Employees
FOUNDATION STONES OF CORPORATE SUCCESS
A company’s employees are the main foundation of its success. In view of this fact, personnel development is of the highest priority to the management of the BAUER Group. Consequently, a range of fundamental principles have been established to serve as a guide to personnel policy and to provide employees with assured prospects and fair treatment.
The companies of the BAUER Group worldwide employed 9,094 people (previous year: 8,872) on average over the year in 2010.
All employees of the BAUER Group are valued equally, regardless of nationality. As far as possible, we recruit our staff from the country in which we are working. In each country we pursue a unified personnel and remuneration policy tailored to the specific country. Responsibility for coordinating this policy lies with the human resources managers of the local subsidiaries in the countries concerned.
The benefits we offer are generally above the legal minimums. In Germany they include at least the standard collectively agreed rate of pay, performance-related bonuses, a company pension scheme as well as additional benefits such as discounted purchase opportunities and a wide range of insurance policies. Where appropriate according to the specific Group company's operations, employees required to spend lengthy periods of time abroad are provided with precisely defined foreign working allowances as well as reimbursement for flights, accommodation and other living expenses.
EMPLOYEE LOYALTY
Encouraging long-term employee loyalty is a major objective of Bauer policy. We believe our companies are very well positioned with regard to their ability to attract top management staff. Our extensive programme of education and training, together with a policy of needs-oriented development and support, has engendered a strong and lasting spirit of loyalty to the company among our workforce.
Employee surveys conducted by various Group companies regularly testify to the fact that the level of identification with the company and the value employees see in their own work is very high. The surveys show that people are proud to work for Bauer. This is reflected in a very low fluctuation rate, especially at the Group companies in Germany.
It is no rarity within the BAUER Group – which is, after all a family business itself – for many members of one family to be employed, and indeed across several generations. Bauer offers all its employees the opportunity to experience working at one of its many subsidiary companies around the world without having to move permanently away from their home. We encourage and promote the interchange of experience and know-how by means of initiatives such as the "Be-Mobil" programme, which enables employees to work on secondment abroad for a period of time.
We assist newly recruited employees in a wide range of ways even before they take up their posts, such as by helping them to find accommodation. On their first day at work, new staff attend introductory seminars to provide them with an insight into the company they have joined. New employees are also issued with a breakdown sheet enabling them to get to know colleagues in key posts across various departments. Especially for staff coming from abroad, we provide a multilingual orientation guide to help them get used to their new working and living environment.
The head office staff in Schrobenhausen have for years run a communal solidarity fund used to finance donations for special needs. It is allocated to subsidize projects or to pay for gifts and other considerations in the event of family weddings, births, long-service anniversaries, or in case of bereavement. In this way, employees share – discreetly – in the personal lives of their colleagues. It is a scheme which is also greatly appreciated by the recipients. The involvement of the Bauer family in this aspect of communal life is a mark of the special ethos of the company. Gifts presented by the company to mark special celebrations are packed and distributed personally by Margit Bauer, wife of Chairman of the Management Board Professor Thomas Bauer. It is a tradition which was established by Marlies Bauer, wife of former company head Dr. Karlheinz Bauer, and which is still today lovingly maintained.
FLEXIBLE WORKING TIMES
The BAUER Group was one of the first companies in the construction industry to introduce annual working time balances on building sites. Monthly working time accounts introduced in the late 1980s enabled staff finally to attain a consistent level of income and so plan their spending accordingly. They also provided the degree of flexibility which on-site working often demands
The benefits of flexible working time arrangements for both the employees and the employer were demonstrated especially during the crises which hit the construction industry in the subsequent years, particularly in Germany: Following a construction boom in the early 1990s, the BAUER Group was able to withstand even difficult periods without imposing compulsory redundancies.
This was also seen during and after the financial crisis of 2009, when employees in the Group's Equipment segment especially were able to benefit from flexitime arrangements: The intensive deployment of overtime balance and flexible holiday schemes in the preceding boom years meant that it was possible to maintain staffing at a reasonable level. As a result, no redundancies were necessary during the crisis.
RETIRED EMPLOYEES
Former employees do of course retain an interest in the affairs of the company after having taken their well-deserved retirement. Many Group companies in Germany regularly host events for retirees, offering an opportunity to get together with former colleagues, catch up on news and chat about old times.
The programme of events also includes guided factory tours. At the Schrobenhausen company base, retired company head Dr. Karlheinz Bauer and his wife Marlies often also like to attend such events.
"57plus" SCHEME
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
Retirees also of course receive their copies of "Bauer Review". The annual in-house magazine is intended for employees, friends and customers of the company. It provides a wide-ranging look back over the past year, with lots of pictures and interesting and entertaining features. Other Group companies also issue regular publications, including Schachtbau Nordhausen with "Schachtbau Report".
An important source of information for company employees is the staff newspaper "BAUERnews". It has been running since 2008, featuring regular reports on interesting projects and major events such as the Bauma construction machinery trade fair or the company's own in-house exhibition, as well as providing an entertaining mix of news and useful information. The underlying concept behind it is to spread a culture of lively, open dialogue throughout the BAUER Group. "BAUERnews" is issued to all employees each month in printed or electronic form.
STAFF NEWSPAPER
CO-DETERMINATION
Another major concern within the Group is of course employee co-determination. The parent company in Schrobenhausen and the Schachtbau Nordhausen company have operated employee representation bodies known as Works Councils since the mid-1950s. They engage in open, constructive dialogue with management based on a shared will to benefit the employees and the companies concerned. The corporate culture of concern for the well-being of the company's employees is also a key aspect in this context too.
At many Group locations outside Germany, employees' interests are represented by trade unions. The company suggestion scheme, established as far back as 1972, offers further opportunities for employees to contribute ideas and help shape their own working environment. Over the years, in both the construction and machinery sectors a large number of good ideas have been translated into products – and some even patented. In 2010 a total of 688 suggestions were submitted at the extended core companies, of which 425 were taken up and rewarded.
DISABLED EMPLOYEES
The BAUER Group of course employees people with disabilities, based on the indisputable fact that they can make just as valuable a contribution to the business as anyone else. The company believes that a person's disability is not relevant to his or her performance capability.
The number of disabled people employed by the Group has been rising steadily for some years. However, due to the nature of our operations in the Construction and Equipment segments, we are in most cases not able to attain the 5 percent quota per company stipulated by German law. To compensate for this shortfall, we outsource some work to disabled workshops. Our Group companies also support the workshops by donations and employee campaigns.