Individuals who measure themselves against the best, take responsibility for their actions and demonstrate outstanding commitment and enthusiasm – that’s People Excellence. For us, it's both a reality and a goal. A reality because we already boast a unique pool of highly qualified and exceptionally motivated employees all around the world. A goal because we must also address – and help shape – the constantly changing economic, political and social environments in which we operate. Now our task is to develop and implement a high-performance culture that leverages and enhances the strengths of every individual under first-rate leadership. Building on our values – responsible, excellent and innovative – we’re fostering a culture that’s never satisfied with its achievements but always strives for improvement, for the benefit of our employees and our Company.

To do your best, you have to know what you’re aiming for. This simple idea underlies one of our key personnel tools: the employee assessments that are part of our Performance Management Process. Implemented worldwide, the process helps our people set clear personal goals and ensures that they receive continuous and open feedback. The assessments, which evaluate individual performance and success, provide the basis for employees’ continued professional and income development.

A responsible company culture nurtures promising young managerial employees. By identifying tomorrow’s leaders today, offering them challenging and rewarding tasks, systematically supporting them and preparing them for managerial positions, we’re making a major contribution to sustainable Company success. To safeguard our long-term future, we have to plan ahead. And that means driving People Excellence by constantly fostering the movers and shakers of tomorrow. At Siemens, we refer to outstanding achievers with high leadership potential as our top talents. And it’s from this group that many of our future executives will emerge. To date, we’ve identified over 2,000 top talents – over 500 in fiscal 2008 alone. Fifty-five percent of these budding leaders live and work outside Germany.

Only managers who are committed to their goals, who implement the necessary measures and who can inspire others to join them on the road to success can master the challenges of our time and play an active role in shaping the future. The Siemens Leadership Excellence (SLE) program prepares up-and-coming managers for their future tasks by teaching them valuable strategies and familiarizing them with useful management tools, methods and procedures. What makes the SLE program special is that leaders develop leaders. This approach creates a dynamic, worldwide network of managers, allowing knowledge and experience to be shared and multiplied across the Company and filling our management culture with life. Since the program was launched in October 2005, nearly all our senior managers – some 1,100 individuals worldwide – have taken part in SLE courses. We also offer a wide range of training programs for non-managerial employees through the Siemens Learning Campus. Building on our people’s qualifications, we support their ongoing personal development in order to help them optimize their performance and master the professional challenges they face.