Alin Tapirdea, HELLA Romania: “Now is the time to inspire our teams and to build a bridge, not only between people physically distanced, but also between past and future”

“I have always believed that a true leader is a model for his or her colleagues. From our positions, we are the bearers of our core business values, and at HELLA, this means proactivity, resilience, and the looking-forward approach, among others,” Alin Tapirdea, general manager HELLA Romania told Automotive Today. “ Now is the time to inspire our teams and to build a bridge, not only between people physically distanced, but also between past and future. We must admit that the current crisis is more like an amplifier for the fundamental challenges that the automotive industry has been facing for some time before the pandemic hit. But we are always acting with our partners in mind. Therefore, this situation has accelerated certain processes. For example, digitalization, on which we rely more and more in our work. And not only in communication, but also in our other activities, with automated solutions in production units or so-called software robots used in corporate functions. We see these topics as part of our future.”

What leadership skills do you find most useful in the current changing work environment?

From the first stages of the pandemic, we understood that now, more than ever, communication, with clear messages, is very important. First, it is about ensuring a network inside which people can continue to work on their projects. A lot of our colleagues are working remotely, so it is important that teams stay connected. In a short time, Microsoft Teams was rolled out worldwide in all HELLA locations as our most important online communication tool. People stay in touch, and not only for the work, and this is equally important. Because these are times when mutual consideration keeps the teams together. Second, through this type of transparent communication, we convey the fact that, in our development and ongoing projects, there is no disruption. Apart from the method of exchanging information, a lot of digitalized, nothing changes. And this brings me to the second essential characteristic of a leader nowadays – flexibility. Colleagues are experiencing new environments, working form their homes, their professional and personal lives at risk to collide, because they are as close as ever. That is why, we as leaders, have the responsibility of empathy. We find ways to accommodate schedules, to arrange work structures, and it is the best way to achieve our main goal: keeping the efficiency high, with balance and trust.

Which are the empowering mindsets and building the sense of meaning & purpose, both for employers and employees, to keep each other engaged in reaching the business objectives in 2020 and in the next year?

I have always believed that a true leader is a model for his or her colleagues. From our positions, we are the bearers of our core business values, and at HELLA, this means proactivity, resilience, and the looking-forward approach, among others. Now is the time to inspire our teams and to build a bridge, not only between people physically distanced, but also between past and future. In this context, we create a setup of contribution, and this keeps the business going. An engaged employee community is essential for a company, so we have organized internal projects, for all our employees, also in this period. The first one during the pandemic was a series of online conferences with specialists from the medical community, but also from fields such as healthy nutrition or exercise, with advice on protection and prevention against COVID-19 infection as a way of creating a new type of behaviour. Another event supports the working from home setup, and it offers the opportunity to connect with architects, psychologists, experts in nutrition with the purpose of proposing a set of healthy habits that can become a way of life and that can help overcome feelings of isolation.

What should be a CEO’s and leader’s power message on business resilience conveyed to peers, partners, and employees for 2021, in order to enhance the trust and engagement?

For 120 years, HELLA has showed the willingness to perform, a strive for innovation and an entrepreneurial mindset, and these are the reasons why HELLA is, today, one the leading automotive suppliers worldwide. This traditional business drive can only mean one thing for our partners, peers, and employees: that we will keep following the road to success on the long term.

How can a CEO and leader of an organization capitalize on the current challenges to enhance and promote the company’s competition advantages currently?

Instead of “capitalize” I would rather use the term “adapt”. Because the ability to adapt and to see opportunity in disruptiveness can help us not only keep the business steady, but also to move it forward. We must admit that the current crisis is more like an amplifier for the fundamental challenges that the automotive industry has been facing for some time before the pandemic hit. But we are always acting with our partners in mind. Therefore, this situation has accelerated certain processes. For example, digitalization, on which we rely more and more in our work. And not only in communication, but also in our other activities, with automated solutions in production units or so-called software robots used in corporate functions. We see these topics as part of our future.

We are going to work continuously towards our vision, of greener, safer, and more comfortable mobility. As an international company, we are concentrating our projects towards the automotive megatrends, electrification, autonomous driving. With lighting and electronics, we have essential core competencies that play a central role in tomorrow’s mobility. Our radar sensors, for example, pave the way for automated driving, and with our battery and power electronics we supply key components for e-mobility. We already have a future-oriented, solid business model. We will also continue to invest around 10 percent of our sales in research and development.

Which are the current concerns of a CEO / leader in 2020?  Which are the hopes for 2021?

Our priority is to keep our employees healthy. On the other hand, we are determined to continue steering our business towards the future, and not any kind of future, but one that will highlight human creativity, team spirit, power of cohesion. We have learned for some time now to rely little on hope alone, but more to pragmatically assess our strengths and use them to achieve our aims. We will continue to invest in research and development automotive projects.

What kind of innovative measures and inclusive leadership initiatives have been applied within your organization this year, to better cope with the current context and bring the business forward in 2021?

I think that one of our inner beliefs that defined most of our actions during the pandemic is not waiting until it is too late. It is in these months that I have fully understood that actively facing the challenges can keep a situation in control. And I refer not only to the safety measures imposed rather sooner than later in all HELLA Romania locations, but also in involving managers in active debates about structure, schedule or reorganizing to keep the work efficiency going. HELLA has a global presence and, thanks to the implementation of online communication, we have been closer than ever to each other since March. In times of change, we came to deeply acknowledge HELLA’s three basic principles: together, passion, pacesetting. They describe us as optimists in this “new normal” environment, and I personally think that this is the only way to be these days.