Michel Rog - Director Operations

“Developing talent is essential to our future. "

By exploiting talent to the max, Airbus DS NL aims to guarantee continuity in quality. Now and in the future. According to Director Operations Michel Rog, it is important to focus on professional development at an early stage. “By instilling awareness in talented colleagues, we open the door to them to grow into the highest positions within our organisation.”

Succession
“At Airbus DS NL, we consider a number of positions to be ‘critical’: key positions held by experienced staff who fulfil roles of above average importance. It is vital to the organisation that suitable successors to these experts are ready and waiting in the wings; we’re already thinking ahead about who will be next in line. On the basis of a strategic annual HR round, we assess staff with a critical eye. Who possesses the potential to fulfil such a position later on in their career? When that becomes clear, we set to work on a tailored development plan.”

“And we don’t make a secret of it, by the way. If we qualify someone as being a talent, they hear about it immediately. And what that news brings about in people is a sight to see. I’ve noticed that their willingness to take on other tasks grows. They’ll register as a keynote speaker, for instance, or organise lunch sessions. By devoting attention to talent, we create greater bonding and talented people are assured that they will be given the space they need to develop their careers.”

High-level influence
“Typical of the space our talents get is that they are invited to contribute at management level and propose initiatives. We call it the Shake and Shape principle. We’re shaken awake as management, by indicators that we ourselves have missed. It may be something very practical like the lack of a space in which to work on innovative projects. Or we hear that the organisation’s knowledge and expertise should be more visible, with a view to knowledge management. Ideas like that help us move forward.”

“I know from my own experience that Airbus provides space for development. I started out as a test engineer, but it soon transpired that I had leadership qualities. I subsequently fulfilled several positions in which I headed up teams, and I was given the opportunity to side-step into a role as financial controller. We’re now a number of years down the road and I’m a member of the Airbus DS NL management team. I don’t think that elsewhere I would have been given the many opportunities I’ve had here. It’s a mark of the organisation.”