Did you ever ask yourself what organizational design has to do with Design Thinking? Or why we would need to change at all? The starting point for answering those questions are three significant developments: Digitalization, demographic changes and the values by which Generation Y lives. At the same time, each company needs to find its own way and respective solutions to organizational development and new forms of collaboration. Design Thinking principles play a significant role. At the d.confestival, we talked to keynote speaker Uwe Raschke, Member of the Management Board at Robert Bosch, who shared insights on the company's transformation process.

What prompted you to organize parts of the company?

On the one hand, the digital age is placing greater demands on the pace of innovation and user focus. On the other hand, it is clear that associates want more independence, purpose, and participation.

How did you respond to these challenges?

In the Bosch Power Tools division, we created a completely new organizational structure. Instead of grouping operations into six business units, we created around 60 business teams. This allows us to react and make decisions faster and more flexibly. The newly created business teams are responsible for the entire business, from product ideation to sales and marketing of the product. The core of this model is a cross-functional team in which people with expertise in different disciplines, such as engineering, marketing, quality management, and – in the future – design, work together closely. Application development and manufacturing are also part of the respective business teams. The number of hierarchy levels was also significantly reduced. Moreover, the new organizational structure was largely designed by the associates themselves, on the basis of a prototype.

What does this mean for associates?

First of all, the new organizational structure means more transparency and responsibility for everyone. For each individual, this means new challenges. We support our associates in a variety of ways, offering them everything from training and feedback to agile working methods and, very importantly, team-building. Moreover, each business team is supported by “agile coaches” who help to implement these new ways of working. These coaches play a central role. On top of that, good communication is important, since it leads to an improved feedback culture. One of our challenges is to learn more about how to get these teams working together efficiently.

On a practical level, what surprised you the most?

A couple of months ago, the first anniversary of the new organization was celebrated. In all my years at Bosch, I had never come across anything quite like it. There’s no question that this idea has sparked a huge wave of enthusiasm. Comments such as: “It’s been hard work, but we wouldn’t want to go back to the way things were,” are very common. The positive findings of our recent associate survey were also encouraging.

What was the most difficult part?

As with any new venture, people will always initially be uncertain whether the new really is better than the old. Another obstacle is the economic success achieved in the old set-up ― why should you change a winning formula? Additionally, people are frequently not used to working in cross-functional teams.

What is especially important if you want to change an organization as huge as Bosch?

In addition to fragmentation, five principles are fundamental in the end. First, any business we do needs to be based on a strong purpose. What really motivates people is working on solutions that have a concrete, positive impact on their lives – as do ambitious targets, of course. Second, design thinking teaches us that the best solutions are created by diverse teams. The creation of permanent, cross-functional teams is an essential element in the drive to become more innovative. Third, we need to think about the number of hierarchy levels. Here, less is more. This leads me to my fourth point. A new understanding of leadership is required. The leaders of tomorrow have to put things in context and remove any obstacles in their teams’ path. They have to formulate strategies and give their people freedom to put them into practice. They also need to reduce control and, on the basis of their own expertise, work on solutions. Finally―and this leads to my fifth principle―the way we communicate needs to change. This means moving from a cascading information transfer to a steady, comprehensive stream of information for everyone, top-down and bottom-up. Open communication is a great motivator and enables associates to deliver excellence in their respective situations.