Archive for the ‘Diversity & Inclusion’ Category

Diversity & Inclusion

Be good to each other / Seid gut zueinander

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 by Astrid Bosten

Donating money is a recent trend in Germany. Many people want to donate money for a good cause and also the number of charitable foundations is growing rapidly: 17.372 foundations in Germany manage about 100 billion Euros.

In general, foundations are non-profit organizations that manage funds for charitable purposes. They understand themselves as drivers of social, cultural and scientific progress. The purposes of foundations are often picked up by the government.

Most foundations are set up by a donor who defined the main purpose of the foundation. About 33% of all foundations in Germany are set up for social purposes. About 15% are set up for the advancement of the arts or culture.

Also many companies have set up foundations. For example the Hertie Foundation focuses on the integration of children with a migration background. By setting up foundations a company demonstrates its corporate social responsibility and also the society benefits from their involvement. The Dr. Jost-Henkel Foundation offers sponsored scholarships to young talents. Additionally Henkel gives their employees the opportunity for personal engagement outside the enterprise. And here is where diversity once more really matters: different experiences, attitudes and backgrounds lead to about 2.200 relief projects with 7.6 Million Euro spending. [DE]

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Diversity & Inclusion

Young, talented, unemployed / Jung, talentiert, arbeitslos

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 by Astrid Bosten

In an article last week, the Handelsblatt called attention to a recent problem: unemployment among young people, especially those, who have an excellent education and still can’t find a job. In Germany the unemployment rate amongst young people is 50 percent higher than amongst adults. Compared to other european countries, Germany is still in the best position: 11 percent of 15 to 24-year-olds in Germany are unemployed. In Spain the number increases to 38 percent and to 23 percent in Sweden.
Ironically, unemployment often hits those, who have a perfect résumé: stays abroad, internships and multiple languages. However, according to an expert from the Max-Planck Institute, these young people lack one important requirement: experience. University degrees don’t prepare young people for the job market, he claims. Especially those with a migration background and few knowledge of the German language have problems finding a job, despite their university degree. This situation leads to a state of constant insecurity for young people. 72 percent worry about their financial situation in the future. Henkel helps young people to gain real experience in internships. Further, employees are supported by individual programs. Not to mention, that international talents are more than welcome at Henkel. [DE]

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Diversity & Inclusion

Can’t women afford emotions at work? / Können sich Frauen im Beruf keine Gefühle leisten?

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010 by Astrid Bosten

Women are emotional, that’s a fact. In comparison to male brains, the female brain has eleven percent more capacity for the handling of emotions. Additionally, education and socialization teaches girls that it’s okay to show their feelings. In private life, this is no big deal. But when it comes to business life, most women, especially in management positions, say: “I can’t afford to have feelings”. But instead of repressing their feelings, Dr. Cornelia Topf, Management Coach, advises women to consciously deal with their emotions. Every woman can learn to understand her own feelings and therefore control them, she explains in the recent issue of Women at Work. Once a woman understands her emotions and knows how to control them, she can use them as a tool to motivate herself and act in a strong and correct way. [DE]

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Best Practices, Diversity & Inclusion

New form of apprenticeship helps young parents / Neue Ausbildungsform hilft jungen Eltern

Thursday, July 29th, 2010 by Astrid Bosten

The Deutsche Welle in Bonn was one of the first companies to introduce a new form of apprenticeships: the part-time apprenticeship for young parents. A part-time apprenticeship allows young parents to finish an apprenticeship and still take care of their children. The part-time apprentices work less hours per week. However, it is still possible for them to finish the apprenticeship within the regular time.
The part-time apprenticeship is being supported by the Modus project, an initiative of the chamber of commerce and industry Bonn/Rhein-Sieg. Each year the project helps 12 – 16 young parents to find an apprenticeship at a family-friendly company.
The project recently won the second prize of the “Hidden Movers Award 2010”, a nation-wide award presented by Deloitte.
The demand for part-time apprenticeships is high and the apprentices are highly motivated. But only few companies offer this type of apprenticeship. The Network for part-time Apprenticeships lists initiatives in Germany that help young parents to find an apprenticeship. [DE]
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Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity-to-Go: Mediaplanet Special “Diversity Management”

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 by Astrid Bosten

Diversity-to-Go: This is what the new Mediaplanet publication “Diversity Management” offers. There might be enough good reasons for a strategic diversity approach – practical tips with focus on the diversity dimensions gender, disability and cultural diversity is what you get packed on 15 pages in that newspaper.

Gender diversity:

Starting with Monika Schulz-Strelow foreword, who is president of the FidAR initiative (women for the board), to the dialogue between Wilhelm von Haller, CEO Sal.Oppenheimer Private Bank and Ana-Cristina Grohnert, Partner at Ernst & Young and an article about a father during his parental leave – there are lots of arguments and information about gender diversity, the need for a balanced workforce and the increase of women in leadership positions.

Disability:

95 percent of all disabled people are getting disabled within their professional lives. To save recruitment costs and to get highly motivated and loyal colleagues, Ford AG introduced for the first time a disability manager in Europe, who is responsible for the integration of disabled people at the working place. That saves money and increases productivity.

Cultural Diversity:

The mother dimension of diversity. But nowadays as important as in the past is the intercultural harmonization at the working place. Within this article you get some practical advices to take care of to gain economic advantages out of the cultural diversity a company has in place.

All in all the publication is as readable as informative to get an insight in the reasons why and the benefits of diversity management. 

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Diversity & Inclusion

Smartphones, mobiles and laptops: electronic tags? / Smartphones, Handys und Laptops: elektronische Fußfesseln?

Friday, July 23rd, 2010 by Astrid Bosten

We have reached the point of total availability. We are working in international teams within different time zones. This is made possible by electronic communication devices. Smartphones and laptops allow us to have flexible working hours. But for many employees their phones and laptops have become an electronic tag.
The Wirtschaftswoche asked several companies how available their employees are. Adidas equipped its 40.000 employees with 3.500 smartphones and 16.000 laptops to guarantee their availability during their free time. Also the insurance company Allianz equipped all of its managers with smartphones. At IBM working hours are completely flexible. The employees decide by themselves, how and when they work on a project. For Henkel it is important that employees use their leisure time and holidays for recreation. However, in some urgent cases, managers need to be contacted off the job. In this case, special schedules arrange who can be contacted.
It is an alarming fact that the number of mental health problems has increased. The productivity and creativity of an employee suffer under a constant state of pressure. Perhaps it won’t harm to shut off the mobile after work. [DE]

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Diversity & Inclusion

Barbeque with the top management / Grillfest mit Führungskräften

Friday, July 16th, 2010 by Astrid Bosten

At a barbeque for the apprentices at Henkel in Düsseldorf last week, Kathrin Menges, Corporate Senior Vice President Global Human Resources, took the chance to meet the young people and talk with them about their apprenticeship, career in general and, of course, soccer. Besides soccer, the internationality at Henkel was a big topic.

The apprentices in the different apprenticed occupations deal with many nationalities in their every day work-life. In her conversations with the apprentices, Kathrin Menges also found out, why they chose Henkel as their apprenticing company. It became evident, that Henkel has a very good reputation among young people. The apprentices agreed that the vocational trainers at Henkel are friendly, sincere, attentive and willing to help them with every problem that might occur.

One question was particularly interesting for the apprentices: How do you become Corporate Senior Vice President Global Human Resources? Many of them were surprised to hear that Kathrin Menges started her career as a teacher. The Head of Training, Loert de Riese-Meyer was thankful for the opportunity of bringing together apprentices and top management. This day was clearly one of the highlights in the first year of training, he explained. [DE]

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Diversity & Inclusion

Early Birds and Night Owls / Frühe Vögel und Nachteulen

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010 by Astrid Bosten

Which chronotype are you? Are you a morning- or an evening-person? Chronotypes are our natural preference for a certain time of the day. They are mostly determined by our genes. Both types have their strengths and for a balance, we need to coordinate them. However, morning people are often perceived as more active and successful than evening people who tend to be seen as lazy and loafing. This is, of course, a prejudice, because both sides have their qualities. Evening people are said to be more creative, intelligent and humorous, while morning people tend to be more optimistic, proactive and conscientious. Nevertheless, new research concludes that morning people are more likely to succeed in their careers. Entrepreneur Christopher Coleridge agrees that morning is the best time to make decisions. On the other hand: creativity is the basically need of advertising agencies and the best ideas often were born late at night. The preference for mornings or evenings also depends on the phase of life and age. Young people prefer to work in the evening. People with families want to leave their office on time. People over 50 are more morning-types. But thanks to diversity – all early-bird-singers and late-at-night-creatives are welcome at Henkel to get the best out of it. [DE]

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Diversity & Inclusion

Becoming a father isn’t hard… / Vater werden ist nicht schwer…

Monday, July 12th, 2010 by Astrid Bosten

…but being a father is a completely new and challenging role in life. The role of fathers has changed in the past years. They want to take an active part in the life and education of their children. This new role has to be defined and harmonized with existing roles as a husband and working professional. The book „Mit Lust und Liebe Vater sein: Gestalte die Rolle deines Lebens“ (that means: „Lust and Love of fathers: Shape the role of your life“) by Ansgar Röhrbein helps fathers to shape this role.

The book begins with an analysis of the current personal situation. The main part deals with questions and suggestions for the different phases of fathership. It helps to answer the question: What kind of father do I want to be? The author, Ansgar Röhrbein is father of three children and family therapist. [DE]

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Diversity & Inclusion

Viva Espania

Friday, July 9th, 2010 by Astrid Bosten

„Maybe this is not the best day?!“ I think this was the most often heard sentence yesterday at our fourth day of the International Week at Henkel, Düsseldorf. When we made the scheduling for this week no one could have guessed how explosive this day would be: the German soccer team lost on Wednesday against Spain. But our Spanish colleagues handled the situation with charm and high spirits.

We switched the location to another canteen at Henkel in Düsseldorf where the majority of our blue-colored-colleagues are having lunch. A complete new situation and a complete new public. The blue-colored seemed to be slightly more irritated by this event than the people we met before… but maybe that was the matter of fact because of the soccer game?!

However, with sweeping Spanish music around bad mood had no chance. And our Spanish colleagues accost everybody who entered the canteen to participate in the every day lottery, with a difficult question: “How many languages are spoken in Spain?” – I would have answered: one (or maybe two). But actually the Spanish team members weren’t quite sure while preparing the answer if there are four or five languages used in Spain: Spanish, Aranese, Catalan, Valenscian and Galencian. And that’s the reason why in fact some members of the Spanish team spoke English with each other. And that’s the reason why some kids in Spain get their Christmas presents on December, 25th while others get them just on January, 6th.

The other obligatory must-have-question: Do Spanish people really make siesta? “I never had siesta in my life!” was the answer of one colleague, but in fact Spanish people take the opportunity to run some errands during lunch hours. That’s why Spanish people return from work just at 9 or 10 p.m.; and that’s why TV films regularly start at 10 p.m. That’s the time when Spanish families usually are having dinner too.

Today our last host of the week is France.

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