Eureka!
Valuing Expertise to Shape the Future
The traditional career progression model often prioritizes management roles, creating gaps in knowledge transfer and hindering innovation. But how can companies align their strategic needs with skills management and employees’ career aspirations? To address this challenge, Hager Group launched the Eureka program in 2022
Eureka was born from a simple observation: in the industrial sector, technical and scientific expertise is a key asset for business competitiveness. In a context where innovation is accelerating and career paths are becoming more dynamic, companies must remain attractive while ensuring a strong synergy between internal skills development and strategic objectives.
Eureka strengthens the link between internal expertise and Hager Group’s strategic goals, ensuring that technical expertise remains at the heart of performance and innovation. Each year, specific areas of expertise are targeted and updated. A rigorous selection process identifies employees whose qualifications meet the company’s critical needs. By bringing these qualities together, Eureka fosters knowledge exchange and synergy while placing technical and scientific expertise into the center of professional development.
Patricia Lamouche, Material Engineering Discipline Leader and member of the Eureka program, shares why she joined the initiative from the start: "I was already part of a local expert collective at the Obernai site. Eureka expanded this initiative to a group-wide scale and allowed me to refocus on the scientific aspect of my expertise in my daily work."
A Driver of Competitiveness and Innovation
The Eureka program aligns skill development with strategic ambitions, strengthening the group’s overall performance. Supported by the scientific and technical expertise of its members, it fosters innovation to provide the most relevant solutions for customers’ needs. By optimizing the management of key knowledge areas and encouraging innovation, it enhances our competitiveness. Finally, knowledge sharing ensures the efficient and sustainable transfer of expertise within the group.
A Unique Growth Framework for Experts
These employees thrive in an environment that fully recognizes and supports their expertise. They benefit from personalized development plans tailored to their professional journey, focusing on the specialization and advancement in their field of expertise rather than traditional managerial progression.
In parallel, they also have access to training opportunities to expand their knowledge. Among the flagship initiatives is the Leading by Expertise program, launched at the end of 2024, which helps experts develop strategic skills such as technical leadership, knowledge transfer, and influence within the company.
For Nicolas Britsch, Engineering Discipline Leader Arc Detection and participant in the program, "This type of initiative strengthens the collective value of our expertise. In my view, technical expertise only has a real impact when it is shared and understood by all stakeholders."
A Continuously Evolving Program
To best align with its members’ objectives and aspirations, the program is continuously evolving. Regular feedback sessions are held to identify needs and propose dedicated actions, creating a framework conducive to expertise development. The importance of this initiative is expected to grow even further in the coming years.
Thanks to the commitment of these experts, Hager Group is equipped with the essential skills to drive innovation and build a sustainable future.
