Learning and Development

• Life-long learning concept
• Focus on virtual learning and digitalization

Learning and development are essential success factors for a strong company culture. The skills and competencies of our employees are critical for profitable growth and lasting success. For this reason, we want to further modernize our learning culture and step up our efforts to promote lifelong, self-directed learning. Employee development at BASF is guided by the belief that talent is in everyone. This means that development opportunities and support are open to all employees. In our understanding, there is more to development than a promotion or a job change – it encompasses the development of personal experience and abilities.

In regular development meetings, which are held as part of our annual employee dialogs, employees outline ideas for their individual development together with their leaders and determine specific measures for further training and development, which focus on personal and professional competencies. Our learning activities follow the “70-20-10” philosophy: We apply the elements “learning from experience” (70%), “learning from others” (20%) and “learning through courses and media” (10%). Our learning and development offerings cover a range of learning goals: Starting a career, expanding knowledge, personal growth and leadership development.

Digital learning formats are playing an ever-increasing role in our development offerings. In 2019, we expanded our global digital learning platform with the addition of an independent learning module. This gives employees a wide range of personalized learning recommendations and special learning paths on diverse topics. In addition, all employees have access to a continuously growing online library with professional resources on leadership, personal development and business. These digital offerings enable employees to take responsibility for their own professional development and promote knowledge transfer across BASF as a whole. We launched the #liveitleadit initiative in 2019 to harness the opportunities of digital transformation for BASF. Ten modules on different aspects of leadership in the digital age give leaders inspiration for their work, including on agility or leading in a data-driven world.

In addition, more and more academies in the divisions and service units, which teach specific professional content, offer virtual training. We have offered virtual presence training since 2018, which gives all employees the opportunity to attend professional development courses via digital communication channels such as virtual meetings.