Project at a glance

• Project: M&A ZF TRW — IT Innovation build-up
• Client: ZF Friedrichshafen AG
• Industry: Automotive
• Company data: Group with around 150,000 employees; headquarters in Friedrichshafen
• Affected unit: IT Innovation at the Friedrichshafen site, with a planned expansion from 12 to around 80 employees
• Global project implementation
• Available internal talent pool: around 3,500 IT specialists
• Project objective: Build up IT Innovation from 12 to around 80 employees globally within nine months, exclusively from the internal talent pool of around 3,500 IT specialists – external recruiting was ruled out.
• Role: External consulting on a retained mandate basis – conceptual consulting across all phases and independent execution of cross-functional profiling; operational implementation remained with the ZF team.
• Result: Completion in eight instead of nine months; all 68 new team members filled after 96 of the planned 120 interviews; after two years, no selection-related turnover.

Initial situation

With the acquisition of TRW in 2014, ZF Friedrichshafen AG combined two nearly equal-sized competitors into one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world. In this context, redundant units had to be consolidated and strategic areas realigned. PRECI had already supported IT Innovation beforehand, including in a team workshop in which the diagnostic instrument ValueProfilePlus played a central role. In accordance with a board resolution, IT Innovation was to take on a much broader and more business-critical role in the future — with the clear consequence that the division had to be expanded massively.

The reality behind the target vision

The target vision was ambitious: growth by more than a factor of six, from a location-bound setup to a global organization — in nine months. The reality behind it was sobering. For a leap of this magnitude, there were neither plans nor concepts nor reliable experiential knowledge. The fact that around 3,500 internal IT specialists were available did not prove to be a relief, but an additional challenge: What should the new structure look like? How should leadership, communication, and professional setup be organized? Should additional subject areas be built up with appropriately qualified employees — or should the status quo initially be maintained? One thing in particular was missing for sound decisions: clarity. And for implementation, a methodologically robust path was lacking.

Approach and solution

PRECI independently managed the approach methodologically and aligned the target vision and milestones with the client. All steps were independently designed, proposed, optimized, and initiated; operational implementation remained with the ZF team, which PRECI supported in an advisory capacity. It began with strategy development and clear setup principles, followed by structuring the new design — the question of virtual, functional, or regional teams. From this structure, PRECI derived job descriptions that included not only technical but also values-based, cross-functional requirements; the requirements module of ValueProfilePlus was used for this purpose. The approach to the internal target group consistently followed a pull mechanism rather than a traditional push approach: active outreach to all around 3,500 IT specialists, in-house marketing, flyers featuring leaders, FAQs, and Q&A formats, including online sessions. The selection process took place in two stages — a technical pre-selection, followed by online profiling with ValueProfilePlus and the consolidation of the results into a shortlist of 120 candidates ranked according to best-fit criteria. The final selection took place in in-person interviews on site, scheduled closely in line with the ranking.

Key measures

• Strategy development with definition of the new objective and the setup principles

• Structuring the new setup (virtual, functional or regional teams; organizational management)
• Derivation of functional and values-based, cross-functional job descriptions (ValueProfilePlus requirements module)
• Active internal outreach based on the pull principle: posting the vacancies, in-house marketing, contacting all around 3,500 IT specialists, flyers, FAQs and Q&A including online sessions, approval for data processing
• Two-stage preselection: functional suitability assessment, followed by online profiling (ValueProfilePlus), consolidation of the results, shortlist of 120 candidates with best-fit ranking
• Final selection in in-person on-site interviews scheduled closely in line with the ranking and decision on the offers
• Completion through contract drafting

 

Result

The initiative not only met but exceeded targets in time, budget, and quality. The build-up was completed in eight instead of the planned nine months. Instead of several waves of travel, a single global trip by the decision-makers was sufficient, with one personal interview each. After 96 interviews, all 68 new team members had been filled — the remaining 24 planned interviews could be canceled. As solid proof of the sustainability of the selection, one figure ultimately spoke for itself: after two years, there was no selection-related turnover.

What exactly was present

• Completion in eight instead of the planned nine months

• Only one global trip, with one personal interview each
• All 68 new team members filled after 96 of 120 planned interviews; 24 interviews were no longer needed
• No selection-related turnover after two years

 

Client quote

“After five years, we still remember everything you taught us — and to this day it has had a more positive impact than anything else.”

ZF Friedrichshafen AG

What this success story shows about PRECI

The case shows what matters to PRECI: creating decision clarity where an ambitious target vision meets an unresolved reality. PRECI combined strategy, organization, requirements profiling, and a values-based selection process into a seamless, methodologically robust approach — as an external consultancy with ownership of the methodology and responsibility for results, while implementation strength remained within the company itself. This is senior executive consulting for building business-critical structures: precise, implementation-focused, and reliable.

A similar challenge?

Are you facing the build-up or realignment of a strategically critical area — and need clarity before decisions are made? Talk to PRECI about your project. An initial, no-obligation conversation will show where the most sustainable path lies.