Deutsche Telekom commits to building a talent pipeline with an innovative programme at Henley Business School

November 2010

Deutsche Telekom has successfully partnered with Henley Business School in a unique program for high potential IT professionals leading to a Masters Qualifications in Enterprise Information Management.

As a top multinational, Deutsche Telekom is committed to filling a "talent pipeline" over the long term while strengthening its image as an attractive employer brand both internally and externally. Three years ago, Deutsche Telekom set out to enhance the capability of their IT staff via a professional development program. With over 4000 IT professionals, it was only the high potential experienced professionals that were selected. Progression rates have been high with a large cohort all successfully completing the program on time. More than 50% have now completed the optional masters. Given these impressive results, Deutsche Telekom had no hesitation in opting for a second cohort due to start in November 2010.

The program is one of a set of functional excellence programs sponsored by the Deutsche Telekom HR Development who selected Henley Business School to design a unique customer-focused IT program linked to a masters' degree.

The qualification provides IT professionals with a deeper understanding of business and the professional use of technology, rather than concentrate on the technologies themselves. The core program is delivered in two stages; the first stage covers strategic development and the second stage covers execution through change programs. Participants are challenged to think outside of the box and to cope with areas of uncertainty. They have all valued the personal development side, which is Henley's trademark, such as understanding personality types, cultural diversity and stakeholder negotiations

Not only did the participants rate the delivery highly, but their managers observed significant increases in performance and capability. This was enabled through access to the latest knowledge in business use of technologies, targeted frameworks and case studies leading to applied assignments for the organisation. The first run of the program included a week long module on capability and sourcing at an offshore IT supplier in India.

Dr. Peter Körner, Deutsche Telekom's HRD Competence Centre Leader explains the company's approach to its professional development programs, 'Whereas some companies rely on regimented theory modules for talent development, we believe in letting talent prove itself through meeting real-world organisational challenges supported by a portfolio of excellent programs that integrate theory and practice. Henley demonstrated that they could meet this goal'

A key success factor was the program structure, which involved a Deutsche Telekom IT Program Lead, Dr Volker Schwarz working closely with his counterpart, Dr Sharm Manwani, Program and Academic Director at Henley. Together they were jointly responsible for the program architecture, content design and effective delivery. This needed interactive preparation with a wide range of experts from both DT and Henley, coordinated through senior module sponsors with the Group CIO as the overall programme sponsor.

Dr. Steffen Roehn, Group CIO at Deutsche Telekom, comments on the results: "We see the development of our IT professionals as a real enabler of delivering IT-enabled business change. Partnering with Henley Business School has led to several benefits including more capable IT professionals, organisationally relevant assignments and strong networking relationships. Henley offered us the expertise of a top business school and a programme director, Dr Sharm Manwani, who is a leading academic with a European CIO background. This program is recognized as best practice within Deutsche Telekom."

Professor John Board, Dean of Henley Business School,notes, "We are delighted to have been able to work with a major organisation such as Deutsche Telekom to design, develop and deliver this type of innovative professional program that integrates business knowledge and personal development. We share DT's belief that programs like this attract and retain high quality individuals to the sponsoring organisations and look forward to working with them to further enhance the programme in the future."

The new cohort of 49 IT professionals starts this week on their first 4-day module at the Henley's Greenlands campus.