Global leadership and talent development at Bilfinger
Bilfinger is a leading international industrial services provider with a vision to be the No1 for its customers in enhancing efficiency and sustainability in the process industry. Delivering this vision demands strategic agility, strong leadership and cultural transformation across all levels of leadership.
To support this, Bilfinger has partnered with Impact for over a decade to deliver two complementary development pathways: a Leadership Programme for current leaders and a Talent Programme for high-potential company talent. Read on to find out how these programmes bring together diverse participants from across regions and disciplines, to create powerful, challenging, and deeply personal learning experiences.
Bilfinger are committed to the lifelong learning and development of employees who will share the organisation’s future. Aligned to this, Bilfinger aimed to offer a unified set of learning programmes for individuals at every level, designed to maintain engagement and help individuals advance their personal development.
Bilfinger has partnered with Impact for over 10 years. Together we have created a Leadership Programme for leaders with responsibility for managing projects, teams, departments and sites; and a Talent Programme for high performing employees to give them the opportunity to develop and demonstrate their potential.
The aim across these global programmes was to:
- Build confidence, self‑awareness and leadership capability.
- Strengthen cross‑regional relationships and global collaboration.
- Encourage strategic thinking and innovation aligned to business direction.
- Invest in a sustainable, future-ready workforce.
Together Impact and Bilfinger designed two distinct yet complementary learning programmes – each tailored to a different moment in the employee journey, yet connected by a shared philosophy of experiential, human-centred learning.
The Talent Programme
A 10‑month journey for high-performing employees with future potential. This blended programme focuses on personal effectiveness, interpersonal capability and business‑relevant thinking.
Key elements of the programme include:
Personal effectiveness: Participants explore their values, drivers, habits and preferred ways of working, strengthening confidence and self‑management. A unique high ropes challenge in a repurposed ironworks warehouse builds on this by shifting the focus from individual effort to collective support, practising teamwork under pressure.
Business case projects: Each cohort tackles open, ambiguous business cases, growing their ability to think and act strategically and influence stakeholders. This culminates with a live, business presentation on stage to a panel of senior management from across the global organisation.
The Leadership Programme
A three‑module experience designed for leaders who are already leading teams, projects or functions, or stepping into more complex roles. The journey is structured across: Lead Yourself, Lead the Business and Communicating and Inspiring. Each module is custom designed to include a blend of immersive challenges, coaching, reflection and cross‑regional collaboration. The journey helps leaders build confidence and strategic mindsets, by creating a safe environment to explore their purpose, influence and real‑world impact.
Key elements of the programme include:
Strategic and relational capability: Leaders practice coaching, dialogue skills, stakeholder influence, and thinking strategically in a VUCA environment.
Leadership as action: Participants apply Impact’s practical approach to leadership; recognising what a situation needs, deciding what to do, and acting with courage and intention. Module three serves as a high‑impact capstone experience, including an immersive multi-day business simulation and ‘challenge by choice’ experiences ranging from cold water immersion to ‘leadersheep’ in the English countryside – all allowing deep reflection where participants can apply, perform and commit to their leadership.
A unified learning ecosystem
Although distinct, the two programmes form a coherent development route:
- Both programmes are grounded in experiential learning, human connection, and practical application.
- The shared experience develops strong networks, promotes connection, and enhances cross‑regional understanding across the business.
- Coaching and manager support between modules enables participants to embed learning and confidently apply it in their roles at Bilfinger.
Across both programmes, Bilfinger has experienced meaningful and sustained benefits.
Increased leadership confidence and capability
Participants report feeling better equipped to lead teams, challenge performance gaps, collaborate across regions, and make strategic decisions. Leaders speak openly about changes in their habits, behaviours, and impact back at work, often describing the experience as “life‑changing.”
Cultural evolution and greater agility
As Bilfinger moves toward more innovative, agile and sustainable operating models, both programmes support leaders in communicating more openly and adopting more human‑centred approaches. Cohorts blend geographies, expertise, generations and job roles – building networks that continue long after the programmes finish.
A proven development pathway
Bilfinger invest over 0.5% of their annual revenue in learning and development. 12+ cohorts of the Leadership Programme and 9+ cohorts of the Talent Programme are just part of this investment, ensuring Bilfinger has a long-standing, embedded development route that consistently identifies, grows and elevates people at the right time. Many talent participants have gone on to experience the Leadership Programme as their career progresses.
“One of the reasons these programmes work so well is because they are really giving people a chance to prepare for their future roles. Participants are taken out of their comfort zone, out of their usual frame of reference, and have the chance to collaborate and network. The Impact facilitators understand the Bilfinger context, and the questions they ask and how they position learning alongside our culture is what is really necessary for the programmes to work.
It’s no longer theory. You felt it, you lived it.”
Ksenija Prekovic, Senior Manager Group Talent, Learning & Development at Bilfinger