Corporate Culture and Employees
GRI
2-24
3-3
405-1
405-2
406-1
UNGC
Principle 3,
Principle 6
Disclosure
As the largest residential real estate company in Europe, Vonovia employs more than 15,000 people in Germany, Austria and Sweden. In our decentrally organized Group, our colleagues in the regions and neighborhoods, in customer services and administration are there for a diverse range of tenants every day. A local presence is an integral part of our business strategy. Specifically, this means that the main tasks in our value chain – from caretaker work to green space maintenance and modernization work – are all largely performed by the company’s own employees. This allows us to offer our tenants a reliable level of service quality and better monitor and manage the growing risk of labor shortages – especially in the technical and craftsmen professions that are so relevant to our business.
- Around 2,100 new hires
- The training rate at Vonovia in Germany is above average at 5.2%
- Program to recruit qualified employees from non-EU countries successfully established
- Training and education programs in the focus of HR management
- Again, no incidents of discrimination in 2022
- Expansion of social and additional benefits for employees
- Vonovia and Deutsche Wohnen workforces continue to grow together
Demographic changes in particular are having a noticeable impact on the labor market: According to the micro census, around 30% of the population working in 2021 will exceed the retirement age by 2036. We will therefore only be able to prevent quality restrictions, if we manage to position ourselves as an appealing employer. We can achieve this by systematically approaching motivated potential candidates and arousing their interest in a position with Vonovia through targeted measures. As a training company, we also have a responsibility to prepare young, talented individuals for their future careers to the best of our abilities and convince them to stay with the company.
We are aware that it is our own employees who guarantee the success of our company by performing our customer-oriented and excellent services in their personal everyday work. The current trend on the labor market and in companies shows that the realities and needs of employees’ lives are becoming ever more important. Therefore, we at Vonovia must offer clear answers on how we can provide our work force with a sense of stability in times of crises, deal with the changing circumstances and promote the long-term development of our employees in the company. A more dynamic working world, the increasing importance of a healthy work-life balance, and the desire for work that is personally fulfilling and matches the qualifications are all important criteria that are having more of an influence than ever before on future job applicants’ career choices.
Therefore, it is even more important that we address a pool of qualified applicants as broad as possible and also retain experienced staff for our company. Topics such as flexible working conditions, personal and professional development opportunities, and individual employer benefits play an ever-greater role in this.
Another pillar that determines how we are perceived in public is our approach to managing diversity. We believe that if we want to encourage social cohesion in our neighborhoods, we must also practice what we preach. The skills and professional expertise of employees from more than 80 countries are combined in Vonovia’s workforce – and since the merger, this has been enriched further by the colleagues of Deutsche Wohnen. Our workforce represents a variety of different interests as well as cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds and lifestyles which we see as a great opportunity and one of our strengths. Recognizing this opportunity and promoting this diversity as a strength is an important task that we have set ourselves. If we cannot convincingly fulfill this aim, we will risk our reputation as a future-oriented company.
We have identified our Appeal as an Employer and Diversity and Equal Opportunities as material topics. We have also identified some other topics that are important to us: Training and Personal Development, Remuneration and Flexible Working Models and Promoting Health and Safety given that these areas also play a role in our appeal as an employer.