Performance management
Performance management is the centerpiece of our array of steering tools. Under our systematic approach a clear strategy geared to ensuring the Group’s long-term survival and the consistent implementation of this strategy are fundamental to efficient enterprise and group management. Since instances of mismanagement are very often due to the inadequate implementation of strategy, we devote particularly close attention to the process steps that enable targeted orientation of our entrepreneurial actions to the strategic objectives.
The major stages of strategy implementation consist of the drawing up of strategic program planning, i.e. the breaking down of the strategic objectives into subgoals and the subsequent breaking down of these subgoals into operational goals that are backed by concrete measures.
Performance management and the steering of segments/divisions are guided by the following basic principles:
- The Board of Management of the holding company sets out strategic indications as a framework for the planning and orientation of business activities. The focus is on the Group’s core management ratios and on Group-wide strategic initiatives. The target indications set by the holding company thus define the Group’s aspirations to economic value creation, profitability, level of security and growth initiatives.
- The holding company and segments/divisions use a consistent performance metric to manage their business. The performance metric not only encompasses purely financial core management ratios but also other relevant operational management ratios from four different perspectives: the financial perspective, the market/customer perspective, the process perspective and the staff perspective.
- Performance is discussed and assessed in regular meetings between the Board members with responsibility for the holding company and the segments/divisions on the basis of this performance metric.
We link our strategic planning with the operational planning using the performance metric by setting out our strategy measurably in structured overviews and monitoring its execution.
