ELIA GROUP 2011 SOCIAL REPORT
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Cora Tellmann STAFF MANAGEMENT
I studied economics and management. I joined 50Hertz in 2009 and followed a training programme there for university and technical college graduates. “More than 650 people work at 50Hertz to ensure a reliable and highquality power supply. New employees arrive at the company in a number of ways. Personally, I studied economics and management. I joined 50Hertz in 2009 and followed a training programme there for university and technical college graduates. After 18 months’ training, I joined the HR Department.
“Working for a company like this is really motivating and enjoyable. This is where the future is being mapped out for our modern societies, which are becoming increasingly dependent on a reliable and sustainable power supply. I take part in different projects involving HR tools, especially skills development. This includes reviewing the training programme for young recruits and updating the new competency model. I was also fortunate enough to
be involved in the “Power II” project to optimise the internal strategy. Our competency model serves as a basis for a wide range of HR tools such as training for employees and managers, recruitment, and succession and replacement planning. The model is vital to the continuous development of our employees, which is essential in Germany for demographic reasons if nothing else.”
Sandra Van Eesbeek DIGITAL COMMUNICATION
Endeavours like Climbing for Life really help to forge ties between participants: facing the same challenge and motivating each other in such a way can only boost solidarity. This event broadened people’s day-to-day social contacts at work. “I was lucky enough to be one of the 125 employees and partners of the Elia Group to climb the Col du Galibier as part of the Climbing for Life initiative. Although I do sport regularly, a challenge on this scale forced me to train frequently and push myself to the limit. I had to grit my teeth more than once and my calves suffered, but the camaraderie of the event kept me going. “While climbing, I had time to think, particularly about the 20 asthma and cystic fibrosis sufferers who also took part in this challenge. This was a massive achievement for them. It was hard
enough for those of us in good health, so just imagine what it must have been like for anyone with restricted lung capacity! The fact that one of those individuals was a colleague of mine from Elia only motivated me even more. “Endeavours like this really help to forge ties between participants: facing the same challenge and motivating each other in such a way can only boost solidarity. We were all working towards the same demanding goal, and I saw plenty of people egging each other on to get to the top together.
The event created a sense of positivity and broadened people’s day-to-day social contacts at work. “And the idea that pushing yourself beyond your limits can help to raise awareness of issues like asthma and cystic fibrosis only serves to reinforce the shared sense of achievement.”