Lifelong Learning

Continuing education as dynamic as the IT industry itself

A career in IT requires not only good training, but also lifelong learning. After all, the industry is considered particularly dynamic, complex and disruptive. It has been proven that those who continue to learn have many advantages: more money, better job opportunities and job security. Learning also has a positive impact on a personal level. For example, people who are active in education benefit from a broader perspective, a better ability to reflect, and optimized communication skills.

If employees want to successfully meet the demands of their jobs, they need the right framework conditions - which employers must create. This includes flat hierarchies, flexible working models and opportunities for further training. Nagarro places particular emphasis on these areas. With more than 17,000 employees in 32 countries, the company offers customers digital product development. This includes digital product engineering, e-commerce and customer experience services, managed services, ERP consulting and technology services. The SAP global business unit in Germany has more than 750 employees. Employees here can advise customers on IT strategy and process issues, implement and operate systems, including the associated support and maintenance.

The IT full-service provider has deliberately tailored its training measures to these fields of activity and to the target groups of career starters and experienced professionals. In addition to the professional training measures, which are individually selected for each employee according to their level of knowledge and focus, soft skill training is offered to specifically strengthen the required competencies. Nagarro also offers its employees a variety of opportunities on a global level. This ranges from training and mentoring programs to individual initiatives to build an international network. Local opportunities are about developing employees from service providers to consultants. This means learning to provide targeted support to customers, actively listening, perceiving personalities and needs, getting to know processes, and making suggestions for improvement.

Enable through training

It is important to provide employees with further training in the long term. The company has therefore developed three programs: For trainees, young talents, and project managers and executives. The trainee program is aimed at employees who want to start their career and become a consultant. It starts in April and October and lasts one year. At the local level, the program focuses on training directly at SAP. This is a prerequisite for being allowed to work in customers' systems and sell products. Once they have completed the program, newcomers are able to provide active support in customer projects after only a short time. The consultants' areas of responsibility include the planning, implementation and roll-out of customer projects.

An important part of this is the analysis of the customer's situation as well as process consulting and the development of strategies for the implementation and operation of the solution. "We rely heavily on junior staff development, as it is difficult to recruit specialists with a lot of professional experience. This goes hand-in-hand with a lot of onboarding and training time," says Hannah Guthor, Team Leader Human Resources at Nagarro. "This is exactly where our trainee program comes in. It helps to enable career starters or career changers more quickly with an individual training program, to create a solid foundation and to get started directly in the job."

“We place a strong emphasis on promoting young talent,
as it is difficult to recruit specialists with a lot of professional experience."

Hannah Guthor,
Team Leader Human Resources, Nagarro

Particularly committed junior staff can again develop their skills through the Young Talent Program. Ten employees can apply for this two-year program each year. Based on the individual competence profile, which is determined using the scientific diagnostic and development tool Kode and is aligned with Nagarro's values and goals, participants are supported in their specialist or management career.

Intrinsic motivation

The "Own it" program is available to experienced employees. This is aimed at both disciplinary managers and specialist managers who lead a project team or are responsible for a specific area in the company. The focus is on topics such as leadership and change management, leadership discussions and team development. Employees must also actively apply to participate in this program. "In this way, we ensure that participants are intrinsically motivated and open to personal exchange - instead of just going through the program because their supervisor wants them to," explains Hannah Guthor.

It is also important that the content really fits the interest and needs of the participants - because the program costs the company a five-figure sum per person in total. Specific topics that are not covered by the program can therefore also be covered by standard training courses, SAP courses, or courses offered by external providers. The Q-Fox learning platform and the business English course, which also takes place virtually, are also easy to integrate into everyday work.

Adapt HR to growth

Despite the wide range of training measures, there is still room for improvement. For example, the company would like to introduce a mentoring program in the future in order to be able to accompany employees individually in their development in addition to the established offers. In addition, there should be a more transparent presentation of which career paths and training packages are available at Nagarro, both locally and globally - an overview is often still lacking here. In addition, the HR department wants to involve management more in the future. "Experience shows that the integration of all levels has a positive effect on the corporate culture and everyday working life," says Guthor. Experience shows that both of these are important elements for staying happy on the job for a long time.