A uniform onboarding programme for all: this was the goal with which ALTANA approached imc. The ALTANA Group develops and produces high-quality, innovative specialty chemical products in four divisions. Headquartered in Wesel, Germany, ALTANA has 48 production sites, 63 service and research laboratories worldwide and employs around 7,000 people.

In order to communicate the overarching goals and values of the ALTANA Group to employees from all divisions, imc has developed a uniform company-wide onboarding programme for ALTANA. In addition, there is a specific onboarding for managers.

The survey results collected by ALTANA show that the project was highly successful: On a scale of 1 to 5, the global onboarding was rated with an above-average 4.3 points, the leadership training with a very good 4.0 points.

For the Brandon Hall Group's international panel of industry experts, a demonstrable business impact is of central importance. Other assessment criteria include:

• Alignment to their business need and environment
• Program design, functionality, and delivery
• Adoption, integration, user experience, innovation, and creativity
• Overall effectiveness, impact, and measurable benefits

Christian Wachter, CEO of imc says:

"At imc, we're extremely excited to be expanding our market presence in the USA and look forward to showcasing Europe's leading LMS to America's biggest companies. To that end, we are absolutely thrilled to be joining the ATD community in San Diego, which we believe will serve us as a valuable gateway to build key relationships with US-based companies.

We are proud to have many of these companies as our esteemed customers in Europe, and we look forward to fostering mutually beneficial partnerships in the US market as well."

At the start of this year, imc announced the opening of an additional international location -- on the east coast of the USA. The new location continues the Saarbruecken, Germany-based e-learning provider’s growth trend of the past few years and further expands its global presence.

It will enable imc to provide its existing customers in North America with a more personal experience. It will also allow the company to base support people for new customers directly in the American market.

For Christian Wachter, Chair of the Executive Board of imc AG, the new location is a logical next step. “We already have a lot of customers and partners in the USA,” he said. “We know our product portfolio is a good fit for the American market, so we felt it was important to establish another location to take our activities there to the next level.”

Wachter also likes his company’s chances of sourcing suitably qualified staff locally: “We won’t have to start from scratch, because we’ve already managed to find high-calibre candidates for a number of positions locally. The US labour market offers a lot of talent for us. I am looking forward to having a strong, growing local team, and hence to the new energy and fresh ideas that team is certain to bring to our entire organisation.”

Prof. Dr. August-Wilhelm Scheer, the founder and president of the supervisory board of the Scheer Group, of which imc is part, supports imc’s growth initiative in the USA. “For the Scheer organisation, 2023 is all about growth on the North American continent,” he said. “imc AG will now join Scheer GmbH in establishing an important new branch office on the U.S. East Coast.

The USA is a highly attractive market for imc AG because it is both a major crossroads for global companies and the world’s biggest market for e-learning products. I have no doubt that imc AG, being a leading e-learning specialist, will do extremely well there.”

imc has successfully completed the TISAX audit to facilitate the exchange of information and data with customers in the automotive industry and to ensure their security. Every company that receives sensitive information from customers, such as VW, BMW, Porsche, Audi, Daimler or their subsidiaries, must in practice be certified according to TISAX. Thus, TISAX has become a relevant competitive factor.

Roman Muth, Director Cloud Solutions & Architecture, is pleased that imc's efforts in the field of information security are now visible at a glance: "The TISAX label offers us the opportunity to compare our security standards with our customers quickly and easily from now on. The good preliminary work that my team has done in this area has contributed significantly to our ability to meet the requirements of the Information Security Assessment (ISA)."

The Information Security Assessment (ISA) is a set of requirements for information security based on key aspects of the international standard ISO/IEC 27001. It is used by companies both for internal purposes and for audits of suppliers and service providers who process sensitive information from their respective houses.

imc has successfully completed the certification process to become a family-friendly employer. Project manager Ursula Kuningham of the "Servicestelle Leben und Arbeiten" (saaris e.V.) presented the corresponding "Family-friendly company" certificate in Saarbrücken on 12 January 2023.

For Sarah Pitzius, Human Resources Officer at imc, several aspects were decisive for the quick certification: "Firstly, our really flexible, hybrid working time model, which is particularly well received by parents," explains Pitzius. "In addition, we offer the possibility to work part-time during or even after parental leave - an offer that is very well received and is also used by fathers. In general, the proportion of fathers who take parental leave for longer than two months is steadily increasing, which we expressly welcome."

Saarland-wide, around 200 companies have been successfully advised and certified since 2013. Those who want the seal can apply to the responsible IHK "Servicetelle Leben und Arbeiten" at saaris e.V. and will be evaluated by them on five criteria: Flexibility of working hours, organisation and location; care for children, parental leave and re-entry; compatibility of work and care; communication and information; service and support offers. After two years, there is the possibility of re-certification.