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September 2009
You are the Managing Director of the Haering Precision Company in Taicang near Shanghai. This Chinese subsidiary of the German company of the same name, a global supplier of precision components – from airbags to brake and injection systems – for the automobile industry, will soon be officially commencing production under your management. Western high-tech companies usually send their local managers to China. But your German CEO Anton Haering has taken the opposite approach: he trained you and 40 of your fellow countrymen in Germany and then sent you to China as managers. How did you get to where you are today?
Being trained in Germany was a huge advantage for me and my colleagues. In this high-tech company we were able to learn from our German colleagues about the quality requirements of the customers, the production cycle and how to eliminate machine malfunctions. I also received intensive training in cost management as well as in performance- and results-driven working methods, and increased my awareness of quality and our brand.
This learning process was, I freely admit, sometimes painful, but certainly not boring. It was great to be able to make progress every day, both in terms of learning about the technology and the language. After all the years of preparation, we will be extremely proud when production finally begins at Haering Taicang.
What benefits can you offer the Haering Group, as opposed to a German manager in Taicang?
China is my home country, I grew up here, my roots are here and I understand our tradition and customs. So there's no culture shock for me in China. A German manager would have quite a few difficulties coming to China, for example with the language, and all matters pertaining to the family, communication and culture.
It would be very difficult for a German to get to grips with the Chinese mentality, for example when dealing with the local authorities. But it is vital for a company to have a good relationship with the local authorities, and that requires years of patience and diligence, in relation to the employees too.
What did you learn in Germany that you find particularly useful when working with your colleagues in China who were not trained in Germany?
Precision, systematics and quality.
Like many western industrialized countries, China is also suffering from a shortage of qualified workers. Does your experience in Germany help you and the Haering Company when it comes to recruiting good workers in China, or is this "War for Talents" just about salary?
The Chinese are very pragmatic, recruitment is usually done on the basis of salary.
Anton Haering believes that well trained employees are his company's greatest asset, and he relies on the willingness of his employees to undertake "lifelong learning". Have you adopted this maxim, and is it successful in Taicang?
Yes, well trained employees are seen as the most important asset at Haering Precision Taicang. Every one of our employees understands how important “lifelong learning” is. Haering offers a variety of learning programs.
What qualities, talents and skills do you consider to be the most important?
Loyalty, a sense of responsibility, initiative and dedication.
Would you advise your colleagues in China to pursue a similar training path to the one you took?
Yes, I can thoroughly recommend this path to my colleagues in China.
What should young Chinese people focus on above all else?
They should focus on precision in their work.
Anton Haering has opened his own training academy at the company's German headquarters to provide future employees, including those from China, with several years of preparation for their highly specialized jobs. Do you think this model could also be used by Chinese companies to train their workforce?
Yes, of course. It’s the only way to acquire an understanding of the philosophy of a company, an awareness of quality and other specific requirements.
As demonstrated by the massive spending program implemented to combat the global economic and financial crisis, China has huge financial resources. Does China even need such corporate initiatives to deal with the shortage of skilled workers, or is it solely the responsibility of the government?
It’s about the need to provide qualified, skilled workers to keep the economy going. We have a large number of public institutions and universities in China, and millions of graduates enter the labor market every year. And yet it is extremely difficult to find suitable candidates. So the universities urgently need to train their students well enough so that they are able to meet the expectations of the industry.
Chinese investment in Europe, including Germany, is increasing. Do you think that Chinese investors will soon start sending future European managers of Chinese subsidiaries to China to be trained so that they can learn the language and the mentality of their future employers in Shanghai or Beijing?
Yes, that could well happen.
You have a Chinese mobile number and a German one. You speak excellent German and English. You communicate daily, sometimes on an hourly basis, with your German colleagues and could even be working in Germany again soon. Would you say you are a typical “child of globalization”?
My understanding of a "child of globalization" would be a manager with a broad perspective of his company’s global business, someone who controls the resources of the company in all countries. So I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a "child of globalization".
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