Dr. Oetker is a tradition-rich family-owned company with over 130 years of history, employing nearly 16,000 people worldwide across more than 40 national subsidiaries. Increased competition, evolving user and employee needs, and growing complexity are challenging organizations of all sizes to restructure and rethink their collaboration methods. However, unlike many traditionally led organizations, Dr. Oetker proactively addresses the noticeable changes of our time.

Over the years, several smaller and larger initiatives have emerged within the organization aimed at fostering a more agile work culture. Yet, it became increasingly clear to executives that to initiate truly sustainable and tangible change, effective steps must be taken across the entire organization. Subsequently, Dr. Oetker established a four-member team called #move to consolidate, steer, and energize internal efforts towards transformation.

We were invited to join forces with the #move team to accompany Dr. Oetker on its transformation journey towards a more agile New Work culture.

Dr. Oetker's goal was to initiate change processes in a decentralized manner across various organizational units simultaneously, much like throwing small stones into water that create ripples in different places.

This approach was crucial for Dr. Oetker because globally dispersed teams and organizational units understand best what they need to work effectively. Needs and work practices can vary significantly between Bielefeld and Mumbai, and who better to assess this than the local teams themselves?

The solution: An education program where we train Agile Coaches in various departments and locations within the organization. These trained "Local Transformation Agents" (LTAs) can then bring the learned tools, methods, and collaboration practices to their teams, driving the transformation process from within..

In October 2019, we launched the first LTA (Local Transformation Agent) program with 12 participants from various organizational areas such as Sales, Logistics, Controlling, and Marketing. Today, we proudly have a total of 49 LTAs across nine countries, including India, Poland, Spain, and Brazil, with more joining continuously. Several sister companies within the Oetker Group have also participated in the training program.

LTAs undergo a specially designed multi-day program with five modules, tailored to Dr. Oetker's needs, either remotely or in person. They receive training in areas such as role- and tension-based work, Design Thinking, Scrum, leadership culture, change management, and transformation. Equipped with this knowledge, they are prepared to initiate fundamental changes in work practices and collaboration within their organizational units that meet the needs of local employees.

Ensuring alignment in the transformation journey, the LTA Community was established. This community meets biweekly to exchange experiences, discuss challenges, and share learnings in peer groups and retrospectives, thereby reflecting on and further developing their acquired skills.

49

trainend Local
Transformation Agents

4

completed
training programs

5

Modules that create
foundations for transformation
facilitation in 13 units

∞

The LTA program is
an ongoing process