Volkswagen
The “T4I” training program is designed to generate understanding and motivation for behavior changes.
Wolfsburg September 18, 2015 is a day that nobody in Volkswagen Group will be forgotten so quickly. Back then, a good four years ago, the US environmental agency EPA published the so-called “Notice of Violation”. In this paper, the Wolfsburg-based auto company is breaking the law and certified the software tampering with hundreds of thousands of diesel vehicles.
Something like that Volkswagen never give again. In Wolfsburg, nobody wants to tolerate legal violations of this magnitude anymore, that is the internal guidelines. A year ago, the company therefore launched the “Together4Integrity” (T4I) training program for all employees. Integrity and compliant behavior should become an indispensable component in the everyday life of every VW employee.
From the point of view of those responsible at Volkswagen, this program is progressing faster than expected. The group originally wanted to reach around 160 subsidiaries in 2019, but VW has now reached 200. “In many cases, this has become a sure-fire success,” says Hiltrud Werner, responsible for integrity and law on the Executive Board, in an interview with the Handelsblatt.
The top management is “enthusiastic about initiative” across the entire group. Everywhere the will is widespread “to put yourself to the test”. 426,000 of around 660,000 employees worldwide have come into contact with the program.
The rules will be adjusted
In 2020, the VW group “T4I” plans to roll out at a further 300 subsidiaries. After that, things continue at a slightly slower pace: the group has enough time for the remaining 200 subsidiaries until 2025.
In the first two waves, Volkswagen has mainly the larger subsidiaries such as the core brand VW and Audi made to advance the new integrity program as quickly as possible for many employees. After 2020 it will be the turn of smaller subsidiaries, where implementation will take a little longer.
With the training program the VW Group wants to create a corporate culturethat makes every employee act with integrity and in compliance with the rules. “T4I” should generate understanding and motivation for behavior changes. This includes, for example, that employees have the courage to address undesirable developments openly to their own superiors.
According to the company, the set of rules is adapted worldwide to the respective regional and national customs. Integrity and compliance initiatives should become an equally important corporate task. In future, they would have the same importance as cars, financial figures and customer satisfaction.
In the future, it should be practice for everyone in the Group to “openly address critical situations and seek solutions together, take risks in our work environment seriously, comply with laws and regulations and seek advice on uncertainties,” says the company. Such behavior is also the basis for the long-term economic success of the group.
From the perspective of VW board member Hiltrud Werner, the corporate culture is moving in the right direction. “Nobody says it all, everything is great when there are still deficits or problems,” observed the only woman on the Volkswagen Group Management Board.