Every day, 117,000 people in about 50 countries work to ensure Bertelsmann’s success, growth and continuous development. That’s why, for generations, the company has made responsibility toward its employees a priority. Bertelsmann wants to create a working environment of partnership for all employees. This aspiration is anchored in the core values of the Group’s corporate culture, the Bertelsmann Essentials.

For Bertelsmann, its employees are the key to the Group’s success. Because they develop new ideas and offers daily, the company must create a motivating environment for them to be creative, innovative and successful. This particularly includes freedom, trust and respect.

In order to be an attractive employer for a diverse workforce, retain employees long-term, and remain competitive, Bertelsmann promotes the development of its employees, and creates the prerequisites that enable Creativity & Entrepreneurship in a healthy workplace setting and under fair working conditions. Bertelsmann aspires to this all over the world, and must honor widely varying social, economic, regulatory and cultural conditions in the process.

Add to that the fact that employees of all generations increasingly want their employer to offer them meaning in their work. To attract the best talent, employers are expected to have and convey a greater “sense of purpose.” Only when employees identify with their company and its values and strategic goals, are they able to actively implement and ensure that these goals are achieved. This is especially true in times of change. Following intensive, worldwide discussions with employees, executives and its shareholders, Bertelsmann has defined its sense of purpose with the triad “To Empower. To Create. To Inspire.” in 2017. Providing employees with orientation, it conveys the purpose of their daily work.

Bertelsmann strives to offer its employees fair framework conditions for their work. In addition to the protection of human and personal rights, partnership and trustworthy cooperation with employees and their representations, workplace safety, fair distribution of benefits, flexible working arrangements, and fair treatment of freelancers and external employees are key aspects of fair working conditions at Bertelsmann.

Human Resources (HR) work at Bertelsmann is based on the company’s identity as codified in the corporate constitution and the Bertelsmann Essentials. Supplementary regulations are set out in the Bertelsmann Code of Conduct (see GRI 102-16  ), which is binding for all employees, as well as the Executive Board Guidelines on HR Work.

The Chief HR Officer (CHRO), manages human resources in the best interests of the whole Group. As head of the Corporate HR department, which supports the coordination of tasks and development of relevant HR policy, the CHRO cooperates closely with the HR directors of the divisions. Included in the main areas of responsibility are developing the Group’s strategic HR agenda in collaboration with the HR Committee; fostering and promoting intracompany partnerships; aligning management development with the Group’s strategic priorities; managing the staffing and remuneration processes for key Group positions, and ensuring the standardization and IT support of important HR processes.

To ensure the coordination of procedures throughout its decentralized structure, Bertelsmann’s HR function is organized according to a “dotted line” concept, with complementary reporting as well as supervisory relationships. This allows Group-wide HR topics to be implemented in accordance with the Executive Board’s decisions.

Another important aspect of Bertelsmann’s HR work is the exchange of information in committees:

• The HR Committee determines the basic aspects of HR work in the interest of the entire Group. Its members include the CHRO, the heads of HR of the divisions, and senior executives from the Group’s Corporate HR department.

• HR Country Coordination Meetings are designed for cross-divisional coordination within a region and ensure the implementation of HR initiatives across the Group. Its members include the heads of HR of the Group’s largest companies or those with the largest number of employees in a specified country.

• The Nomination & Compensation Committees of the divisions and Corporate Center decide on the implementation of remuneration and staffing policies in their areas of responsibility.

Responsibility for ensuring fair working conditions is decentralized, meaning it lies with the management of the local businesses. Bertelsmann provides Group-wide framework conditions that enable local businesses to fulfill this responsibility. Collective regulations (e.g., Group company agreements) and Executive Board Guidelines on certain topics, like those on remuneration and the use of external employees, are also relevant in this regard. In addition, various formats such as the Bertelsmann Group Dialog Conference, and a working group, deal with topics such as a culture of partnership and fair working conditions. As the key contact person for the various bodies representing employee interests, Bertelsmann's CHRO accompanies or presides over these formats.

In addition, there are external regulations, such as the standards of the International Labor Organization, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Bertelsmann’s voluntary commitment in accordance with the UN Global Compact (see GRI 102-12  , 102-16  ).

At Bertelsmann, remuneration issues are an essential part of the topic of fair working conditions. The policy is to establish consistent and transparent remuneration structures in the Group. The design of the compensation system is intended to ensure that remuneration is driven by market, function and performance, taking into account business-specific characteristics. Employee profit sharing in Germany is based on the same criteria as those used to calculate variable remuneration components for Executive Board members and executives. This includes Bertelsmann and subsidiaries based in Germany, with the exception of RTL Group and Gruner + Jahr. These and many foreign subsidiaries have similar success and profit-sharing models adapted to local requirements. In 2019, a total of €116 million of the 2018 profit was distributed as part of such schemes.

Participation in decision-making processes and the granting of the greatest possible freedom contribute to employee loyalty and satisfaction. To support a healthy work-life balance, this also includes offering employees flexible arrangements about where and when they work. Working-time models that focus on results rather than physical presence, as well as trust-based working hours, are now widespread.

The flexibility requirements of a rapidly changing world of work also mean that knowledge and expertise need to be sourced from outside the company to ensure satisfied customers during peak phases. The company relies on staffing agencies and employs external personnel in addition to permanent employees where the specifics of the tasks allow and require this. Bertelsmann defines external personnel as self-employed persons, service providers and consultants, or as agency staff who work for a Group company. The employment of external personnel must be in accordance with the company’s values. The Executive Board Guideline on the Engagement of External Personnel requires standard processes to ensure compliance with legal requirements. This is supplemented by the Supplier Code of Conduct, which also obliges service providers (see GRI 102-16  ).

Although, as a media company, Bertelsmann falls under Germany’s tendency protections and its Supervisory Board is therefore not subject to statutory co-determination requirements, in fiscal 2018 the company voluntarily appointed five employees as members of the Supervisory Board of Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA. Four of the five were works council members, and one is a member from the Bertelsmann Management Representative Committee. In addition, the workforce, managers, employees with disabilities, and trainees have platforms for exchanging ideas, advancing topics and constructively voicing their concerns. One proven format is the Bertelsmann Group Dialog Conference. In 2018, the seventh such conference took place. Around 60 Corporate Works Council members from Bertelsmann, Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, and Gruner + Jahr met in Gütersloh for two days of discussion and consultation with the Chairman and the Chief Human Resources Officer. The focus topic was “Change seeks partnership: learning from processes – living minimum standards”. Among other things, the conference discussed the Group-wide Employee Survey planned for 2019, the new version of the Bertelsmann Essentials, and the merger of Arvato's CRM businesses with those of the Saham Group. To improve cooperation between employee representatives and managers, a format is to be developed for jointly shaping change processes.

Employees are also involved in the development and improvement of working conditions through standardized HR tools (Performance and Development Dialogs, Target Agreements, and Team Talks), as well as the Bertelsmann Employee Survey. The Employee Survey has been a key element of Bertelsmann’s corporate culture of partnership since 1977. In 2018 the company pressed ahead on digitization and focus of employee surveys and made preparations for the next survey in June 2019.

New ways of organizing work, digital technologies, accelerated workflows, heavier workloads and increasing international pressure to compete have an impact on the health of employees. On top of these changes in working conditions, there is demographic change, which is accompanied by factors such as an aging workforce. As the retirement age rises, employees work longer and are faced with ever-increasing demands in their jobs.

An increase in chronic and mental health disorders, sickness absenteeism and the early retirement of experienced employees are among the challenges that arise from changes in the modern working world. Bertelsmann wants to counter these developments at an early stage and has therefore invested in the health of its employees for many years – because healthy, motivated employees are a prerequisite for the company’s success. Health is understood not merely as the absence of illness, but as a complex system of needs, physical, psychological and social resources, ability to cope, and personal goals.

With a view to designing a health-promoting work environment and preventing work-related risks of disease, Bertelsmann is expanding a systematic health management system at German locations. Bertelsmann Health Management has been put in charge of supervising and coordinating the Germany-wide health strategy and associated activities, in conjunction with a cross-functional strategy group. The cross-divisional “Health Community,” which is comprised of health experts, the chairs and representatives of the Corporate Works Councils, the chairs of the Group Representation for Employees with Disabilities, HR managers and representatives for employees with disabilities, plays a key role here. Through targeted networking, it also helps to reinforce uniform standards for all German locations.

The focus is on four minimum standards:

• companies are to train their executives on the subject of health,

• set up a working group on health,

• inform their employees about health topics and services,

• and give them access to company social counseling.

In 2018, quality criteria were introduced throughout Germany for each minimum standard. The quality criteria specify which aspects of the implementation of the minimum standards are binding, which are recommended and which are insufficient. To provide further support, a toolbox was developed that contains detailed guidelines for setting up working groups, and a checklist for healthy leadership. The medium-term objective is to advance the internationalization of Bertelsmann’s health management.

To support the first minimum standard mentioned above, the e-tutorial "Healthy Leadership - Strong Performance" was developed in 2018 and is available free of charge to management in German and English. The e-learning program, which uses specific case studies to teach the basics of healthy leadership in 30 minutes, is part of the Bertelsmann University leadership qualification program, and is designed to be used as a supplementary format to classroom training.

In 2018, the “Health Management Consulting” project was introduced to promote the implementation of health management in companies. The in-house consulting team develops suitable instruments and qualification measures and advises companies on the implementation of health management. It also acts as the coordination point for enquiries on occupational health issues in close cooperation with the relevant specialist departments or service providers.

Exemplary Facilities and Services

Networking plays an important role in successful health management, as shown by the example of the Gütersloh site, where various bodies have been working to promote health for many years. Since 2016, they have worked together in the Health Management strategy group. They include, besides the Occupational Safety department, Company Medical Services, the Bertelsmann BKK company health insurance (with around 7,500 members in Germany), in-house social services, and our Sports and Health department, all of which in turn cooperate under the title “BeFit.” The Occupational Safety team and Company Medical Services advise Bertelsmann’s German companies regarding the implementation of occupational health and safety tasks and standards required by the German Occupational Safety Act. The Company Social Counselling team serves about 70 percent of the companies in Germany in matters relating to the personal sphere or the workplace, as well as in health matters. Meanwhile, the Sports and Health department offers more than 10,000 employees at the Gütersloh site an extensive company sports program with more than 250 sports and fitness classes per week. The focus is on work-related and workplace-oriented measures with a particular focus on back health and relaxation. The chairs of Bertelsmann’s Corporate Works Council and Group Representation for Employees with Disabilities, and the Head of the Corporate Responsibility & Diversity Management, are also represented in the Health Management Strategy Group.

The rapidly changing business environment constantly gives rise to new challenges for all employees in their workaday routine. Helping to ensure employees’ long-term employability by offering lifelong learning programs is both a commitment and a challenge for Bertelsmann. The better we do this, the more successful the business can be, and the more attractive it is for its workforce and for the next generation of employees. Vocational education and training are a long-term investment in the future and the stability of society, for both the company and its employees.

Bertelsmann University

With four different campuses – Strategy, Leadership, Function and Individual – Bertelsmann University is the central learning organization. It offers excellent learning content and innovative learning formats that systematically advance and develop the competencies and skills of Bertelsmann’s employees and executives for future requirements, worldwide and across all divisions. Examples include strategy, leadership, creativity and innovation skills, as well as technology and data skills. Thanks to digital formats, a lot of relevant content is available to every employee, and they can choose when and where they want to learn, depending on their individual needs and organizational requirements.

Bertelsmann University is a main department based at the Corporate Center. It is led by the Chief Learning Officer, who reports to the Chief Human Resources Officer. The Executive Board, Group Management Committee and HR Committee regularly discuss and review the University’s orientation and activities. It is also supported by the Divisional Learning Committee, which includes Learning and Development representatives from the divisions.

Training in Germany: A Wide Range of Offers

In Germany alone, the Group offers young people industrial and commercial training options in more than 50 different professions. In addition to traditional apprenticeship programs, this spectrum also includes a variety of dual-study programs. With its nationwide offer, Bertelsmann is one of the country’s largest apprentice-training companies and is a protagonist in shaping the vocational training landscape. One of the specific challenges that must be addressed is the future-proofing of training programs to prevail in the intensified competition for highly qualified talent. This requires considering changes in the educational landscape, such as the growing tendency toward academic degrees, as well as structural changes like the digitalization of the Group’s businesses. The better this works, the greater the company’s contribution to a futureproof society and to qualifying its people. The integration of school-leavers without qualifications and young displaced persons also plays a role here.

The Central Education department is responsible for central training measures at the Gütersloh location. It develops offers based on the company’s changing needs and requirements, and ensures that they reflect the company’s values of Creativity & Entrepreneurship. The department also works closely with the works council and the managing directors and HR managers of the training companies. In Gütersloh alone, more than 600 young people are taking the opportunity to learn a profession or to complete a part-time Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree at Bertelsmann. Of these, approximately 200 students are undergoing industrial and commercial training at the Group’s own vocational school.

In 2018 the most important measures in the field of learning were:

• intensively promoting success-critical skills and competencies through innovative learning formats and renowned cooperation partners in the areas of "Strategy and Leadership," "Creativity and Innovation," and "Technology”;

• expanding the training offering to implement the Group’s strategic priorities;

• extensive, international development of digital skills through the “Udacity Data Science Scholarship Program”;

• promoting the transformation of the learning culture through the development of new interactive learning formats and learning content, and

• adapting the content of the training and study programs offered in Germany to meet the changing demands of the world of work.

Total training

in hours

Basis: all training data entered on the digital HR platform “peoplenet”

Share of digital learning hours

in percent

Basis: all training data entered on the digital HR platform “peoplenet”

Bertelsmann does not currently report these figures broken down by gender and other employee categories, since this information is not available centrally. Bertelsmann is continuing to develop its data collection in this respect, and plans to report on this in the medium term.

For Bertelsmann, diversity of its workforce is a prerequisite for long-term business success. This is also expressed in the Diversity Statement adopted by the Executive Board in 2018. The Bertelsmann Code of Conduct codifies the promotion of diversity by mandating respectful and appreciative treatment of all employees. The same is true for the Bertelsmann Supplier Code of Conduct (see GRI 102-16  ). The Executive Board Guideline on Principles of Hiring Policy also serves as a guideline for addressing diversity. Beyond this, Bertelsmann’s overall diversity strategy takes its cue from legal regulations regarding inclusion and equal opportunity, even when the company does not fall within their scope.

The Executive Board bears the strategic responsibility for diversity within the Group. The diversity strategy is implemented by the Corporate Responsibility & Diversity Management department with support from a Group-wide working group. The focus is on “Gender,” “Generations” and “Internationality.” To further increase diversity at the management levels, Bertelsmann has sought since 2017 to increase the percentage of women in the talent pools to one-third (Top Management Pool, Senior Management Pool, Career Development Pool). Additional topics are inclusion and sexual orientation and identity. As part of this initiative, work began in 2018 to create a Bertelsmann Inclusion Action Plan and to roll out diversity training courses.

As role models, managers and HR managers have a particular responsibility to demonstratively model and practice diversity. In line with the Group’s policy of decentralization, specific measures are implemented in a division or company as most suitable to the business model.

Gender-neutral compensation

The equal treatment of men and women set out in the Code of Conduct explicitly applies to compensation. Bertelsmann’s remuneration policy is to establish consistent remuneration structures in the Group. The design of the compensation system is intended to ensure that remuneration is exclusively driven by the market, function and performance – and is therefore gender-neutral. Where explicit employment descriptions or compensation exist, these are likewise completely gender-neutral. Men and women in comparable markets, in comparable positions and delivering the same performance have equal earning opportunities.

The Code of Conduct and the Supplier Code of Conduct reaffirm the right to freedom of association and the right to engage in collective bargaining, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, for employees of Bertelsmann companies as well as those of business partners. At Bertelsmann violations of this principle may be reported via the aforementioned whistleblowing channels, both by employees and by third parties (see GRI 102-17  ).

As a media, services and education company, Bertelsmann’s activities are interwoven with societal development around the world. Society and our employees expect the company to play an active role beyond its own businesses. Bertelsmann’s corporate social responsibility efforts, on the Group (see GRI 201-1  ), divisional and company level, encompass a wide range of measures and sponsorship programs that involve and develop local communities. These efforts pay dividends for the company’s success by supporting its “license to operate”; that is, enhancing the community’s acceptance of Bertelsmann.

Donations, sponsorship, funding for charitable projects and memberships are an expression of responsible behavior and support Bertelsmann’s role as a good corporate citizen worldwide. Carefully planned and professionally implemented support measures boost the company’s reputation and anchor Bertelsmann as a responsible partner in the communities where it operates.

The Executive Board’s Guideline on Donations, Sponsorships and Memberships ensures that support measures in the form of donations, sponsorship and membership comply with legal and fiscal requirements and are consistent with the company’s strategy.

In line with the principle of decentralization, the divisions independently select sponsorship projects and donations, steered by the Executive Board Guideline and in coordination with Corporate Communications. The Chair and CEO decides on one-off donations and sponsorships exceeding €100,000, as well as regular commitments exceeding €50,000. All commitments must be reported annually to the Group tax department to fulfill related due diligence and compliance obligations with the Executive Board. Group companies are also required to define and document their donation activities and sponsorship concepts and keep these documents for a period of five years. The general prerequisites of the Executive Board Guideline on Anti-corruption & Integrity are thus complied with. Any cases of doubt are coordinated and clarified with the Integrity & Compliance department.

Based on the Executive Board Guideline on Donations, Sponsorships and Memberships, Bertelsmann’s priorities for its corporate citizenship activities are as follows:

• Education, especially for socially disadvantaged groups and media-related issues (e.g., reading promotion, media literacy);

• Culture, particularly promoting cultural heritage and newcomers in fields closely associated with Bertelsmann (e.g., literature, TV, movies);

• Academic Research, especially on topics closely associated with Bertelsmann, such as economic and social sciences, as well as media and communications science;

• Freedom in creativity and media, especially freedom of expression and press freedom, protection of intellectual property, content responsibility, and editorial independence;

• Networking activities with relevant stakeholders.

Bertelsmann’s public affairs managers offer political decision-makers access to expert dialog partners within the Group, communicate the latest positions and facts, and provide helpful information. Positions are developed by in-house working groups and through association and other organizational memberships, taking into account external expertise.

In addition to functioning as a discussion forum and committee of experts, Bertelsmann’s liaison offices in Brussels and Berlin, and the divisional public affairs officers, introduce policymakers to the Group’s various business models in the media, services and education sectors. Their activities include presenting Bertelsmann’s digital businesses and the international media group’s cultural activities in its core markets. Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA is registered in the Transparency Register of the European Union and is a signatory to its Code of Conduct.

Product safety is a focus topic that plays a special role in the production of children’s books at Penguin Random House. The company adheres to the strictest safety standards in connection with the manufacturing and production of its books, toys and related products to ensure that all Penguin Random House products are risk-assessed and safety tested for such things as choking hazards and toxicity.

Bertelsmann operates in a highly regulated environment as pertains to handling customer data. In all the core countries where Bertelsmann does business the protection of customer data is already required by law, and compliance is a matter of course for the company. European legislators in particular are enforcing further data protection regulations against the background of Economy 4.0. For instance, Europe’s “General Data Protection Regulation” (GDPR), in force since May 25, 2018, stipulates heavy fines for serious infringements. Since 2017, a Group-wide data protection management system addresses in particular implementation of the documentation and accountability obligations under GDPR, as well as regulations concerning governance obligations.

Responsibility for customer data protection is decentralized and rests with the management of the individual subsidiaries. To ensure compliance with local laws governing customer data protection, the subsidiaries in Germany have a data protection organization consisting of central data protection officers and local data protection coordinators. The latter report to the local management, as well as annually or on an event-driven basis to the central data protection officers, who in turn report to the Executive Board. A similar organization exists in subsidiaries outside Germany. An information security management system (ISMS) based on industry-standard ISO 27001 creates the technical framework for confidential data processing. The ISMS features a regular and structured survey to ensure compliance with statutory information security requirements, a systematic recording of risks and the derivation of related mitigation measures.

The Bertelsmann Essentials define Creativity and Entrepreneurship as important guiding principles in the manufacturing and distribution of media products and services. In addition, the Bertelsmann Code of Conduct (see GRI 102-16) specifies key principles for the responsible production and distribution of media and services that are consistent and binding for all Bertelsmann companies. Compliance with legal requirements and the highest quality standards is a matter of course for Bertelsmann and is fundamental to the company’s success.

Responsibility for the design of the media and services businesses is decentralized and rests with the divisions and companies. Cross-divisional networks, programs and events promote synergies and the exchange of best practices on specific topics related to the company’s product, content and service responsibility.

In accordance with the Editor-in-Chief Principle practiced at Bertelsmann, responsibility for the production and dissemination of media content lies solely with the content managers in the companies’ editorial teams and creative departments, who are free from influence from the Group’s owners or local management in the company’s decentralized structure. Overriding principles and guidelines of media ethics are set by national and international laws governing the press, broadcasting and multimedia; by voluntary commitments to external guidelines such as the ethics codes of national press councils; and within the company by the Bertelsmann Code of Conduct. It commits Bertelsmann’s editorial staff to “respecting privacy and the responsible treatment of information, opinion and images.” In some cases, other statutes regulate the handling of content responsibility at the divisional, company and editorial-department level. The representation of social diversity, as well as regulations to avoid discriminating or stereotyping content, also play an important role.

A special responsibility in the creation and dissemination of content applies to the youngest media users, because today’s children and young adults have long since lived in a world shaped by media. The purpose of media policies and laws is to protect minors through the review of media content to determine any possible detrimental effects on the development of children and young adults. If such an effect is suspected, various distribution restrictions apply. The policies and laws are intended to ensure that such media content is only accessible to age groups with the necessary maturity to put the possibly disturbing or unsettling content into context and process it appropriately. Bertelsmann gives high priority to the protection of children and young adults in the production and dissemination of its media content and complies with the relevant requirements. These include broadcast time restrictions as well as content and product labeling. Particularly in broadcasting divisions and companies, efforts are often made to go beyond the existing European and national regulations, (e.g., the Audiovisual Media Services Directive).

Bertelsmann and its divisions are involved in many ways in initiatives to promote reading and digital literacy – in particular, reading days, reading initiatives, and book donations.

Overview of initiatives promoting media literacy.