We were delighted to speak with Penny Weatherup, HR Director at Volkswagen Group UK as one of our sponsor organisations for our Drivers of Change competition. It was insightful to speak to Penny about her views on how applicants can make the most out of this opportunity.
Read on below for Penny’s key insights into the competition and what she thinks would make a standout applicant…
On the importance of the Drivers of Change competition to the automotive sector as a whole and to Volkswagen Group UK (VWGUK) as a sponsor…
“I think it’s important to recognise that the automotive industry has worked in a very specific and very static way for many years. The Drivers of Change competition provides an opportunity for leaders in this industry to hear and see creative and innovative ideas which help us to understand and explore different ways of thinking. For Volkswagen Group UK, an inclusive approach to diverse and new ways of thinking is critical to our business as we evolve towards being a digital, software enabled enterprise.
Another reason why Drivers of Change is important to our industry and to Volkswagen Group UK in particular, lies within the whole avenue of exposure to people who may not typically engage with the automotive industry as a career path and who might have a more diverse background. Looking back to last year’s competition, our entrants were from a wide variety of backgrounds, age groups, ethnicities as well as males and females who all contributed their creative ideas to the competition. There appears to be a close correlation between the ideas that the competition entrants are submitting and a strong alignment with our customer expectations. We need diverse talent within our industry that is representative of our customers and communities.”
As an advocate of diversity and inclusion, how do you feel Drivers of Change supports the inclusivity of this sector?
“That the competition is open to anyone is fantastic, and it supports our principles at Volkswagen Group UK of attracting and attaining the widest talent pool possible. We strive to attract people with different ideas, backgrounds, values, and experiences.
We’re the first automotive organisation to successfully achieve accreditation with Inclusive Employers, achieving the Silver level. This is incredibly important because it has allowed us to benchmark against other organisations when driving forward our diversity and inclusion strategy. It has also provided us with insights into how we can do things differently, make improvements and how to adapt our approach accordingly. This is definitely an area of focus for us and demonstrates our commitment to be more inclusive. The Drivers of Change Competition is another way to highlight the importance of inclusivity and gives us the opportunity to learn from the applicants and from other sponsor organisations.”
What do you hope to see from applicants in this year’s competition? What would make an entry really stand out from the crowd?
“A fabulous entry would be one which considers the customer at its centre: linking back to what is important to the customer, why it is important to the customer, and how their expectations will be influenced by it. For example, when marketing and selling a cars, the entrant needs to look at the sales process and online selling, considering ‘do consumers want this?’ and pinpointing what consumers value in the customer experience that would make them likely to remain loyal to Volkswagen Group UK and talk positively about us. So, essentially anything which puts the customer at the centre of their idea and making that a much easier, positive, accessible, and digitised experience.
Within these entries I would also love to see considerations of customers from different generations, abilities and requirements. What I mean by that is, cars have historically been produced with males in mind – by men, for men. Happily this is changing! There are simple things which can be changed to cars to make them more accessible to all our customers – for example, there has recently been an adaptation on one of our Audis to accommodate people with different mobility requirements. There is a button on the boot which you can push to close it.; or you simply run your foot under the bumper where a sensor will activate the boot to close.
In addition, automotive is moving rapidly towards technology as the driver, which is fantastic. When talking to my elderly parents though it’s possible to see that it can sometimes be overwhelming for the older generation. Having something in the car which is beeping at them constantly and telling them how far they are away from the side of the road for example, although important can take a bit of getting used to. So, there is a lot to consider around the diversity and inclusivity of our customers when considering your application.”
Why do you think an individual should enter Drivers of Change? How could they make the most of the £5,000 prize money and invitation to the SMMT dinner?
“The SMMT event is a massive networking opportunity with representatives of all areas of the automotive sector present. Finalists can ask to be introduced to key people they have already researched or simply ask to be introduced to particular companies.
As for the £5,000 prize money, it’s up to them how they spend it, but I would suggest using some of it to celebrate such a fantastic win. They definitely deserve to spend at least some of it to celebrate! And of course, if they would like to use it as a deposit towards a new car, that would also be more than acceptable!”
Thank you to Penny Weatherup for sharing her thoughts with us on the Drivers of Change competition. Applications are currently open until the 24th September 2021 so get your entry in now.
Find out more about Drivers of Change here: https://ennisco.com/drivers-of-change/
