Cadolzburg, 9 July 2009 – HOB GmbH & Co. KG is one of the selected enterprises that, within the scope of the symposium on the model project "Metropolitan Region Nuremberg – On the Way to the Most Family Friendly Economic Area," gave a report on its corporate strategy on the subject "Family and Work Life-oriented Personnel Policy.“ This project is supported by the Bertelsmann Foundation and the German Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth. The event took place on 7 July 2009 in the Grand Hotel in Nuremberg.
The European Metropolitan Region Nuremberg is addressing the increasingly hard competition to win enterprises and qualified, highly-skilled personnel. The declared goal: to become the most family-friendly economic area in Germany.
The Bertelsmann Foundation and the German Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth are supporting the region in these efforts. Together with representatives of the Metropolitan Region Nuremberg, enterprises, associations and initiatives, they officially opened the model project "Metropolitan Region Nuremberg – On the Way to the Most Family Friendly Economic Area."
At the symposium, the model project's action program was introduced: With presentations over the future and importance of a family-friendly economy and regional infrastructure, as well as examples of intelligent, family-oriented personnel policy for small- and mid-sized businesses, the symposium was able to convince and motivate the attendees to participate in the model project to and engage themselves in the effort to reconcile work with family life.
Satisfied employees perform more and better, are less often sick and easier to retain, significantly reducing the loss of professional know-how for their employer. "These findings were fundamental in our decision to offer all employees, including management-level ones, flexible working hours as well as part-time positions,“ explained Klaus Brandstätter, CEO of HOB GmbH & Co. KG.
Klaus Brandstätter emphasizes two aspects in the implementation of his family-friendly corporate philosophy: Trust and modern technology, which he himself has developed in his company. Modern, Internet-based secure remote access enables employees to access their company desktop PCs, as well as other company computers for which they have authorization, from anywhere in the world, whether they are at home or traveling. "In this way, my employees can work as if they were sitting in the office and have the chance to optimally combine family and work, " declared Mr. Brandstätter.
Petra Koerwer, HOB's department head of Marketing and Public Relations, informed a roundtable group during the event of her challenge to both care for her family with two children and perform her duties as a manager – and this in a part time position. "For my job I need a telephone and a computer with Internet access. Then I am securely connected from my home office to the company whenever I need to be.“ Ms. Petra Koerwer said.
The family-friendly model that enables even management positions to be filled on a part-time basis requires, however, a special organization for management and employees. For both parties, flexibility, trust and fairness are of the utmost importance: Depending on the task and departmental structure, specifics hours for regular attendance in the corporate offices, e.g., for conferences, are set. Additionally, the employee must be reachable over the phone when he or she is not in the office. In individual cases, the employee must also perform certain tasks in the office or at a customer's location in addition to the stipulated attendance hours.
The main motivation for this modern corporate and management philosophy at HOB was the desire to create an optimal work-life balance. This supports work satisfaction and improves creativity, as the employee can spontaneously implement creative ideas using data and applications in the corporate network via secure remote connections over the Internet at any time.
After several years of practical experience, the results are very positive: The employees are more satisfied, worker fluctuation has sunken and the accumulated know-how remains in the company.
The kick-off event for the model project took place on 7 July in the Le Méridien Grand Hotel in Nuremberg. Ms. Petra Koerwer, together with Mr. Bernhard Pfister from the company Bosch, reported on "family-oriented management."
HOB GmbH & Co. KG
Marketing/Public Relations
Petra Koerwer
Schwadermuehlstraße 3
90556 Cadolzburg
Tel. 09103/715-284
Fax 09103/715-271
E-Mail: marketing@hob.de
webmaster@hobsoft.com, Last Updated: 25-Jan-10
