Leadership Development
Employee development is critical if we’re going to continue to execute our vision of building great products that contribute to a better world. The most important thing we can do is stay focused on creating a skilled and motivated workforce. We continue to invest in our employees, strengthen their technical and leadership skills and recognize them for delivering results that cultivate success. Even during our most difficult times, we kept a focus on learning and leadership development.
We have been standardizing, simplifying and integrating talent management processes; implementing global competency frameworks; and enhancing leadership development programs for experienced managers. And, we believe we have fostered a flexible, safe working environment in which people are respected and valued for the work that they do.
All employees at Ford are encouraged to invest in their own professional development by developing an Individual Development Plan, or IDP, to help them meet current and future goals while maximizing performance in their current assignments. Employees work with their managers to help them identify strengths and areas for improvement.
We provide a comprehensive range of learning and development resources that align with ONE Ford. These include web-based and classroom training, special projects, task forces, mentoring and coaching, all of which aim to foster functional and technical excellence, encourage teamwork, promote Ford values and enhance our ability to deliver results.
Similar to our vehicle development strategy, our learning and development strategy has been to leverage our global scale and “commonize” as much as possible. We are creating internal “colleges” that provide education and training in areas ranging from finance and information technology to product development and marketing. We offer global leadership development programs, including the Global Leadership Summit, which is aimed at executives and general managers, and the Global Executive Leadership Program, which is geared toward directors and senior managers. We also offer the Salaried Supervisor Institute/Program (SSI) for new or experienced leaders who want to enhance their ONE Ford skills.
ONE Ford is designed to build our employees’ individual capability as well as our organization’s capability to drive the business forward.
Easing Toward Retirement
In 2011, we began to pilot a phased retirement program that gives those nearing retirement age a chance to work part-time for six months. Through this program, the employees get a chance to prepare for life after retirement. The Company, meanwhile, is able to retain the knowledge of retiring workers by providing a lengthy transition period with the employees who will take over the responsibilities of retiring workers. We see this as a way to support those who are leaving our Company after what are often decades-long careers while also developing those who will continue to work at Ford.