Exploration and experience through job rotation


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Hello all,

Welcome to my blog post! I am currently situated at the SKF headquarter in Gothenburg, Sweden and I just had a very inspiring day in the factory in Gothenburg. However, I would like to start with introducing myself and giving you some insights from my first time at SKF as a global graduate.

Me at the SKF headquarter

My name is Josefin Locking and I have a Masters degree in Strategic Human Resource Management and Labour Relations from the University of Gothenburg. As Aline, who wrote the previous blog post, I am also part of wave 3 of the global graduate program and I started in the end of August last year. This means that I am currently in my first rotation. It is an exhilarating time at SKF as the organization is undergoing a lot of interesting changes to make sure SKF is in the forefront also in the future. Right now, I am working with several strategic global and local HR projects supporting this. Gamification, digitalization and new ways of working, just to mention a few areas of super exciting initiatives going on. To take part in that feels great! Adding the global dimension makes it an intriguing challenge, as SKF colleagues from almost the whole world becomes part of your scope. I would say it is a truly developing and great learning experience. With me, I have great senior and global professionals with immense experience and great energy!

The first impression of SKF

All the girls together during the graduation dinner for wave 1

My first impression of SKF as a global graduate actually started before my first workday. My manager invited me for a lunch, briefing me about my personalized program, and gave me an office tour to see my future desk and meet a few colleagues. It was great and I remember myself being very excited before my starting date. Since the first day I have received a very warm welcome and the graduate program and SKF are doing their utmost to make it as great for us as they possibly can. As Aline wrote in the previous blog post, we had a great introduction month, all global graduates from wave 3 together, and everyone is now in their first rotation in their home country. We are still keeping in touch though! Working at a global company, I am often in contact with people situated in different countries. This is something I really enjoy, and it is one of the reasons I applied for the SKF graduate program in the first place.

Job rotation, job rotation, and more job rotation

The global graduate program is an intriguing 18 months journey, which I am now in the midst of. While the program is tailored for everyone, the common part for everyone is job rotation. It is really in the heart of the global graduate program. As you probably already know, the graduate program consists of three different rotations, five months each. Usually, it is one in the home country and two in other countries. For me, my second rotation will be in Turin, Italy. In just two months I will go there, and I am looking forward to it a lot! The third rotation is not yet decided, but I am also very excited about that. I am sure it will be great. My manager is giving me such a great support in setting up the rotations for me, and she is really making an effort to make it as great as possible.

All the graduates in wave 3 – along the beautiful coast in Gothenburg

However, for me, the job rotations are not ending there. On top of the three rotations in the different countries, I am also doing a lot of rotations and shadowing within each rotation to meet many of my colleagues and to get an overview of their areas. Currently, I am joining the local HR team in the Gothenburg factory for three weeks. I get the opportunity to develop my knowledge about their areas and the factory, while also getting to know the people. It is set up with a combination of shadowing of my colleagues and I am also managing my own work in a few smaller projects. It is very interesting to work by myself in the area which I am rotating to, and it gives me the opportunity to get to know the people in action. To give you some insights in what projects I am working with, I can say that the topics range from digitalization and competence development to talent management and global change initiatives. Complementing the smaller projects, I also have projects running through my whole rotation, and one which I will have through the whole graduate program. This creates a good balance, not making it too scattered, and still giving me the opportunity to really experience the local areas where I am situated.

Today I have talked with some of the managers here and I have also joined a cross-the-site HR meeting. A lot of things are happening. On a personal side, I am starting to get used to being constantly new in different environments. And while it is sometimes a bit tough when I feel that I don’t understand everything, it is also very nice to learn this much. The experiences I make now, I will have with me for the rest of my life. Moving around a lot in the organization also means that you get to meet a lot of colleagues, and while I have to be open and bring my energy to all new places I rotate to, I think SKF is a very easy organization to get to know new people in. The culture is very open, and I am often invited to different meetings, lunches and happenings. It is super nice, and I feel thankful every time I am in a new part of the organization and I get such a warm welcome.

Making a difference

Bringing the iPad robot to GADDEN

For me it is also important to be able to make a difference. Being new in the organization it is of course much about learning and developing yourself, but to be able to contribute is also very important I think. Working for a company that encourage people to take initiatives, empowering them to try their ideas is key. During our introduction month I think almost every senior executive encouraged us to do so. Exemplifying all their words, I later had a great experience when I proposed to bring one of our iPad robots to the student career fair Gadden at the Gothenburg School of Business, Economies and Law. I saw this as a great opportunity where the graduates out in the world could move around using the iPad robot and share their experience about our Global Graduate Program remotely, to the students, right from the reality. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how the idea was going to be received, but I was so happy when I got a lot of positive feedback and great encouragement from many of my colleagues. Together, we prepared everything, and the other graduates also made an effort to support. Such an energizing experience.

With this, I hope you have got some insights into the world as a global graduate in SKF. I hope you enjoyed the reading and I wish you a nice time ahead!

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SKF – What a time to be a global trainee!


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Hi everyone, and a special warm greeting to all of you aspiring future trainees out there! Welcome to another blogpost and “peek” into SKFs Global Trainee Programme.
My name is Rasmus and I am one of the trainees currently in the midst of this exciting journey. If you still have not checked out what my fellow trainee-colleagues have written here, I highly recommend you to check that out too.
I graduated from business school last spring and in late August I was one of 11 lucky to start the programme. Now six months have past since and wow- how time has flown! It feels like yesterday we gathered – from all over the world – at the global headquarters in Gothenburg for our trainee introduction month. After that, we all went back to our home country employer to begin the first of three rotations and I haven’t met many of my fellow trainees since October. Therefore, I’m looking very much forward to seeing them again in March as we gather before our second rotation.

Global trainee colleagues – from the left: Li (China), Rasmus (Sweden) and Matteo (Italy).

 

So, what have I been up to since then? Well, my home department within SKF is Group Central Finance & Business Transformation so intuitively that’s where I could have been over these first months. However, during my first rotation, I have been given the opportunity to tag along with one of the sales organizations – Industrial Sales Sweden. This has been a fantastic opportunity to see and learn about SKFs value propositions ‘in action’ and also how SKF, together with customers, work to make Swedish heavy industry more competitive in the age of globalization.

So, since October, I am spending most of my time in the Solution Factory here in Gothenburg – which is the base for the Swedish sales unit as well as some other functions, and a very nice place to work and meet colleagues from different areas

 

Enjoying a nice coffee-break outside SKF Solution Factory in Gothenburg during my first week.

With the Swedish sales unit, I have gotten the chance to work on multiple projects. Since I have a background in finance, I have been able to help develop different kind of performance measurement reports – but also things completely out of my comfort zone – like working with and assisting our brilliant application engineers. I have also gotten the opportunity to visit customers, factories and other SKF locations in Sweden.
Two months ago, I went with the Swedish management team to Katrineholm to visit our foundry there and in just about two weeks I will go on a combined trip to Lulea/Kiruna to meet with colleagues and customers way up in the Swedish north. What an amazing time this is to be a global trainee and to get the opportunity to meet and learn from so many people. No day is like the other!

Me (far left, big smile) and the Industrial Sales Sweden Management team in Katrineholm getting a guided tour of the foundry

As a global trainee, I also have the chance to represent our programme at various occassions where we meet with students and aspiring future trainees. These meetings have been both fun and rewarding experiences  – it is very enjoyable to talk about something that you really like with people who are genuinely interested and want to know more.

In November, I went to the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm (KTH) and talked to students about SKF and our trainee programme. Without a background in engineering I must admit I was a little nervous, but it turned out I had no reason to be. The students were very interested in what I had to say and gave me a warm receiving, just like I had been told by my fellow trainee colleagues who went to other student fairs over the last couple months.

Speaking at KTH, Stockholm

Next up for me is Germany. I will be moving there at the end of March for my second rotation over the spring/summer. Although I have truly enjoyed my first six months here in Sweden, it will be very exciting to go “out in the world” and see what a Swedish, world-leading technology company looks like in a different cultural setting. During this time, I will get the chance to work up close and learn from multiple functions in the organization, including logistics, renewable energy and taper roller bearing strategy.
I’ll say it again – what a great time to be a global trainee!
/Rasmus

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Welcome to my journey


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At the palace in Mysore

Welcome to my trainee blog! In this blog I will write about my life as a trainee in the Telenor Global Trainee Program. The trainee program began in September 2009 and right now I just started my second placement, which is in Bangalore, India. In India, Telenor launched its first commercial service in December 2009 under the brand Uninor. During the coming six months I will drive a project to launch postpaid services in the Indian state of Karnataka, in south west India.

Becoming a trainee
So who am I? Prior to becoming a trainee within the Telenor Group, I finished my Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Linköping University. During my university studies I had been an exchange student to both RWTH Aachen, Germany, and to Stanford University, USA, and therefore I had my mind set on becoming a trainee as I wanted to yet increase my international experience. A combination of the company culture, values and vision together with the telecom industry itself and the setup of the trainee program, led me to join Telenor as a trainee.

My first six months
I started my first placement as a trainee in the Networks department of Telenor Sweden in Stockholm last September. During my seven months in Telenor Sweden I worked on three major projects. One of which was the establishment of a Network Performance Management function.

The trainee program
My journey as a trainee will be 18 months long, hence after my placement in India I expect to join Telenor Sweden again, however within a new division. The point of the trainee program is the get to know the Telenor Group in as many aspects as possible. Therefore all of us fifteen trainees meet for seminars throughout the 18 months. So far we have been to Telenor Norway, Telenor Hungary and Telenor Serbia to get to know the different business units, to extend our knowledge of the telecom industry and to build our networks. For more info on the actual program itself, please visit: http://telenor.se/privat/telenor-karriar/trainee/globala-traineeprogrammet/index.html.

My hope is that this blog will give you an insight to the life as a trainee. Don’t hesitate to ask questions; in a year you might become a global trainee in Telenor yourself, don’t miss that chance.

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