We conduct the Group-wide employee survey every two years in accordance with the new motto “Participate – be involved.” It was most recently conducted in 2020. The employee survey has established itself as an instrument in DB Group and provides concrete indications of improvement at all levels. In addition to transparently sharing the results with all employees, working with the results in the subsequent process is an essential part of our handling of employee survey results. At the beginning of 2021, all executives across the Group had access to their aggregated employee survey results and shared them with their employees. The cross-team “collaboration workshops” then started as a central element of the employee survey follow-up process. Despite difficult conditions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 3,000 “collaboration workshops” were held in 2021.

In September 2021, in addition to the employee survey, the culture barometer was conducted for the first time – a sample survey in the Integrated Rail System in Germany. It measures the Group culture in the sense of the “compass for strong teamwork” and covers employee satisfaction and the success of the Strong Rail strategy in view of a strong DB team. A total of 16,500 employees were randomly selected and invited to participate. In line with the motto “One for many – your voice for the culture barometer,” they were able to provide feedback on the topics of cooperation, satis­faction, Team DB and the Strong Rail System on behalf of themselves and their colleagues.

The representative results of the culture barometer enable a reassessment of our situation in the interim years of the employee survey, with a focus on the corporate culture. The culture barometer focuses on the compass index.

The results still reflect the support for a Strong Rail System, and employee satisfaction fell only slightly. Overall, however, Team DB experienced a setback in contrast to the results of the 2020 employee survey and the optimism there. The compass index, which we first collected with the 2020 employee survey, measures how cooperation and corporate culture have developed. After the results of the 2020 employee survey, where the index was 57%, in 2021 it fell to 49%. The results of the culture barometer were used as an opportunity, particularly at strategic levels, to analyze in more detail the reasons behind the low scores given to certain topics. The results are designed to provide a guide for further action in DB Group with regard to a strong Team DB.

Outlook - Top target Strong Rail