For a long time, Franke had been shaped by established structures and the decisions of a select few individuals. That was until the fourth generation of managers – Managing Directors Daniel Groz and Sascha Eberhard – triggered a process of change that proactively prepares the company for the challenges of the future by heavily involving its employees.
When the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Plant 5 took place in July 2016, it represented more than just the start of an expansion of the production area. It also symbolised the dawn of a new way of thinking at Franke: In future, the company is to be structured in a matrix organisation based on product groups rather than production processes; value streams are to be optimised and the framework conditions in all operational areas are to be improved. Since these goals cannot be achieved through structural measures alone, they are embedded within a comprehensive corporate strategy that takes into account the rapid transformation in terms of digitalisation, flexibility and quality requirements: Namely, “Franke 2020”.
This strategy name encompasses the extensive change processes within Administration, Development, Logistics and Production and also defines the timings of the planned target achievement. “Franke 2020” is divided into the areas of investment, organisation and culture. What distinguishes this process is the fact that employees are involved from the outset, especially in the area of culture. Moderated by the NEON agency, numerous workshops were held under the title “We are Franke”, the results of which were presented and discussed at a works meeting. In the next step, the values of reliability, responsibility, appreciation and cooperation were established for the corporate culture, again with heavy involvement of the workforce. These values were then underpinned with ten specific measures and guidelines. These took the form of detailed articles in company magazine “Around Franke”, as well as specialist lectures, team-building activities, the implementation of a “Best Service Campaign”, the introduction of “Franke Messenger” for fast internal communication or the “look over the shoulder” scheme, in which employees visit colleagues in other departments to develop a better understanding of the inter-relationships within the company.
By 2020, all Franke corporate culture measures were implemented as planned. A visible expression of the company’s employee-orientated self-image is found in the “We are Franke” slogan, which has been firmly established for internal communication ever since. However, “Franke 2020” is not an end point, but is now the basis for the further development of the company within the framework of “Franke 2025”. //
“Franke 2020” is also often an important talking point at the annual works meetings, in which the works council is involved.