At Kongsberg good leaders are crucial for continued growth.

KONGSBERG expects continued growth, both organically and through acquisitions. Good management processes, with a focus on performance and talent development were identified as a critical success factor.

"We need to make sure we develop competent managers", says Grethe Rustand Solli, Group Leadership Development Manager at Kongsberg. "We developed a process to evaluate management performance and link individual employee goals to the company’s overall goals. In addition, we wanted to delegate the responsibility for developing talent to the various levels in our organisation."

Value-Creating Activities

Leadership@Kongsberg consists of a number of sub-processes that provide the talent and performance management process with continuity throughout the year:

– L&K Performance Objective Setting – performance goals for the coming period
– L&K Performance Dialogue – performance evaluation
– L&K Follow Up Dialogue – semi-annual meeting
– L&K Review Meeting – talents, successors, mobility
– L&K Feedback – to managers on leadership requirements and values

"These processes must not add too much stress in a hectic workday, and they must be perceived as creating value for those involved", says Solli.

From words to action

Personal development goals are related to both business strategy and budget goals. In addition, individual managers are evaluated based on requirements for conduct and compliance with the company’s values and leadership requirements. These goals are clear throughout the year and evaluated through performance appraisals.

"Often, performance management only focuses on appraisals and performance ratings. With the software suite from CatalystOne, we also got the tools we needed to help our managers be better", adds Solli. “We needed good tools to support career development within the company.

Room for development

Solli goes on to say that CatalystOne showed great flexibility in their efforts to reflect the processes defined in Leadership@Kongsberg. "The consultants have a good understanding of our processes and contributed with good solutions that addressed our needs", she says.

Today, about 800 employees at the management level are involved in the Leadership@Kongsberg programme. KONGSBERG also plans to use CatalystOne tools to conduct employee appraisals at all levels of the organisation.

Focus on results

"We now have effective support systems that provide a solid structure for our management development work. The HR department has a tool for goal-oriented training and development initiatives, enabling the company to cover the competency gap and develop good managers. So it is up to line managers to generate an understanding of the process and ensure compliance. With solutions from CatalystOne, we can shift our focus away from software and onto what is most important, namely, to exercise good leadership and encourage commitment", says Solli.