Digital adoption solution supports global employee development

Since the tts performance suite digital adoption solution was rolled out, KIRCHHOFF has created approximately 1,000 eLearning units. All 4,000 members of staff who work on notebook computers, whether on-site or in their home office, can use this training content either for their professional development or as context-sensitive help during a working process. As a result, KIRCHHOFF is providing needs-based training that dovetails with its digitalization strategy. What’s more, by ensuring even major changes to software, business processes and customer support don’t negatively impact quality assurance and efficiency, the company is also mastering the tricky balancing act between business innovation and business continuity.

Kitterer believes her department has benefited considerably, too: “The whole issue has brought us closer to the organization and clearly reinforces our position as a strategic partner to the executive management team.” The key reasons for this include the high level of acceptance among staff and the positive feedback from the specialist departments supporting the project on a cross-site basis.

KIRCHHOFF considers itself well placed for planned digitalization projects and everything else the future holds in store. In the next stage of the project, the company aims to expand its digital learning offerings to the shopfloor. The company also wants to add to its KPIs so that the user experience provided by this business guidance can be gauged properly. “Even though we know satisfaction levels are very high, and can now get new colleagues up to speed faster during their onboarding, we want to measure exactly what is happening where, so that potential can be harnessed even better,” explains Kitterer.

KIRCHHOFF Automotive is a major supplier to the automotive industry. A mid-sized global player, it manufactures structural parts such as crash management systems, front end frames, battery trays and cross beams for all the big-name vehicle manufacturers – from Audi and Tesla to Volkswagen. Its production volumes are huge – in 2020 alone, over 94 percent of the automobiles manufactured in Germany incorporated at least one component made by this family-run company. To handle these volumes on a just-in-time basis, the necessary components are assembled in close proximity to the customer, at 27 sites across Europe, China and the USA. Employing a workforce of around 8,000 and generating sales of 2.18 billion euros in 2021, KIRCHHOFF Automotive is the biggest division of the KIRCHHOFF Group, which is based in the German city of Iserlohn.