You may not have heard of Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) but chances are that they produced some of the ingredients in your last meal or snack. Founded in 1902 and incorporated in 1923, ADM now employs over 25,000 people in 250 plants across the globe.
Challenge
ADM has grown rapidly in Europe, both organically and through acquisition. However, this expansion has led to a collection of divisions with different levels of management experience, different cultures and different degrees of organisational development. ADM's objective was to implement a common approach to management development, making it uniform across Europe, while modernising its approach to people management.
In 2004, ADM therefore decided the time was right to instigate a formal training and development programme for middle and senior management. Rather than devise an in-house programme, ADM wanted to draw on the experience and expertise of an acknowledged leader in training and human resources. Following an intensive pitch process, ADM selected Roffey Park to create a management development programme for key European executives. Roffey Park's European credentials were critical to its success during this process.
ADM's key objectives were to build a professional workforce with the skills and organisational capabilities to execute it's business strategy; prepare talented employees to become future business leaders; and help attract and retain individuals who have the potential to face the business challenges of the future.There was also a general feeling that, although management executives were adept at maximising revenue, they would benefit from boosting their people management skills.
Meeting the challenge
"We wanted a team that could deliver a practical, hands on course that engaged our staff rather than a series of lectures,” explains Burkhard Oesting, Human Resources Director at ADM. “Roffey Park came up with a peoplecentric programme that would enthuse and educate our executives while also working across different languages and cultures – after all, good management skills are universal. We were also impressed by the bespoke, modular approach of Roffey Park as well as the fact that the programme took place on its exclusive residential environment. In addition, we had great chemistry with the Roffey Park team which helped make them the natural choice.”
Roffey Park initiated the process with a thorough investigation of the organisational culture and its current challenges. Canvassing key stakeholders enabled Roffey Park to understand the nature of ADM and its people development needs.
Roffey Park then devised a tailored two-tier modular training programme focusing specifically on senior groups within the organisation and European middle management. The senior programme focused on developing a number of attributes: strategic thinking, financial fundamentals and leadership skills. The middle management programme centred on people management; team development and conflict resolution; and self-management.
Results
Groups of 20 participants underwent two and three day courses at Roffey Park's purpose-built residential centre in Horsham, UK.This involved seminars designed to engage the participants and develop their management skills. So far 160 people have been trained, and ADM is continuing to roll out the programme across Europe.
An additional benefit of the sessions is that it has brought together executives from across the continent who have been able to share best practice and build networks. “These are people that face the same challenges but have never had the opportunity to share their knowledge,” comments Burkhard. “Roffey Park's development programme provided a forum to exchange ideas and is a platform that we are now building on to strengthen our European network.”
The impact was immediate and the results were impressive. The results showed that 79% of delegates thought the course was high quality, while 75% said that they had acquired skills that could immediately be put to use. “More and more people are applying strategic tools and using performance management,” continues Burkhard. “And conflict is no longer seen as a crisis but as an opportunity to resolve issues.”
ADM is now looking at other areas where training can add value to the company. “Roffey Park has provided building blocks on which we can continue to develop both our community within the business and the skills of our management teams.”