Helping shape tomorrow’s company

Freedom and responsibility strengthen employee motivation and identification with the company, ensuring that we can work together to guarantee the long-term success of the company.

Why are creative employees so important for us? They are the driving force behind the innovative powers of the company. Our task is to fully develop this potential. That is why we give our employees the greatest possible freedom along with a high degree of responsibility. This is an essential prerequisite for developing and utilizing our employees’ innovative potential for the company in the best possible way.

Cooperation based on trust

We want all of our employees to be committed to the continuous development of our company, to respond flexibly to the needs of our customers, and to provide innovative input for the development of new products and services. We therefore involve our employees in designing their jobs and workplace, their local company and the company as whole. The main instruments for involving staff include the staff survey, the one-on-one performance reviews between supervisors and employees, the in-house suggestions scheme and the elected employee representatives.

Participation at various levels

Employee participation at Bertelsmann extends not only to the immediate work environment, but also to developments at company or Group level. Employees from different departments work together at company level in focus groups or task forces. They explore ways of establishing healthier working conditions in Health Circles. And they look for ways to improve the quality and efficiency of processes or products in Quality Circles. A complaints system also allows employees to draw attention to reasons why they may be dissatisfied at work. All these examples show that employee participation is alive and well in Bertelsmann’s everyday business.