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2023 Sustainability Report
published 2024/08/01

Time spent at work is also time spent living

We are committed to making (y)our world a better place. One important component of pursuing our vision authentically is the integration of well-designed employee workspaces. All of us spend a large part of our day at work. Time spent at work is time spent living!  In addition to our goal of supporting the quality of life of our customers through sustainable products and processes, it is very important to us to support the quality of life of our employees through sustainably good working conditions. As a value-driven company, we are committed to a partnership-based approach on equal footing that takes their needs into account.

We enjoy working at VAUDE! A few examples?

  • A total of over 160 unsolicited applications in 2023 speaks for our attractive employer brand.
  • The average length of service for permanent employees is 8.3 years.
  • We have a healthy fluctuation rate of 5.08% respectively (formula of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations – BDA; without marginal employees).
  • Transparency and participation are among the most important aspects of our corporate culture.
  • Our interdisciplinary "culture board" provides platforms for all employees to meet in person, strengthen our community and convey appreciation.
  • We promote not only the professional development of our employees, but also their personal development.
  • Our employees’ passion for sports and their physical needs can be optimally integrated into their work day with programs such as our company health and sports program "Auszeit". 
  • Our work spaces are designed to be modern, healthy and to encourage communication.
  • Our employees are motivated by their identification with our corporate values and our sustainability mission. This is demonstrated, among other things, by the active, passionate participation in joint events such as the "Friday for Future" climate strikes.

Elected employee representatives

The newly elected committee at the end of 2023 includes eleven representatives from different company departments (commercial and industrial), who will remain in office for four years. Our employee representatives maintain close contact with company management, are involved in decision-making processes, actively represent the concerns of employees, and act as mediators in conflict situations.

Transparent communication is a prerequisite for participation and codetermination

VAUDE employees can become actively involved and participate in the company in a number of ways. We believe that well-informed employees who participate in internal company communications will become more motivated and competent.

In the spirit of our culture of trust, we communicate as many processes and decisions as possible transparently and at an early stage throughout the company, partly through company-wide events such as our virtual quarterly exchange, but primarily through our internal communication platform "Camp." This platform offers many ways for our employees to participate actively on issues and to contribute their own content.

Idea Management Program: “Steps”

With our new idea management program Steps, employees can quickly and easily contribute their own ideas and suggestions by publishing them on our intranet platform where every idea is welcome to be shared and developed.

The transparent process of review, development, implementation or rejection is supported by  "idea scouts and managers" from various company divisions and provides each employee the opportunity to join the discussion and participate in the realization of their ideas. Those who participate can collect "innovation points" that can then be exchanged for small or larger prizes.


Stability and transformation in balance: our fluctuation rates

We are grateful that, especially in years of multiple challenges such as the Corona pandemic and increased inflation, we were able to provide stable employment for our employees. In 2023, we hired a total of 57 new employees and three new trainees, 37 of whom were female and 23 male. This excludes short-term temporary employees and interns. Of the newly hired colleagues, 30% were under 30 years old, 50% between 30 and 50 years old and 17% over 50 years old. The average length of service of permanent employees, i.e. excluding trainees and temporary staff, was 8.3 years in 2023. We are pleased about the great loyalty and long-standing commitment of many of our employees  


The turnover rate initiated by employees is calculated using the “BDA-Formel” (a formula from the Association of the German Federation of Employers: [resignations initiated by employees / average number of employees]*100) and is of interest to us because it can be considered an important indicator of employee satisfaction.


In the period under review, if the departures of marginally employed persons (mainly temporary staff) are excluded in order to increase the informative value, the ratio is 5.08% (Status 2021 4.8).

 
 

Celebrations and dialog platforms for community and a sense of belonging

The work of our "culture board" plays a significant role in the satisfaction and sense of belonging of all our employees and managers. The interdisciplinary team provides opportunities for intensive personal encounters that strengthen familiarity and trust and allow fun to come into its own alongside work. In the years marked by the Corona pandemic, in which a great deal of work was done virtually, it was a particular challenge to make social networking and the associated support among colleagues effective and tangible. With a great deal of creativity and empathy, our culture board designed formats both in the digital space and, as soon and as far as possible again, together at our location.

Our Spring Fling, 2022
 
 

Personal development in professional life

We have long known that employees expect more from their work places than just the salary they receive, and this is all the more true for a value-oriented, sustainable brand like VAUDE. The development of professional skills, but also personal growth and the assumption of responsibility are important motivators for our employees.

One focus of our professional training measures is to examine one's own motivational structure, one's own understanding of values, one's own strengths and opportunities to act (self-)effectively. More information on this can be found at Training and Professional Development. We also want to offer as many career development opportunities as possible for our employees. For example, vacant management positions are in the vast majority of cases filled with internal candidates. At the same time, we are open to lateral entries by employees in other divisions.


 
 

Finding the best balance between work and physical exercise

Exercise, recreational sports and relaxation directly connected with the workplace is a special feature at VAUDE – one that our employees really appreciate. In addition to our company sports and health program "Auszeit", which is you can read about at "Health Promotion", our large climbing wall, a mountain bike pump track, free e-bike rental and our numerous shower facilities are just some of the things that keep our active employees happy and also make it easier to get started in new sporting activities.


Aiming high during the lunch break – finding a balance between team spirit and athleticism at our climbing wall
Recreational highlights include tours organized by VAUDE for small groups, where activities such as mountain biking, ski touring or others can be tried out under professional guidance or - depending on the level of challenge - one's own performance limits can be tested anew. These events, which usually last one or two days, bring our employees together and lead to even greater identification with our "outdoor" theme. For this reason, participation is supported with a predetermined amount of special leave.
 
 

Future-oriented and sustainable working environments

Natural wood, plenty of light and open room concepts characterize our workplaces, which are tailored to the needs of the employees. We carried out a comprehensive conversion and renovation project at our company headquarters in 2015 and have been working in modern open-plan offices with many private spaces, meeting rooms, communication areas and lounges since that time.

Each workplace is equipped with high quality ergonomic, height-adjustable desks, sophisticated lighting concepts and soundproofing measures. In addition, many health-promoting aspects were realized during the remodeling projects See Health Promotion as a Matter of Course


While we enjoy the high standard of our work environment at our corporate headquarters, we also keep up with the times and are constantly evaluating our space design in the age of New Work and Mobile Work. Since 2022, our interdisciplinary project group "Spatial Culture" has been active in creating the best conditions for the different needs of our "site workers" (work 80-100% of the time on site in our VAUDE premises), "hybrid workers" (work approx. 40-60% of the time on site, the rest of the time mobile) and "vagabonds" (work more than 80% of their working time mobile). Our goal is to provide our employees with the best opportunities for inspired and productive work, depending on their job profile, life circumstances and personal preferences. In this way, we want to enable as many employees as possible to reconcile their private life concepts and their preferred ways of working with their work at VAUDE. See also "Future-oriented working environments".


Our corporate mission and values create meaning and unite us

While we enjoy the high standard of our working environment at our corporate headquarters, we are also moving with the times and constantly evaluating our space design in the age of New Work and mobile working (a high proportion of our tasks are now performed from alternative work locations, such as from home). Our goal is to create the best opportunities for inspired and productive work for our employees, depending on their job profile, life circumstances and personal preferences.


See "Future-oriented Working Environments" and “Our Political Stance” for more information.


Fridays for Future

* Source: http://www.haygroup.com/de/press/details.aspx?id=38211


GRI:   103-1
Explanation of the material topic and its Boundary
GRI:   103-2
The management approach and its components
GRI:   401-1
New employee hires and employee turnover
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