Despite challenging conditions, both in terms of legislation and competition, the group continues to work consistently on its attractiveness as an employer. Our goal as an employer is to retain skilled workers and attract new ones in order to best prepare the team for future challenges in the medium term.
We offer apprenticeships in various fields. At our Cologne site, we train IT specialists for application development and office communication clerks, among others. Apprenticeships for industrial clerks are available at our production sites. In addition, further programmes are in the planning stage, for example for machine and plant operators, industrial mechanics and electricians.
In order to optimally prepare the existing team for new requirements, targeted training and further education programmes are necessary in addition to the continuous improvement of working conditions.
Concepts for this are being developed in a specially established internal working group called ‘Knowledge Transfer’. Here some examples:
- An important component is the induction of new employees. This is carried out on the basis of induction plans with clearly defined training courses on the IMS, occupational safety, data protection and the organisational structure. The internal buddy programme (see GRI 401 Employment) also serves to transfer knowledge to new employees.
- In 2023, a comprehensive training concept was launched across all locations. This includes, among other things, intensive management training, which was conducted for the first time in 2024 and divided into six thematic blocks. The focus was on conflict and time management, feedback culture and communication.
- HR processes are trained separately, e.g. the onboarding process or the conduct of annual reviews.
A successful and pleasant working environment also requires a good feedback culture. Individual areas for improvement and development opportunities are discussed and debated in annual reviews between managers and employees.
For the Cologne site, this chart clearly shows how the willingness of employees to have their annual reviews documented has increased over the last three years.
The relevance of annual employee reviews for both sides – employees and managers – has been enhanced through proactive communication and new measures. In addition to the annual reviews, additional follow-up meetings are held every six months to revisit the critical issues raised in the annual review and record the status of changes. These measures have led to a significant increase in the acceptance of annual reviews.
Professional aspects can be influenced and improved through training, further education, annual reviews and other measures. We also offer flexible working models that can be adapted to the individual circumstances of our employees. We offer individually tailored offers and transition assistance programmes such as light-duty jobs, part-time offers, coaching offers for career development or reintegration models. We are very proud of and appreciate the fact that many of our employees have been working with Der Grüne Punkt for more than 30 years.
