A conversation with Raquel Hammer,
Organisation and People Development Manager
In the course of your career, you have already gained extensive experience in the field of adult education and training. What is of particular concern to you in this area?
I was able to gain my first experience in adult education during my university studies: at that time I was invited to support a lecturer in practical teaching. Even then, at the age of 19, I knew that I wanted to be professionally involved in the field of knowledge development.
In personnel development, the human-centred focus as the basis for every individual development is especially close to my heart: guided by our corporate value of genuine care, we also put people with their individual needs at the centre of our offer in continuing education. We proactively assess the level of knowledge of our employees and ask them about their development aspirations. We then align these two components with our corporate goals and create development programmes that close the existing knowledge gap.
Why do you think it is more important than ever to invest in the training of employees?
It is important to us that our employees are equipped for the challenges of the future. This is only possible if they keep their knowledge and skills up to date. We have defined a skills matrix on which a clear learning path for all employees is based. With the further training of our employees, we invest in the future viability of our company. legero united is convinced that well-trained and qualified employees develop innovative ideas, optimise processes and contribute to increasing the company’s performance.
This year alone, we have fulfilled 90% of all requests for further training, which were collected in our annual employee feedback. This is directly related to the positive development of our employees in their positions and clearly shows how important the needs of our employees are to us. The further training of employees is an investment in the future of legero united that promotes both individual development and the success of the company.
"Through lifelong learning, we improve our professional skills, acquire new qualifications and can take advantage of career opportunities. This leads to professional and personal growth.
– Raquel HammerOrganisation and People Development Manager
You often hear that learning is a lifelong issue. How do you see that?
I fully agree that learning is a lifelong issue. In a fast-changing world, it is important that we constantly acquire new skills in order to develop personally and professionally. With the willingness to learn, self-confidence often increases as well. The feeling of learning new things and mastering challenges strengthens our self-confidence and self-efficacy.
The world of work is constantly changing. Through lifelong learning, we improve our professional skills, acquire new qualifications and can take advantage of career opportunities. This leads to professional and personal growth. Last but not least, lifelong learning enables us to adapt to new situations, technologies and challenges. By expanding our skills and opening up new areas of knowledge, we remain flexible. And this has a positive effect on our mental health, since it keeps our minds active, improves our cognitive abilities and leads to a more fulfilling life.
legero united bundles all development initiatives in the legero united academy, or luac for short. What was the guiding idea behind the current luac signet?
At first glance, our luac symbol may appear to be an owl, but it is much more than just an owl… First and foremost it is a heart. What can be truer than our heart? In luac, our legero united academy, beats the heart of us all. It beats at the centre of our values, because luac speaks a language of the heart. The heart of legero united beats in luac. The light blue, open circle surrounding the “luac-legero united academy” lettering symbolises infinity and stands for the openness of our company. We see each person in their uniqueness and with their individual needs.
Another important element of our luac symbol is the hand, which is an essential part of our values as a symbol of genuine care. It is meant to illustrate how important the sustainable development of our employees’ knowledge is to us and how we accompany them in the best possible way. Finally, we have added eyes and the body of an owl to the heart: the owl stands for knowledge, inner wisdom, intuitive development and self-realisation. Its big round eyes symbolise the windows of the heart to the world. It illustrates that it is important for us as a company to always have an open eye for the needs of our employees – in all directions.
