News | Arvato Group | Baden-Baden, 05/24/2017

Arvato Financial Solutions - more employees, more attractive

In the course of its international growth, Arvato Financial Solutions has nearly quintupled its number of employees in recent years. Financial services are one of Bertelsmann’s declared growth platforms. The AFS group of companies now employs about 10,500 people at 47 locations in 22 countries around the world. The company network extends from California and Brazil through various European markets, to China and the Philippines. Besides organic growth, acquisitions such as the takeover of the Gothia Group in 2013 or, most recently, the increased holding in the Brazilian financial services provider Intervalor, contributed to the expansion of the businesses and employee count.

In Germany, the number of people employed at Arvato Financial Solutions grew by more than 20 percent over the past two and a half years, to around 2,800 employees. They are spread to 13 sites in twelve cities. At the headquarters in Baden-Baden, the company’s workforce increased by more than eight percent to currently 1,032 employees.

The Arvato subsidiary reports that not only has the number of employees increased, but also the length of time they stay with the company. In 2015, despite new sites being opened, employees in Germany had been with the company for an average of 6.9 years, and in Baden-Baden for 8.3 years. These above-average values ​​and Arvato Financial Solutions being named a “Top & Open Company” on the Kununu ratings platform underline the Arvato subsidiary’s attractiveness as an employer. The company wants to further improve this status by offering numerous special benefits tailored to the needs of its employees.

Kai Burr, Head of HR at AFS, emphasizes: “Arvato Financial Solutions is one of the Bertelsmann Group’s growth and innovation platforms. Last year, in line with our strategy we strengthened our core, i.e. the substance of our company, advanced new innovative and digital topics, and further internationalized the company. In doing this, we create sustainable jobs. We recently made a long-term commitment to the Baden-Baden location by purchasing the company building.”

In order to present itself as a modern employer, Arvato Financial Solutions also takes demographic and social change into account. The part-time employment ratio for AFS in Germany was 25 percent in 2015, and 34 percent in Baden-Baden. More flexible working conditions are possible across all hierarchy levels. In 2015, six percent of German management positions were part-time. The share of women among the staff in Germany was 68 percent, and 87 percent in Baden-Baden. 44 percent of Arvato Financial Solutions’ managers are women, while in Baden-Baden the figure is fully 76 percent.