As of 31 December 2019, the company counted 35,429 employees, 9.6 per cent more than at the end of the previous year. A significant driver of jobs is the Taycan, which celebrated its world premiere in September 2019. During the reporting year, Porsche took the high level of demand as its cue to hire a further 500 staff for the production of this electric sports car at its Zuffenhausen site – in addition to the 1,500 new recruits that had already been announced.
The company’s growth presents Porsche with big challenges, which can only be mastered if everyone involved pulls together. This means that constructive cooperation with the Works Council, its committees and IG Metall are another important success factor. Collective bargaining agreements and works agreements form the stable foundation for Porsche’s long-term success, benefiting employees and shareholders in equal measure.
Personnel strategy and innovation management
The working world is already changing fast – and the pace of change will only increase over the coming years. In light of this, the role of HR must and will undergo fundamental adjustment. Managing the increasing level of complexity and making the right decisions even in the face of growing uncertainty are more crucial than ever to the clout and success of an organisation. In order to avoid being overtaken by change, it is necessary to specifically identify new developments at an early stage by means of systematic trend scouting. Major trends such as digitalisation are powering paradigm shifts and spurring change in the working world. These trends flow into the established tools of innovation management and personnel strategy, where they undergo further structured processing.
In the reporting year, the personnel strategy was adapted to meet the changing framework conditions and was systematically enhanced – resulting in the Personnel Strategy 2025 Plus. As regards content, strategically relevant issues are tackled on the basis of five clearly defined and needs-focused action areas. These strategic fields not only address personnel-related focal points, they are also directly linked to overarching interdisciplinary strategies on a company level.
New working environments
A key strategic goal within the Personnel Strategy 2025 Plus is to further enhance the working environments at Porsche, which is the motivation behind the interdepartmental initiative “New working environments”. This sees employees being actively integrated into the process of establishing future-oriented workplace surroundings in which they can adopt an activity-based approach to their work.
The initiative extends far beyond needs-based workplace design, however, and is ultimately a holistic concept for shaping the future of work and collaboration. Qualifying employees to prepare them for modern working methods such as agile project work therefore represents another crucial component of this concept, as does the adaptation of roles, structures and responsibilities in order to ensure the necessary freedom to take decisions and act accordingly. In addition, increasingly optimised and digitised workflows plus the use of artificial intelligence and process automation will make a considerable contribution to further reducing the proportion of repetitive tasks. This helps create extra headroom for tackling relevant future plans in a more intensive manner.
Digitalisation of personnel processes
Digital personnel processes are key to enabling the continuous optimisation of processes. This relates not only to efficiency, such as through networking, integration and automation, but also to standardisation and ensuring adherence to regulations. The digitalisation of personnel processes always takes place in close cooperation with employee representatives and in strict compliance with requirements pertaining to data protection and data security.
In the reporting year, the company-wide “My Porsche Cockpit” portal was again expanded to include various new digital processes such as making digital claims for a particular employee bonus. This portal is now available for Porsche employees to use on their mobile devices. The company continues to pursue an end-to-end digital process for job postings and placements, involving the digitalisation and integration of all steps from personnel requisition, job search and application through to master data transfer upon appointment. Alongside this, Porsche is proceeding with the introduction of SAP Success Factors as its standard HR IT application across the Group. This cloud-based personnel information system opens the door to a wide variety of new options in HR, such as quicker access to personnel information, greater transparency of data-based decisions and the implementation of full-scale talent management. And the use of HR analytics and new technologies, including artificial intelligence and process automation, will help ensure efficient HR work in the digital age over the long term.
Porsche ideas management
Porsche ideas management saw the introduction of a continuous digital process throughout the company in the reporting year, enabling nearly twice as many ideas to be submitted compared with the previous year. This also led to an increase in the number of employees contributing to the success of Porsche beyond their own range of duties. In addition, the quality of the ideas rose while the processing time fell. Further foundations were also laid for the coming financial year by means of a more flexible regulation incorporating new target groups into Porsche ideas management with attractive framework conditions.
New remuneration system for top management group
The remuneration system for the top management group at Porsche was reworked as of 1 January 2019. This move, which coincided with the standardisation of the remuneration system for brand Executive Board members and the top management group at the Volkswagen Group, aims to ensure suitable and attractive remuneration on a national and international level. Criteria include the tasks of the individual members of the top management group, economic conditions, success and the future prospects of the company. Also relevant is the appropriateness of the remuneration based on the respective peer group and the remuneration structure.
This new remuneration system for the top management group comprises fixed and variable components. Fixed basic remuneration is regularly checked and adjusted if necessary. Two-fifths of variable remuneration consists of an annual bonus with a one-year assessment period, while three-fifths comes from a long-term incentive (LTI) known as a performance share plan covering the following three years. Where the annual bonus is based on results in the relevant financial year, the performance share plan LTI – which is linked to the performance of virtual preference shares in the Volkswagen Group over the ensuing three years – has a multi-year future assessment period.
Fit and healthy with the Porsche job bike
In providing a quality company bike, Porsche promotes the health of its employees, protects the environment, expands its corporate mobility options and boosts its role as an attractive employer. Employees have been able to enjoy the benefits of this company bike since April 2019, also profiting from tax relief and attractive terms by paying directly from their gross salary. Eligible employees can obtain up to two (e-)bikes for unlimited use through the Porsche job bike programme.
HR Compliance organisation
The new corporate unit HR Compliance, which was created in the reporting year, is tasked with ensuring that compliance is sustainably established within strategic and operational HR work – as well as providing corresponding guidance. HR Compliance is entrusted with systematically promoting and furthering compliance and integrity in Porsche’s personnel tools, measures and processes. It is also responsible for advising, informing, sensitising and qualifying HR employees, particularly within operational HR.
In addition to establishing worldwide HR compliance reporting and corresponding effectiveness monitoring, HR Compliance assumes the role of a personnel coordinator and serves as the interface to the whistleblower system in Human Resources and Social Affairs. As data protection coordinator for the department, HR Compliance also ensures greater implementation of and sensitisation to employee data protection with regard to HR processes and tools.
Within the scope of “Together4Integrity@Porsche”, the integrity and compliance initiative of the Volkswagen Group, the HR Compliance division shares responsibility for implementing specific measures in various HR processes at all Porsche Group companies worldwide by the end of 2025.
Mobile working
Porsche introduced mobile working in 2019: this model offers even greater choice than working from home, as it enables flexible working hours at flexible locations for the benefit of the company and employees alike. Aimed at achieving even greater compatibility between work and personal lifestyles, it has been very well received in areas where mobile working is a feasible option.
Knowledge campaign “Fit for digit@l” significantly expanded
The digital transformation places new and significantly altered requirements on the workforce. It is therefore important to sensitise and motivate all employees for the transformation, encouraging them to help shape the change. The “Fit for digit@l” knowledge campaign, which started in 2017, focused on two key areas in 2019. Firstly, the range of content was expanded as the variety of activities involved in Mission D, innovation management and the action areas of Strategy 2025 Plus featured many tangible examples of digitalisation at Porsche.
Short videos, digital learning modules and brief presentations were used to communicate specific aspects of added value and use cases that help give a face to the company’s digital transformation. Secondly, new face-to-face training sessions supported by digital elements were introduced to the knowledge campaign in the flipped classroom format. While these resources are primarily intended for employees from Production, especially as part of the Taycan qualification drive, the 2019 Porsche Management Conference saw managers take part in an interactive beacon challenge to measure their knowledge of digitalisation. These wide-ranging activities have enjoyed a positive reception even outside of the company, with the HR Excellence Award nomination in the category of Change Management serving as further testament to the sheer innovativeness and effectiveness of this Porsche initiative.
Porsche learning platform, media laboratory and learning community
Core resources for digital learning are the Porsche learning platform introduced in late 2017 and the media laboratory opened in the reporting year. HR development and representatives from the various departments and subsidiaries are constantly expanding the scope of this platform. The fact that there are now over 30,000 active user profiles illustrates how Porsche Group employees use the platform, engaging in self-managed learning to actively advance their skills.
The platform is also increasingly being used for qualification projects with a broad scope. For example, the digital learning module “High voltage instruction – vehicle technology basics” introduced at the start of the year is intended for all employees of Porsche AG and its German subsidiaries. This departmental and HR development joint project has been honoured with the ComeniusEduMedia Award.
More than 400 hours’ worth of virtual learning resources are now available on the Porsche learning platform, comprising digital learning modules, learning videos and webinars – a threefold increase on 2018. Even classic non-digital qualification formats expanded by over 30 per cent during the reporting period, while qualification training addressing future-oriented topics grew by more than 45 per cent during the year.
The “Lernen@Porsche-Community” group has evolved into an established discussion platform boasting 400-plus members. Regular community meetings focus on trends and case studies for promoting sustainable learning, new functions on the Porsche learning platform and expert insight into the various qualification projects at the different departments. This open and interdepartmental exchange on aspects of best practice is already establishing synergies that will be used for subsequent qualification programmes.
Employer attractiveness and encouraging young talents
Porsche’s long-term positioning as an attractive employer is the basis for its successful HR work. To maintain this, the company supports numerous young talent initiatives, cooperates with universities and implements various communication measures. And this has brought success: in 2019, Porsche again occupied top positions among students in relevant employer rankings. The Universum Student Survey saw Porsche named the most attractive company in the automotive industry and the most attractive employer for engineers in 2019. And in Glassdoor’s employer ranking, which is based on employee ratings, Porsche took top spot among leading employers for the first time. Porsche’s strong employer attractiveness is also demonstrated by the rising number of applicants: the Porsche Group received more than 190,000 applications in 2019.
To promote young professional talents, Porsche relies on its partnership with relevant universities and organisations. A good example of this is “Formula Student Germany”, an international design competition sponsored by the Association of German Engineers (VDI).
Cooperation with renowned universities is being further expanded, with a specific focus on the topic of digitalisation. This year, Porsche became a partner of the Business Information Technology study course at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). The newly established partner network aims to ensure the close interaction of theory and practice in a study setting, with Business Information Technology students from KIT receiving exclusive insights into typical tasks and fields of activity pertaining to business IT specialists at Porsche.
Porsche is also stepping up its collaboration with CODE University in Berlin through a number of shared projects. As a result, CODE University students are currently tackling issues relating to the topic of “Machine learning using location-specific data”. This format connects students even more closely with the Porsche experts and is part of the university campaign.
The latter also comprises the scholarship programme for IT students at RWTH Aachen University, which each year sponsors 15 students on Information Technology, Media Informatics, Software Systems Engineering and Data Science courses. The Porsche IT scholarships are awarded through the RWTH education fund and include a special framework programme in addition to financial support. Alongside specialist events, general support programmes from the education fund such as networking events and further training possibilities are on the agenda. International university contacts are also carefully maintained and continually developed: examples include the cooperation with the IT chair at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj (Romania).
However, the support of young talents begins even before university. For the last 19 years, the best high-school leavers of their year in Baden-Württemberg have been awarded the Ferry Porsche Prize in the main subjects of mathematics and physics/technology. In 2019, the coveted award was presented to 220 young people. Six of them additionally received a one-year scholarship. The scholars are selected by drawing lots during the annual award ceremony at the Research and Development Centre in Weissach.
As Porsche’s employer branding campaign shows, behind the exclusive products is an approachable employer that values factors such as camaraderie and work-life balance. While high-quality black and white pictures of employees convey an authentic impression of the working environment, central messages of the Porsche corporate culture – such as practicality, collegiality and innovation – are conveyed to the outside world. Not only was this campaign recognised with the audience award for “Best Cultural Fit Campaign” at the Trendence Awards, it also won the Grand Prix award for Best Film and the OttoCar award in the AutoVision category “Internal Communication, Human Resources” in 2019. In addition, the campaign has received a total of three honours from the Art Directors Club Germany.
Another focus in the reporting year was on addressing candidates for the manufacture of the Taycan electric sports car at the Zuffenhausen site. Communication with applicants is predominantly based around social media, an area in which personnel marketing has significantly expanded its activities. On Facebook and Instagram, which are particularly relevant to younger target groups, employees offer insights into their working lives and reach a wide audience. Porsche has also recorded a large increase in Instagram followers through its cooperation with the influencer Jean Pierre Kraemer (“JP Performance”).
Porsche corporate culture
The significant increase in employee numbers and the digital transformation are crucially changing how we work together. The initiative launched back in 2017 to strengthen Porsche’s corporate culture is therefore being continually expanded. As a result, the Porsche code was anchored in the relevant HR processes such as recruiting, HR development and target agreement during the reporting year. Key to this was the first wave of leadership labs, which saw 1,500 managers – from foremen to members of the Executive Board – attend 1.5-day workshops to develop a common understanding of leadership based on the Porsche code. The second wave will target individual leadership behaviour and is already at the planning stage.
In order to incorporate the entire workforce as multipliers for the topic of leadership and culture, a team dialogue on culture and values was also conducted in every corporate unit. The entire workforce was therefore divided into its respective teams, enabling employees to critically assess their own team’s approach to culture and identify the cultural values that need to be reinforced within the team.
Training
The pillars of Porsche’s personnel policy include needs-based training that focuses on future requirements, ongoing skills acquisition and internal development. Porsche vocational training provides the basis for this. Learning contents and training places are adapted predictively to technological progress and social development.
In the reporting year, the Porsche Taycan became the company’s first all-electric car to enter series production. This marks the dawn of a new era – and one requiring intensive preparation, most notably for the Taycan production staff. As a result, the vocational training unit organised a four-day Taycan training course as part of the qualification drive for this first-ever fully electric Porsche. The qualification centre is housed in two lightweight construction halls covering over 2,500 square metres, with the four-day face-to-face course providing comprehensive knowledge of the Taycan itself and the company’s electromobility strategy. Going back to the historical roots of the company, these interactive workshops help participants discover how Porsche has come to enter the field of electromobility. Topics such as sustainability, charging infrastructure and charging services are discussed in an in-depth and open manner. Participants are also treated to a detailed look at all of the Taycan’s technical features and functions. The training focuses on establishing a tangible and emotional link between the participants and the course content. Some 2,210 employees have been qualified since training began in February of the reporting year, including 1,355 front-line workers, 528 trainees and an additional 327 interested employees. Given the high level of demand throughout the company, a two-day short course has also been offered since June 2019.
Electromobility and the issue of new car technologies in general have long formed key aspects of vocational training, which involves targeted preparation of trainees in these areas.
As part of the digitalisation drive and the development of new learning methods, the company has teamed up with the vocational school Wilhelm-Maybach-Schule. In the pilot phase of this collaboration, first-year trainees studying to become auto mechanics were equipped with Porsche tablet PCs. Both the teaching at the school and the transfer of knowledge at the training centre have been adapted to suit the various digital learning methods.
At the Zuffenhausen site, the company currently offers 150 training places in 10 technical and commercial training professions, as well as eight degree programmes in cooperation with the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW).
A number of 106 young people began technical training in 2019, including auto mechanics with a focus on passenger car technology, auto mechanics with a focus on system and high-voltage technology, warehouse logistics specialists, body and vehicle construction mechanics, automotive painters, vehicle interior designers, industrial mechanics for automobile construction, and electronics engineers for operating technology. The number of dual study places remained unchanged at 34. As a response to ever-increasing digitalisation across all areas of automobile construction and electromobility, around 70 per cent of places are now on study courses with strong links to IT and electrical engineering. In addition to the existing focus on information technology and automotive information technology, the portfolio of IT-related study courses has been expanded to include the aspects of mobile informatics and IT security. Nine industrial sales people also started their training in 2019. In the commercial field, the trainees are prepared for the new working world and learn digitised applications from the very first day.
Part of the future-oriented training comprises the promise to take on all graduates of the vocational training and the dual study programme as permanent employees. Thus, in the reporting year, 190 trainees and DHBW students started a permanent job after successfully completing their studies.
The internationalisation of vocational training also continued apace. This represents an important means of further qualifying young, highly motivated talents undergoing vocational training, thereby preparing them for the workplace of the future. The foreign postings encourage intercultural exchange, aid personality development and increase participants’ flexibility and mobility.
In 2019, 21 technical trainees, 16 commercial trainees and 29 DHBW students gathered professional experience abroad. The postings lasted from two weeks to four months. There were five rotation assignments in technical vocational training between Porsche and Bentley, plus international assignments at Porsche Centre Great Britain and at Nard. Technical Centre. Once again, one trainee from the subsidiary Porsche Cars Australia was Taken on at the Porsche AG training centre in order to gain insight into the German training system. A further 21 DHBW students undertook their international practical placement on- site at Bugatti, Bentley and Lamborghini. Porsche also expanded its collaboration with VW Slovakia and saw the brands engage in their first-ever exchange programme: this pilot gave DHBW students from Bratislava the chance to complete their practical phase at the Zuffenhausen plant.
The percentage of female trainees remained high in 2019 at 29 per cent. In the dual study programmes, the proportion of female students even reached 44 per cent. In order to obtain more applications from suitable female candidates in the next few years, Girls’ Day was once again held at the training centre in 2019.
Another highlight was the filming of a series of videos by influencer Jean Pierre Kraemer (“JP Performance”) at the training centre. These videos were uploaded to YouTube in early April and have since racked up over one million views, further boosting the appeal of vocational training at Porsche. This positive impact was also reflected by the huge spike in subscribers to our HR marketing channel on Instagram (@porschecareers) and by the applicant statistics drawn from this year’s recruitment activities.
In July, Porsche held an InfoNight event at its training centre with the aim of encouraging young people to undertake training or dual study at the company. The event also marked the start of applications for the training and study places to be filled in 2020. Attendees were given the chance to experience the typical feel of training at Porsche while having all their questions answered in relation to training and dual study.
Responses were provided by vocational training representatives and by employees from the various departments, who also offered detailed insights into the world of work after training. This year’s event was also the first at which attendees were able to receive pointers on crafting the perfect application, as a dedicated presentation and four hands-on information stands provided full details on the application process plus a valuable range of insider tips.
Since many applicants have no prospect of a training place according to the general selection criteria, Porsche relies on an entry qualification known as the Year of Support. A number of 18 young adults completed a Year of Support in 2019, 14 of whom were able to qualify for subsequent training at Porsche. Porsche has also successfully continued the integration year for refugees. The project featured 11 young people, of whom almost all were successfully integrated into the training and job market in cooperation with handicraft businesses or have gone on to attend secondary school.
The vocational training of severely disabled candidates has been exemplary. Currently, 22 people with a disability are completing training or a dual study programme with Porsche. If training in the company is not possible on the grounds of corresponding restrictions, the cooperative training model applies: the young people complete the theoretical part of their training at a vocational training centre which is appropriate to their individual support needs. For the practical part of the training, they are then deployed to the extent of their possibilities in the various departments of the company. Internship placements for young people with a disability are also enabled individually in cooperation with various vocational training centres.
The after-school learning centre project was also continued. On two mornings of every week, pupils in years five to 10 at three partner schools attended technology classes taught by a dedicated teacher for the first time. Drawn from two integrated schools and an intermediate secondary school, the youngsters were provided with curriculum-based teaching featuring a direct link to Porsche. The teacher also received subject-specific support from various trainees and master trainers. A further focal point is vocational orientation, which aims to encourage more young people to enter technical vocational training: the teaching workshop helps pupils experience the reality of training in the eight technical occupations in which Porsche offers traineeships.
In 2018, the Porsche vocational training unit teamed up with the Works Council, the youth and trainee representatives, and Porsche health management to draft the new “Azubi fit” health programme for its trainees and DHBW students. This duly entered into operation in 2019, aimed at improving health-related behavior among young people and motivating them to adopt a healthy lifestyle. The core aspects are physical activity, nutrition, mental fitness and prevention: alongside a fitness challenge, the programme addresses topics such as ergonomic work, healthy sleep, careful handling of personal resources and a healthy approach to digital media. Specialists are also ready and waiting to share their expertise. Given the very open, enthusiastic and grateful response from trainees and DHBW students to date, the company plans to continue the programme into 2020 with an expanded scope.
In the last two years, Porsche was the main sponsor of the school entrepreneurship competition “Jugend gründet”. The aim of the competition is for school pupils and trainees to gain a feel for entrepreneurial thought and action in order to use this in future as entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs. Since 2018, the national final has taken place in the training centre in Zuffenhausen. Porsche’s special “Digital Future” prize also enjoyed a successful launch: the internal Porsche jury awarded first place to the “Blind Play” business idea received from six female school pupils under the team name “InteCreate”. A plug-in for popular video games, their concept enables visually impaired people to play games on an equal footing with others thanks to a coordinated series of unique and easily distinguishable audio signals.
At Porsche’s Leipzig site, the company was again very heavily involved in the vocational orientation and promotion of MINT professions in 2019. In cooperation with the VDI (Association of German Engineers) GaraGe, the Porsche school workshop in Leipzig Plagwitz offers schoolchildren the chance to experience technology and inspires them to train in a technical profession. At its Leipzig site, Porsche recruits around 10 per cent of each training year from participants of the courses in the VDI GaraGe. The range of courses offered by the Porsche pupils’ workshop was expanded back in 2018 to include the topics of electromobility and connected car.
Staff development
As Porsche upgrades its Strategy 2025 to Strategy 2025 Plus, the focus continues to be on addressing the challenges of the digital transformation. In the reporting year, this once more proved a key influence on the thrust and work of personnel and management development. The aim is to build and develop competencies that are crucial to company success in all employees and managers in a structured and sustainable way. The high-quality and comprehensive range of training opportunities and individual and target group-specific staff development programmes was again continuously expanded and optimised in consultation with the Works Council in 2019.
Porsche Warm-Up
Qualification and interdepartmental exchange begin on the first day at Porsche, with the Porsche Warm-Up serving to welcome all new employees. During the two-day event, fresh recruits are familiarised with aspects such as the Porsche strategy as well as the main core and support processes. They are also informed about topics such as equal opportunities, integrity and compliance principles. Porsche Warm-Up International, which gives new employees at the international subsidiaries an in-depth chance to discover Porsche in Leipzig and Zuffenhausen, also promotes the establishment of an international network. In the reporting year, a total of around 2,500 employees participated in the Porsche Warm-Up – a 25 per cent increase on 2018.
Expansion of the range of further training options
The reporting year saw Porsche upgrade its existing range of seminars to include extra topics and formats, all with the aim of providing optimum support to employees going about their day-to-day tasks. Successful collaboration in virtual teams, time management and work organisation were among the key themes. The company is also increasingly integrating blended learning formats alongside classic face-to-face sessions. This targeted expansion will continue in 2020 with the addition of options including mindfulness and effective self-management.
International trainee programme
Following the successful completion of the fourth wave of the trainee programme, a new trainee group started this 12-month international project in October 2019.
Fit for the Shop Floor
The new Fit for the Shop Floor qualification programme was introduced in the reporting year for first-level operational managers. This programme features a modular structure and is supported by an accompanying digital learning module. Over the course of 12 months, participants systematically complete 10 qualification modules as they expand their specialist and interdisciplinary skills. Particular emphasis is placed on employee management, integrity and Porsche culture. The basic modules can also be complemented by additional qualification options. A total of 100 foremen from Production and Logistics have joined this programme since it was launched in July 2019, and the company is already planning to incorporate foremen from other departments.
Porsche development programme
In the Porsche development programme, employees are qualified professionally and personally for assuming managerial tasks in the future. The wide-ranging content of the programme includes digitalisation, innovative strength, internationalisation and lifelong learning. The Porsche development programme was launched in January 2018, with its current wave featuring around 250 employees from Porsche AG and 25 participants from the subsidiaries.
Programmes at management level
Porsche is preparing managers for the challenges of the future with customised qualification offers and programmes. The reporting year witnessed the launch of the Porsche Professional Programme, which helps new managers from the second reporting level be more effective in tackling their new roles and responsibilities. In keeping with the concept of “Imagine, Deliver and Lead”, participants complete three modules offering a range of stimuli and tools for the successful implementation of Strategy 2025 Plus.
The Porsche International Management Programme is tailored to the special requirements of experienced managers on the second reporting level. Under the banner of “A distinctive agility trip for Porsche leaders”, the focal points are the systematic development of leadership competencies, the strengthening of the required mindset and the expansion of the methodological repertoire for shaping the transformation.
In an effort to ensure a lasting legacy, alumni events were held during the reporting year for all former participants on the management programme from the first and second reporting levels. As well as providing a forum for discussing the latest issues and strategically relevant topics, these gatherings are an important platform for engaging in an exchange and further boosting interdepartmental collaboration.
Strategic competency management
The transformation of the automotive industry poses a raft of new challenges, even for Porsche. This has led to the introduction of strategic competency management as a means of systematically identifying the qualifications set to be required across the entire company in the medium to long term. In this method, interdisciplinary teams record current tasks and skills before using a fit-gap analysis with future tasks so as to pinpoint the necessary skills that must be acquired. Any identified skill gaps can thus be addressed at an early stage through targeted retraining and further training, forward-looking recruitment and new priorities in ongoing training. This method was introduced throughout research and development in 2018 before being transferred to regular operations a year later. Over 300 employees have already participated in specific qualification programmes on topics such as electrification and mechatronics. Porsche extended the roll-out to three additional departments (Production, Procurement, and Finance & IT) in the reporting year and aims to compile its first company-wide skills atlas by the end of 2020.
Porsche mood barometer
In 2019, all employees of Porsche AG and its subsidiaries were again asked to give an assessment of their current work situation using a mood barometer. More than 83 per cent of Porsche Group employees voluntarily participated in the online survey. The mood index at Porsche AG has improved by a further 1.5 per cent on top of what was already an extremely positive result for 2018. It is particularly pleasing to note that 93 per cent of employees view Porsche as a very attractive employer. After the questionnaires have been evaluated, the results in the respective corporate unit are discussed in detail. Managers and employees identify potential for improvement and jointly define specific measures in order to optimise processes or working conditions, for example.
Integrity
Integrity means taking responsible and upstanding actions in accordance with ethical principles. It represents the prerequisite for honest and respectful cooperation, which constitutes the basis of the Porsche culture and is a fixed component of our strategic guidelines. Acting with integrity is also indispensable in retail, which is why it was included in the Porsche service standards as the highest value. The crucial relevance of the issue of integrity is further demonstrated by the fact that it has been successfully implemented in the responsible committees and steering committees. Regular reporting to the Executive Board was also established in 2019.
In order to inform the workforce of the high importance of integrity and to ensure ongoing sensitisation to this topic, Porsche makes use of a well-established catalogue of internal communication measures that is constantly being upgraded. A key tool in assessing behavioural integrity at Porsche is the annual employee survey – the aforementioned mood barometer. In the event that any notable findings raise doubts in relation to behavioural integrity, the causes are identified accordingly. If necessary, corresponding measures are then taken with the involvement of HR and the respective manager.
Integrity is also a fixed component of the existing personnel development programmes and was further expanded in 2019. As a result, dialogue events relating to Porsche’s values and culture are also conducted in the corporate units to sensitise employees to matters of integrity. In addition, classroom-based sessions are used to inform disciplinary managers of the crucial importance of this topic. These individuals must serve as role models, generate awareness among staff and create a working environment in which each employee can speak their mind openly and honestly.
Integrity management was expanded in almost all areas at Porsche during 2019. One typical example is the recruiting process: not only are aspects of integrity discussed during interviews with applicants, new employees are also sensitised to the topic in the course of the introductory events. On top of this, the company has also set about establishing a multiplier network that facilitates the exchange of existing integrity initiatives and thus helps identify synergies and interfaces.
Work and family
Balancing work and family plays an important role for Porsche. There are numerous offers which can be used in the context of agreements made jointly with the Works Council. For example, at the various Porsche sites, childcare places are offered in nurseries in cooperation with local partners. In addition, children of employees are supervised at the sites around Stuttgart throughout the summer holidays – including a shuttle service. A “Code Camp” was offered for the second time in 2019, together with the “Code + Design Initiative”. Here, young future programmers can expand their knowledge in exciting projects. With the exception of the Christmas break, the children are also supervised during the remaining school holidays.
Through its family service, Porsche offers free, individualised and comprehensive advice and support for all family life situations. This ranges from advice for prospective parents to the selection and arrangement of qualified carers for children and seniors. The company also offers professional support in the search for and selection of appropriate care institutions for family members.
This commitment to reconciling career and family was again honoured in the reporting year by the magazine ELTERN: following a survey conducted across Germany, Porsche was honoured as one of the “Best companies for families”.
Porsche also provides flexible working options with respect to place of work and working hours. Mobile working, life-phase-oriented flexible working hours and a voluntary personal sabbatical are just a few examples of this. A collaboration with DHL also saw package delivery stations enter operation in 2019 at the Weissach and Zuffenhausen sites, making it much easier for employees to collect or drop off their parcels and save valuable time in the process.
Equal opportunities and diversity
The Porsche workforce is characterised by its diversity: employees from more than 80 nations and five generations, with the most diverse individual skills, ensure that Porsche is so successful today. It is anchored in the culture guideline, and the Porsche Code derived from it, that managers should actively promote diversity. In addition, equal opportunities and equal treatment for all employees are prescribed in the Porsche code of conduct. In order to support managers and employees at all levels in implementing equal opportunities and diversity, dialogue platforms and training components are being continually developed.
True to the concept of “Everyone is individual. As a group, we are diverse. Together, we are successful”, the company kicked off the 3rd Porsche Diversity Days event in May. In an interactive exhibition entitled “Perspektivenvielfalt@Porsche”, employees were able to experience the added value of diversity and the importance of different perspectives – not least as a key driver of commercial success. The exhibition also raised awareness of unconscious prejudice. In the presence of Annette Widmann-Mauz (Minister of State in the Federal Chancellery and Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration), Chairman of the Executive Board Oliver Blume, Member of the Executive Board for Human Resources Andreas Haffner and Chairman of the Works Council Werner Weresch signed the diversity charter and thus committed Porsche to establishing a working environment free from prejudice. This event was only the first in a series that toured various Porsche sites from May to September 2019 and provided ample opportunities for engaging in dialogue.
A number of training modules offer an in-depth look at opportunities, challenges and courses of action when addressing the topic of diversity, encompassing management and employees alike. The specially developed “perspectives check”, a digital learning tool on the Porsche learning platform, helps managers identify and expand the range of perspectives within their team while deploying these to best effect. An employee game has also been developed: known as the “team check”, it promotes equal opportunities and diversity within teams by encouraging employees to reflect on individual attitudes and behaviour in relation to these topics. Equal opportunities and diversity are also featured in the Porsche onboarding process as part of the “Warm-Up” introductory event.
A “sensitisation guided tour” was offered together with the Porsche Museum for managers and employees from all areas of the company. The tour gave an impression of life with a physical disability, for example by using a wheelchair, blindfolds or headphones. The active change of perspective resulting from this encourages sensitivity and understanding towards colleagues with disabilities. This enables inclusion to be promoted in the long term.
An important aim towards which Porsche is continuously working remains the increase in the percentage of women at all company levels. Since 2012, Porsche has increased the percentage of women in the company to 15.5 per cent. During the same period, the number of women in managerial positions has more than tripled. The percentage of women in management is now around 11 per cent.
The Porsche women’s network was established in the reporting year and met with an enthusiastic response from the workforce. Some 600 women use this platform to provide mutual support and boost the female perspective within all processes at the company. This new network format is overseen by Director of Research and Development Michael Steiner. Another programme in this area is the Women Business Lunch, which facilitates networking among first- and second-level female managers.
Guaranteeing measurable and binding equal opportunities is a fixed component of the target agreements which are concluded individually with all the managers. For the promotion of women in management, as well as in the collective agreement areas, Porsche has set itself targets which go beyond the legal requirements. Qualification and further training measures, as well as mentoring offers, support female employees in their career planning.
In increasing the percentage of women, the promotion of young talent also plays an important role for Porsche. Thus, in 2019, 31 per cent of trainees and DHBW students were female, and the proportion of women among the interns and thesis applicants was also 27 per cent. In order to win female talented professionals for Porsche, the existing cooperation with Femtec, an international career platform for women in IT, engineering and natural sciences, was successfully enhanced. In the reporting year, various excursions provided insights into the working world at Porsche. At “Stuttgart Culture Day”, for example, attendees were able to enjoy presentations on the topics of corporate culture and construction management before embarking on a tour of the museum and plant. On top of this, the “Femtec Innovation Workshop” gave 35 female students enrolled on MINT study courses the chance to optimise development processes in car body production and present their results to an audience drawn from the department and the HR team.
At trade fairs and during formats specially for women, the company regularly gives information about entry opportunities. In 2019, Porsche attended events such as “women&work”, Europe’s leading trade fair for women in business, the “Future Day for Female Students” at RWTH Aachen University and the “Ladies Lounge” at Formula Student Germany. Porsche also took part in “PANDA Tech & <Software />”, a network and recruiting event for women who are already experienced managers or aspire to a management position. The company also made its debut at STICKS & STONES, the largest LGBT careers fair in Europe. In addition to outlining the various ways to join its team, Porsche also demonstrated how it implements and supports diversity within its ranks.
Targets for the percentage of women in the Supervisory Board, Executive Board and management
As part of the implementation of the law on the equal participation of women and men in management positions in the private economy, the following target figures for the percentage of women in the Supervisory Board, Executive Board and upper management levels by 31 December 2021 have been defined for Porsche AG: given the long-term commitments of its members, the Porsche Supervisory Board has confirmed the status quo of 10 per cent as a target figure. At the time of the resolution, the Executive Board positions for all departments were occupied exclusively by men; the respective contractual periods extend over several years. For this reason, the target figure for the Executive Board was set at the status quo (zero per cent). However, Porsche’s Supervisory Board has set itself the target of increasing the percentage of women on the Executive Board in the long term. For the first and second management level beneath the Executive Board, the target percentage of women set by Porsche AG is 15 per cent by 31 December 2021.
Occupational health and safety
The most important resource of the company is a motivated and effective workforce. All health-related programmes fall under the remit of health management, including aspects such as statutory occupational safety, inhouse emergency services, physiotherapy and occupational health promotion. Health management offers a variety of options to promote the long-term health of employees while they develop, produce and sell exclusive sports cars well into the future.
For example, employees may arrange to have a thorough medical check-up and obtain medical advice on any health issues. This health check is carried out by doctors qualified in preventive medicine. It is voluntary and takes place during working hours. In this way, Porsche once again demonstrates how seriously it takes the health of its workforce while also supporting a key aspect of employee health prevention. If necessary, physiotherapists also advise employees directly at the workplace. Their focus is on prevention, aiming to eliminate ergonomically unsuitable behavioural patterns at an early stage and stop health problems even occurring in the first place. Porsche’s health management pursues a holistic approach. Courses on health promotion therefore include such aspects as nutrition, physical activity and mental strategies.
Protection of employee health takes top priority for Porsche. An organised and structured system for occupational health and safety guarantees a targeted and uniform approach and supports the implementation of legal provisions. This system helps to prevent accidents at work and occupational illnesses as far as possible. The central processes of occupational safety are standardised and regulated by a Group guideline that applies to all Porsche employees. Occupational safety is an essential element of the compliance management system. It is the managers’ responsibility that employees know and comply with the provisions of the guideline. Specialists in occupational safety and company physicians are available in an advisory capacity with regard to occupational safety. All staff members are represented through the legally defined representatives in committees in accordance with the Occupational Safety Act. Porsche employs qualified safety engineers and occupational health professionals who concentrate on preventive measures for accident and health protection. The design of workstations, machines and equipment is oriented towards the applicable high safety and ergonomic requirements. Training measures for employees and managers serve to sensitise the entire organisation, thus promoting constant improvements in occupational safety while preventing accidents.
In times of demographic change and a rapidly evolving working environment, it is more important than ever to focus on the health of the workforce. Dr Daniel Mauss, Head of Health Management at Porsche AG, has developed an early warning system intended to prevent chronic illnesses caused by excessive psychosocial stress. Named the “Allostatic Load Index”, it uses a mere five variables to determine an indicator value for stress-related health problems. This practical index was awarded the 2019 Innovation Prize by the VDBW association for company doctors in Germany.
Porsche Gastronomy
As our hard-working and successful employees deserve an outstanding range of catering options, Porsche Gastronomy represents an important element of the corporate culture. In the reporting year, it underwent further expansion to include an integrated sustainability concept encompassing the aspects of meal planning, food purchasing and sustainable packaging solutions. Single-use plastics have also been eliminated and the amount of energy used on catering has been reduced. Successful progress was recorded in all areas during 2019, with Porsche becoming the first major catering service in Germany to only use cleaning agents that are 100 per cent biodegradable. This move lessens the impact on the environment and significantly reduces the potential hazards for employees when handling cleaning agents. The economic deployment of cleaning agents also helps conserve resources.
In all that the Porsche Gastronomy does, it never takes the eyes off its core role: serving up a rich variety of healthy hot meals to Porsche employees across as many as three shifts every day – and providing snacks at all company sites. On top of this, Porsche Gastronomy once again ensured high-quality catering for guests and customers at a range of events in 2019 including the “Car Summit” at the Porsche Museum, the opening of the Taycan factory in Zuffenhausen, the “Night of Champions” at the Development Centre and the family day in Leipzig.