Together4integrity

Diversity pays off

An interactive training that will teach you how to deal with unconscious biases

M

o you think introverts hate people or assume that all people with glasses are smart? Then you are most likely subject to unconscious biases, which, unfortunately, are a natural part of life. No one can avoid them. Among others, they include preferences based on appearance, similarity and character traits, as well as attitudes towards authorities. As work with biases is important in team communication, the new training, which has been taking place at ŠKODA AUTO since August, helps all direct superiors. The company’s Board of Directors previously completed it, and now it is the turn of executives from administrative areas. Foremen will jump on this train by the end of this year. Because of the epidemiological situation, the carmaker has converted the training concept into an online one.

What awaits you?

In addition to learning which forms of bias you may encounter, you will do some interactive exercises and find suitable solutions to eliminate prejudices. You will also become acquainted with nudge management, which is a system of encouragement that helps you to work with biases and focuses on individual members, as well as the team as a whole. It helps to resolve unconscious biases and erroneous first impressions. However, the training also offers hints and aids for deepening diversity. In the course of the training, you can try to respond to problematic situations at work. You will also get several tips on how to deal with them. On top of that, the training deepens internal company relationships as it brings together employees from various departments.  Eva Jarošová

This issue of ŠKODA Mobil also includes the Diversity Report, which can be found online at www.skodamobil.cz

Parents, welcome back on board

They understand the corporate environment, have many skills, are able to perform several activities simultaneously and act as a stabilising element within a team. The carmaker has already invested in their development. Employees returning from parental leave are an important part of ŠKODA AUTO, and their return is facilitated by several activities that contribute to promoting diversity and inclusion. “For us, diversity in HR means striving for employees to make the most out of their potential. In practice, we’re talking about balancing out the starting position”, explains Jan Kotík, a specialist from the SB/5 – Transformation and HR 4.0 department. In September, the first pilot online broadcast for parents on maternity and parental leave was organised by Human Resources Management and was also attended by Chairman of the Board Thomas Schäfer. He expressed his support for returning parents and called diversity one of the key topics for the further development of society. The aim of the webinar was to inform parents about current events in the car company, describe the re-onboarding process, present the current and latest benefits and answer parents’ most frequently asked questions. Thanks to the positive feedback, a second webinar will be held before the end of the year. 

The webinar is available in the Media Library on ŠKODA Space

Diversity Day

In October, the online Diversity Day conference took place, where ŠKODA AUTO representatives Jana Šrámová, head of SB – Operational HR Care, Digitisation and HR 4.0, and Bohdan Wojnar, Board Member for Human Resources Management, also had a presentation. Several experts and representatives from various companies spoke at the conference about how they manage to apply the principles of diversity in practice. The participants also learned how to implement and support diversity strategies in the Czech environment. ŠKODA AUTO is a Golden Signatory to the Diversity Charter and publicly declares its adherence to its principles. ED

Záznam konference najdete na www.skodamobil.cz

Fifth Open Talk

On 8 October, the ŠKODA Academy organised a live broadcast of the fifth OPEN TALK round. Among others, Klaus-Dieter Schürmann, Board Member for Finance and IT, and Karsten Schnake, Board Member for Purchasing, along with Adriana Pavlíková, head of GGP – Process and Organisational Management, and Klaus Blüm, head of FI – Information Technology, took part in the talk. Registered participants also had the opportunity to have an online discussion about topics related to the Volkswagen Group’s Sixth Principle, “We keep our word”. ED

The video from the event is available on ŠKODA Space