to identify potential for improvement.
For employees to feel happy today, it takes more than a good salary and flexible working hours. What are you undertaking to increase staff satisfaction?
Anyone working at Vorwerk works as part of an international family. More specifically, this means that our cooperation is characterized by mutual trust and respect. In addition to the value claim I mentioned and the career prospects, we are committed to ensuring that employees stay healthy. This is why we offer sports activities and psychological help, for example. Our people-oriented philosophy ultimately also helps to strengthen a sense of belonging.
Let's talk about onboarding, the hiring and integration of new employees. How does new talent learn the ropes?
We offer new employees an extensive orientation program so that they understand the company and culture and are able to integrate within their teams. The line managers will then coach them on their tasks and responsibilities. A 100-day newcomer plan for new sales advisors is also in play.
In the long term, we attach great importance to generations Y and Z, who will be the backbone of Vorwerk as we go forward. These young people are often very creative and bring a tremendous amount of potential to the company, for example, when it comes to developing new services for Vorwerk products or reforging interaction with customers.
What happens after that – what career opportunities do you offer employees?
Our training and development plan includes almost all departments and employees. Whether specialist knowledge, leadership topics or cross-functional project management: we develop a career plan for every employee with the aim of building high-performing and committed teams. In the orientation program for independent sales advisors, we also shine a light on career prospects for them to have a clear personal development goal.