Sounding Board | DB Schenker

The DB Schenker Sounding Board: The Voice of the Next Generation

Every year, 10-14 millennials from across DB Schenker’s different regions and functional units are chosen for the Sounding Board program. By sharing their insights, they provide management with a valuable health check. According to Leandri Meyer, Program Manager Diversity and Inclusion, “With our Sounding Board initiative, we want to future-proof our organization by integrating the perspectives and ideas of our younger generation. They are at the start of their careers now, but they represent our future leaders and experts.”

Over 12 months, the Sounding Board team collaborates on strategic projects, and in turn they learn new skills, build networks, and gain visibility in their region and globally. This year’s members of the 2021 Sounding Board are right at the beginning of their journey, and recently got together to reflect on their experiences thus far. This is what Asad, Rajae, Victoria, Inka, Vineeth, Yanjing and Murad had to say about the program.

Harnessing fresh perspectives

Millennials make up a large part of the workforce at DB Schenker, but they’re not always represented in high level management.

Rajae

“We are more open to change and trying new approaches or working with new tools to bring innovation to the table.”

Vineeth

“We’re all in the fledgling phase of our careers, so this helps us to learn from experienced people in the industry, and even maybe teach them something that we know.”

For many members of the program, discovering their own potential along the way is a key outcome. Victoria, for example, says, “I’m still a trainee in a learning process, so I want to find out where my strengths lie.” The opportunity to connect on a global scale is also a major motivation. Asad sums it up by saying, “I’m always looking for places I can socialize and network. Being part of the Sounding Board means I can do that with colleagues around the world.” Yanjing echoes this sentiment too, adding that now she has people to visit in all the different countries when Covid eases up.

The Sounding Board at work

Asad describes how connecting with a group of people from a range of backgrounds has been both a seamless and valuable process. “It has given me an insight into how others tackle a problem, how they structure their approach and how they solve it” he says. Victoria finds the broader view the group offers insightful too. “Sometimes what works in one country just doesn’t work somewhere else, because the cultures are so different,” she notes. That is a point that Inka seconds. “It’s definitely made me more open-minded,” she says.

When asked what they hope to achieve, the group’s goals are ambitious. These individuals may all be junior in experience, but they see their membership of the Sounding Board as one with real responsibility and potential for impact.

At the end of the program I want to see what we’ve done tangibly implemented in the company – I want to see our contributions meaningfully impacting the projects we’re working on.