How Busch replaced 16 spreadsheets across 20 departments with one single skills platform
40% time savings, and a GM who sees every gap in the business
A request that half the business ignored
Busch manufactures vacuum solutions used across a wide range of industrial applications. Its field service engineers need to know every product in a diverse portfolio well enough to service it on-site or make the call to bring it in for overhaul.
Keeping track of who knows what across the company’s 20-plus departments fell to Gary Morrison, Head of HR, IT & Facilities at Busch Vacuum Solutions, twice a year, via email.
“I used to put a call out to managers saying, ‘Let me have your skills matrices so I can cross-check and look for skills gaps.’ I’d be lucky if I got four or five back. So many skill gaps were invisible to me,” he said.
Visibility that reaches the top floor
AG5 created both an operational and political shift at Busch. Because skills gaps that were previously invisible to everyone above the training function are now visible across levels of the organizations, changing the dynamics of skills management company-wide.
“AG5 has got buy-in at the manager level, and it’s got buy-in at the general manager level,” Morrison said. “Because of the fact that the GM can see the gaps too, he’s supporting me in driving that change.”
For ISO accreditation audits in particular, the impact was immediate. Site operations managers can now walk into an audit, open AG5, and show certificates, competencies, and gap-closure plans on the spot, with no preparation required and no scramble beforehand.
Everyone has said this is so much better than what we had before. I’ve not come across any negativity, not even one person.
Gary Morrison
Head of HR, IT & Facilities, Busch Vacuum Solutions
Accountability that didn’t exist before
AG5’s Minimum Competency Requirement feature has become a core part of how Morrison operates. When someone falls below the threshold, it’s visible immediately, and actionable just as fast.
“I just go to that manager and get it sorted,” Morrison said. “Whereas in an Excel document, there’s no visibility, so there’s no drive to close that gap.”
Every manager with a live skills matrix has been personally walked through the system. They understand expiry notifications, for example, and are now responsible for keeping certifications up to date.
“Everyone now has access, and they can input data. So we’re making them accountable for their own teams’ learning and development and the evidence in that,” Morrison said.
It’s more efficient because of the ease of access and ease of use. One click, two clicks, it’s done. That’s why it has gone down very, very well.
Gary Morrison
Head of HR, IT & Facilities, Busch Vacuum Solutions
A culture that closed its own gaps
So far, Busch has realized a 40% time saving across skills management-related admin work, as well as retired 16 spreadsheets. The company is also enjoying an additional benefit in the evolution of its workforce’s behavior. Employees now go to AG5 unprompted when they complete training. Managers engage with their matrices rather than ignoring a twice-yearly email request. The beauty is that the system created the behaviors, rather than the behavior creating the system.
“Everyone saying it’s so much better than we had before,” Morrison said.
