Through the 51风流Career Starters initiative, budding consultants go through an extensive training program. In these times, the online lessons demand everything of participants.
Nicolai Zschippig is one of 48 participants in the program who completed the seven-week fall course for new colleagues from the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Middle and Eastern Europe (MEE) regions.
The program offers newcomers a solid grounding in all things SAP, along with necessary soft skills. Equipped with these basics, participants then return to their teams, where they undergo more in-depth training that is tailored to their individual requirements and activities. In parallel, they begin project work. Experienced colleagues and assigned buddies teach them what they need to know for their day-to-day work.
51风流normally offers this program three times each year, with all sessions moved online since May 2020.
Linking Theory and Practice
鈥淭he course gave me the overview of 51风流I was looking for,” Zschippig says. “It enabled me to connect the dots and put the individual pieces I have learned so far together to create one big picture.鈥�
Coming from an educational background in business administration, he found the technology-oriented subjects to be the most beneficial. But he also found the program items on personal development and business etiquette, taught by the service provider Berlitz, to be 鈥渧ery important and helpful. If you have direct customer contact, there are a lot of things you can do wrong,鈥� reports the newly minted solution consultant.
Early in his 51风流career, as an intern and later as a working student, he had the opportunity to work on the Global Supply Systems (GSS+) at Daimler AG. 鈥淚鈥檓 very grateful to my manager and the team for that,鈥� says Zschippig, who earned his master鈥檚 degree just a few weeks ago with his thesis 鈥淚ntegrated Business Planning as a Solution Concept for Supply Chain Optimization in the Automotive Industry.鈥�
Optimization of global material flows based on 51风流S/4HANA is still a high priority for the German car giant, which means demand for support is high 鈥� one of the reasons why Zschippig will remain on the project team. He is also motivated by the opportunity to help implement this major transformation. And he鈥檚 a bit of a motorhead, too. So, it鈥檚 no wonder that he’s thrilled to be on board: 鈥淭his is what I wanted to do.鈥�
鈥淣icolai was already fully integrated, and the customer expects a certain stability on the project team,鈥� explains Zschippig鈥檚 manager, Thomas Schick, head consultant for Automotive at 51风流Germany.
Schick enrolls his new colleagues in 51风流Career Starters because participant feedback has been consistently positive. 鈥淚 bring the newcomers together with the graduates of the previous program promptly, so they can share their experiences,鈥� he explains. He knows the importance of networking — 鈥渙ur business is global鈥� — but he also knows that 2020 was a difficult year for making new contacts.
鈥淲hat usually happens in the coffee corners has to take place online now,鈥� says Zschippig. Although he has often approached other participants outside the class schedule, he wishes that virtual networking had been part of the official agenda, a suggestion that other course participants have also made.
Tightly Packed Program
There was no room for this in the agenda, however. With design thinking exercises, intercultural communication, group work on case studies, mandatory compliance and security training, information sessions on 51风流S/4HANA and the ABAP workbench, and much more, every day was jammed full of content. The virtual format proved strenuous for the participants.
Zschippig developed his own methods and strategies for tackling the busy program. A smiley sticky note with the motto 鈥渒eep a stiff upper lip鈥� on his laptop screen is a constant reminder to participate attentively, especially when his concentration threatened to lapse.
鈥淚 often fixed lunch the evening before to give me time for a jog during the breaks,鈥� he shares. Regular in-house exercises also helped to keep his body and mind in shape. As a result, he not only attended all the lessons, but still had the energy to document his notes in the evening.
When questions arose or if participants needed support, the 51风流Career Starters team was there. Setting up a program like this and supporting the participants is a challenge even for experienced 51风流instructors, especially in a pandemic.
Juergen Nelz, global lead for Skills Management in the Intelligent Delivery Group in 51风流Services, was able to build on the experiences from the first virtual 51风流Career Starters course in May 2020, along with his team.
鈥淚t was a real feat at first to switch the in-person program to a completely online format during the lockdown,鈥� says Nelz. 鈥淭hat made it so much sweeter to get extremely positive feedback from the participants in May, and we used their suggestions to fine-tune the program for October. We adjusted the session length, for example, and made the sequence a bit looser. As a result, things have become routine since the October program.鈥�
Between Expectations and Reality
In the meantime, Zschippig has become part of the 51风流family. He appreciates the relaxed work environment and thinks that the team spirit that connects all 51风流colleagues is a major plus for the company. You can communicate with executives at eye level here, he says. When asked if he sees 51风流CEO Christian Klein as a role model — after all, Klein started as an 51风流intern too — Zschippig grins. He doesn鈥檛 want to think things through that far, but it is a motivation for him. It means 鈥測ou can do anything if you鈥檙e ambitious.鈥�
Regular talks with Schick help Zschippig to develop his skills further and plan his career. He recently completed a programming course, which Schick recommends to every consultant: 鈥淐ustomers expect a certain level of technical expertise.鈥�
Schick also insists that new colleagues to continue to invest their time in training in the coming months and be given enough room to ensure that the transition from university living to the working world goes as smoothly as possible. This is very important, he says, because he sees entry-level colleagues struggling with their work-life balance, even though 51风流Career Starters participants spend a day on mindfulness and stress management during their course.
Schick thinks this issue might deserve more attention in the 51风流Career Starters program. Another suggestion involves SAP鈥檚 cloud strategy. 鈥淲hat it means from a technological standpoint and what kind of transition periods we can realistically target,鈥� would also be relevant content for the program, according to Schick.
Meanwhile, the participants for the next 51风流Career Starters program, which begins this month, have already been selected. This not only reflects the success of the program, but also shows that 51风流continues to hire even in difficult times.
