ANNUAL REPORT 2008 - Eckes-Granini Group

| Employees in dialogue |
The following people described their thoughts:
(The original interview was conducted in English.)
Sabine Holtkamp, Eckes-Granini Group,
Senior Vice President HR & OD, with the company
for over 19 years.
Sabine Vorberg, Eckes-Granini Group,
Director HR & OD, on the Human Resources staff
for nine years, previously in Marketing for
Eckes-Granini Deutschland.
Alexis Saric, Eckes-Granini France,
Director key Account Management, with the
company for eight years.
Heinrich Prinz Reuss, Eckes-Granini Germany,
Director Legal Affairs & Trademarks, joined
Eckes-Granini in April 2007.
Jarek Kluszczynski, Eckes-Granini Austria,
Chief Financial Offi cer for nearly three years,
previously Finance Controller at the Polish
subsidiary of Eckes-Granini.
Pascal Philipp, Eckes-Granini Group,
Managing Director Export, previously Chief
Financial Offi cer at Eckes-Granini Germany, then
Director International Business Development/Sales
Retail at Eckes-Granini Germany, nine years of
service with the company.
A SENSE OF BEING PART OF A WHOLE THAT kNOWS NO NATIONAL BOUNDARIES
What is Purpose?
Pascal Philipp: The Purpose initiative was a good
way to defi ne common ideas and values held at
Eckes-Granini, since the company has grown through
acquisitions and we have had to integrate many different
corporate cultures into one. At Eckes-Granini,
employees retain their cultural background, but we
share common ideas.
Sabine Holtkamp: I think it’s very important for a
company to emphasize values – values for shareholders
and employees alike. What our company needs is result
and goal orientation, on the one hand, and people who
have social competence and emotional intelligence, on
the other. Our Purpose encompasses both.
What was your experience during the rollout
stage of Purpose?
Sabine Vorberg: Two years ago we performed an
organizational analysis in which about 150 employees
provided feedback about our corporate strategy and
vision. We asked whether we were on track or needed
to make adjustments in some areas. We presented the
results at the Leadership Forum. One manager stood
up and said, “For me, the strategy is very clear, the
company is on track. But we are missing the emotional
dimension. It is not all about facts and fi gures. There’s
something in the company that you can feel. There
are common beliefs and ideas.” We decided that we
needed to give more concrete shape to our common
beliefs and defi ne the Eckes-Granini spirit behind the
facts and fi gures.
People at Eckes-Granini
19