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Business success for us is fundamentally built on the skills and attitudes of our people. Everyone that works for each Maison must understand and be passionate about the history and heritage of their particular brand. Excellence is a minimum standard in our workshops whether that be design, hand-crafted assembly or ensuring a lifetime of enjoyment through the after sales service we provide. In our stores, our customers expect that product excellence is reflected on the wider customer experience. Against this backdrop, it is no surprise that supporting our people to develop, refresh and build their skills is a key corporate priority for all of our businesses.
Training forms part of an integrated approach to appraisal and development. There is no single approach as each business has developed its own systems and models of working, sometimes over generations. What is common to all is a commitment for supervisors and managers to work together with employees to develop tailored programmes of personal and professional development.
Training includes on-the-job through coaching and mentoring as well as external courses to develop both personal as well as professional skills. Many of our Maisons have established dedicated training academies to nurture craftsmanship skills. Others have launched training schools to developing customer service skills and to deepening the understanding of the heritage and ethos of our Maisons. These are open to our employees and to business partners alike. Our commitment to diversity and treating customers as individuals informs our training, so that all customers receive the highest standards of customer care and service.
| Case Study: A. Lange & Söhne – Employee development |
 Excellent craftsmanship is the hallmark of a Lange watch. To develop the next generation of master craftsmen and women, the company set up an in-house watchmaking school in 1997. Competition to be accepted is fierce.
Typically, over 100 applications are received for the five available places on the three-year apprenticeship scheme. Apprentices in the school are taught by two teachers with support from the existing master craftsmen and women. Graduates who join Lange then serve an additional six to 18 months undertaking ‘on-the-job’ training before becoming fully operational. The company also supports a series of local and international watchmaking schools through the donation of equipment, development of course materials and presentations from Lange staff.
Lange offers a range of other learning opportunities for its staff encompassing both personal and professional development. The company offers language laboratories, physical fitness training as well as more traditional areas such as health and safety.
Plans to launch a Retail Academy are also advanced. From June 2007, representatives from stores will have the opportunity to meet and be inspired by the master craftsmen and women of Lange to help them understand the exacting process and values which lie behind the creation of a unique Lange timepiece.
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