Month: September 2023

Released by our partner INAC Germany I, the series “SPOTLIGHT chemistry” is designed to keep you up to date with the latest news and highlights in the chemical industry.
Each month, our Germann partner will give you all the breaking news of what happened in the last few weeks.
Don’t miss out and get exclusive insights first hand.

Deep Red Numbers
The chemical industry in Rhineland-Palatinate experiences significant declines in revenue and orders of nearly 40% in the first half of the year.
High energy costs, bureaucracy, overregulation, and a lack of production cost competitiveness contribute to plant shutdowns and investment outflows abroad.

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The “Perfect” Solution
A research group consisting of the University of Rostock, University of Magdeburg, and two other institutes has been granted 3Million Euros by the German Research Foundation for a 4-year study aimed at developing sustainable chemical reactions for fine chemicals products. The goal is to create nearly waste-free renewable manufacturing processes utilizing catalysts, solvents, and advanced membrane techniques.

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Berlin-based chemistry start-up Carbon One plans to construct a pilot facility for methanol production using an innovative process, forming a significant partnership.
The company aims to produce friendly ship fuel to alleviate pressure on shipping companies to adopt eco-friendly fuels.

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Focus on Innovation
In the first half of 2023, the speciality chemical corporation ALANTA recorded an 11% decrease in revenue to 1.393 Billion Euros due to decreased demand and high material costs amidst economic downturn.
Nonetheless, the company increased investments by 52%, elevated research and development spending by 52%, and announced the second-largest acquisition in its history, the acquisition of Von Roll Holding AG.

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BASF has doubled its production capacity for water-soluble dispersing agents in Turkey to better support customers in EMEA in the detergent, cleaning, and chemical industries. The additional capacities will be available from the third quarter of 2023, following the capacity expansion at Ludwigshafen site in 2020.

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Sarena Lin, former Chief Talent Officer and Labor Director at Bayer, unexpectedly departs the company at the end of August after holding her position for two and a half years. Neither Lin nor Bayer disclosed the specific reason for her departure, but it is speculated that changes in corporate leadership under new CEO Bill Anderson may have played a role.

SPOTLIGHT Chemistry #6 by INAC Germany I

Is your company still conducting annual performance reviews? If so, are they also conducting routine check-ins throughout the year or providing continuous feedback? Are there action items and next steps that you can take to work towards your goals? With remote and hybrid work arrangements and new generations with new expectations, employees want to know how they’re doing and how to improve.

According to SHRM, a survey done by Workhuman showed that 49% of companies provide annual or semi-annual work reviews, 7% don’t provide any type of review, and 28% have quarterly reviews. Gallup research has shown that 95% of managers are not believers in their company’s review system and less than 20% are motivated by their reviews. Unengaged employees could be costing US companies more than $1.5 trillion annually.

This is an issue that has been around for decades, likely since the performance review was invented. Millennials and Gen Z however are two generations that are more focused on their personal growth and pushing for more productive performance review methodologies.

Historically, performance reviews were focused on your work over the past year, looking backward. They are also forward-looking today, including career development opportunities like upskilling and reskilling, employee engagement, and if needs are being met to be productive.

Marcus Buckingham of ADP Research Institute says, “Every single human alive today is a horribly unreliable rater of other human beings.” His belief is rooted in unconscious biases we have or, as he calls it, idiosyncratic rating effect. The way managers rate is a stronger reflection of themselves than it is of the employee.

It doesn’t help that the majority of roles do not have quantifiable outcomes, especially through the lens of competence or talent. Buckingham adds, “I’m going to rate you on a theoretical construct like ‘strategic thinking’? Everybody knows that’s rubbish.” While this data may be inaccurate, it’s easier than helping managers improve their skills. “Because we don’t educate our managers on how to have some of these conversations, we’ve decided that the solution is to give them really bad ratings systems or really bad categorization systems.” Don’t expect data to go anywhere anytime soon. “Data driven” decision making has become a buzzy way to imply that decisions are based on facts that can optimize performance.

SHRM provides tips to improve the performance review process, for more detail on each step, you can visit the article.

• Don’t limit conversations to once or twice per year
• Set performance goals and expectations at the beginning of the year
• Explain how their position and department fit into the company’s overall ­strategy
• Simplify the process
• Consider a 360-degree approach
• Eliminate proximity bias
• End recency bias
• Solicit feedback from employees
• Don’t discuss compensation during reviews

Getting performance reviews right should also take into account your organizational culture. Are employees measured on how they align with the company’s core values? And are employees who are not embracing core values being held accountable for their behaviors? If not, it might be time to talk with Human Resources about how this aspect can be added to the review process.

Article by INAC USA