Practice Areas

In a growing technology company driving the digitalization of a leading online retailer, the formats for professional development had, over the years, evolved in a confusing and inconsistent way. Knowledge often remained tied to individual projects, and exchange across locations and language barriers was difficult—made worse by the fact that many employees had been hired during the pandemic and barely knew their colleagues or the office.

The solution developed is a consolidated structure of professional Practice Areas, specialized Practice Groups, and open Communities that cuts across the classic line organization and gives employees a professional “second home.” Regular exchange is ensured by recurring formats such as “Practice Area Days” and a company-wide specialist conference where the various fields of knowledge come together. The benefit is that knowledge is built up and shared in a more targeted way, professional careers across team boundaries become possible, and employees’ attachment to the company increases.

For this project, an interdisciplinary and international change team was set up, which closely supported the transformation from conception through to implementation. Collaboration consistently followed agile principles, with clearly timed sprints, transparent reviews, and the continuous involvement of all stakeholders. In this way, robust structures emerged from an ambitious vision that can be used in everyday work.

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