The Westwing Academy at the Group’s European Logistics Center

Westwing Academy is an excellent platform not only for developing our employees’ knowledge, skills, and talents, but also for integrating and building Westwing’s identity! “Fly with Westwing!” Artur, Head of People & Culture ELC

At Westwing, we believe that our employees build our organization’s value. Developing our managers and staff makes us more agile, more efficient, and more resilient as a whole. This is why we launched the Westwing Academy at our European Logistics Center in Robakowo, near Poznań in Poland. Over a four-week period, all ELC managers attended an intensive development program based on three core areas: a safety focus, a people focus, and continuous improvement.

“It’s not easy to summarize four weeks of intensive training in just a few words. The training sessions provided me with masses of valuable information, delivered in a professional and accessible manner. And despite the sometimes challenging and always highly important topics, there was still time for laughter and having fun. Now it’s time to put the knowledge and skills I’ve acquired into practice effectively, and I wish myself and the other workshop participants every success in the process.” Martyna, Shift Leader

Safety always comes first! Our HSE (Health, Safety and Environment) team works constantly to enhance standards and, above all, increase awareness and engage employees about safety issues. The training modules in this area were selected on the basis of an in-depth safety audit:

1. “Slip, trip, and fall” – Awareness about slip, trip, and fall risks and how to avoid these in the workplace. Good practices for storing materials, tools, cables, and wires, and using ladders and stairs.

2. Ergonomics and safe manual handling – Good practice and legal requirements for handling materials by hand, plus practical ergonomic tips.

3. Safe managers = safe employees – A manager’s responsibilities, the tools to use, how to conduct workplace training properly, and what to remember when employees change departments and/or positions.

“It was a great idea to organize health and safety training, as this raises awareness among employees and enhances their attitude towards safety. The different formats (videos, source documents, descriptions) used to present the issues offered an interesting insight into the topic.” Natalia, Inventory Manager

Leadership Academy – Competent people managers

What is our role as leaders? How do we actively create a culture of mutual respect and accountability at Westwing? This training track comprised three modules:

1. Code of Conduct, creating a respectful environment – What do you permit, what do you promote? We act with integrity and responsibility, respect diversity, and set an example for others.

2. A manager’s responsibilities and role, accountability, and problem-solving in teams – How do you define your leadership role, where are you on the ladder of responsibility? We take full responsibility for achieving our goals, use our own talents, and actively support our teams in solving problems and looking for optimal solutions.

3. Delegating, setting expectations and tasks, and monitoring – How do you engage your team and realize their potential? We act effectively, delegate, and enforce, developing our team members’ talents by building competencies within the organization.

“The training cycle itself was a combination of fun and meaningful content that allowed everyone to consolidate the values we want to live by as an organization. The workshops helped me increase my self-confidence, forced me out of my comfort zone, and illustrated the qualities I need to work on in the future in order to become a better employee and leader.” Marcin, Team Leader

“The series of training modules made me realize how important the language we use every day really is. The choice of words and tone plays an extremely important role in ensuring a positive reception for what we want to communicate.” Ewelina, Team Leader

Continuous Improvement – Change agents

How should we think about productivity and cost-cutting opportunities? How should we address them? And how should we ensure team buy-in for continuous improvement? The content of this core area includes the philosophy behind lean manufacturing, and tools and techniques including the nine types of waste, problem-solving methodologies, how to put Kaizen into practice, 5S (Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain the cycle), an introduction to standardization, and process flows.

“The mix of process and people management training has given me the practical knowledge I need to manage the department, the team, and the workflows more effectively.” Maja, Team Leader