The work of the future and diversity
Part of the Group initiative “People. Make. The Future.” involves systematic discussion of innovations and visions of the work of the future with the goal of addressing important strategic issues in good time, exchanging knowledge and testing new ideas. To this end, we regularly develop an overview of the relevant HR future trends with the HR trend map, which we discuss at various levels in DB Group in order to derive measures, projects and initiatives.
Once again in 2022, we organized our innovative digital conference “Week of new work.” An interactive program with over 70 items on the virtual agenda was organized under the motto “For employees by employees.” In 2022, the focus was on “New work for the green mobility transition.”
Two H-FutureLabs work under the umbrella of the initiative “People. Make. The Future.” and their experts make it their task to find new answers to important questions concerning the future.
- H-FutureLab 1 (“Future prospects for professions in the rail industry”) is developing a method of identifying future changes in DB professions and initiating timely measures to employ and train employees. In 2022, the method was piloted and refined, and the analysis process was further digitalized.
- In H-FutureLab 2 (“New forms of collaboration”), experts demonstrate how agile working and self-organization can create more scope for action and decision-making. More than 7,000 employees work in agile organizational units or are in transformation. In order to expand this expertise, the H-FutureLab 2 further developed forms of company-wide networking of executives, piloted workshops for agile transformations and identified and promoted synergies from lean management methods and agility.
DB Group’s commitment to the diversity of its employees is anchored in the Strong Rail strategy. Every member of the Management Board has assumed responsibility for one dimension of diversity, with Martin Seiler, Member of the Management Board responsible for Human Resources and Legal, responsible for the topic as a whole. In addition, the diversity managers of the business units are available to employees as direct contact persons if they have any issues regarding diversity. Employees with specific diversity concerns are also supported by various bodies, such as the Group’s representative body for disabled persons or the “Social and cultural integration” project.
In 2022, we continued to implement a wide range of measures to ensure equal opportunities across genders and to create an inclusive working environment for all employees under the banner of the “Einziganders.” (Uniquely Different) initiative. These include further flexibility in working conditions with the introduction of “Wo Du Willst-Jobs” (“Jobs where you want”), in which employees can freely choose their place of employment within Germany, or the expansion of the intra-Group initiative “Frau Dich!” (Woman up!) which offers exclusive career advice for women.
Comprehensive materials and learning formats across a number of topics are accessible to all employees, regardless of time, on various dimensions of diversity via the intranet and the internal learning platform. In addition, live training on diversity in general and various specific areas is available and can be carried out on demand.
Active generational management helps break down generation-based stereotypes and supports the integration of all generations in DB Group through various formats such as reverse mentoring and workshops for cross-generational work.
Under the motto “Einziganders. Miteinander für Vielfalt” (Uniquely different. Together for diversity), Diversity Week was all about allyship (solidarity with marginalized groups). The aim of the event was to anchor diversity in DB Group as a topic that cuts across many different areas, to discuss it and to promote networking in the Group. Concrete ways of promoting diversity in day-to-day work were conveyed via various formats such as workshops, coffee breaks and impulse events.
30% women in leadership
DB Group is aiming to increase the proportion of women in executive roles in companies subject to the Second Act on Equal Participation of Men and Women in Management Positions (FüPoG II) to a total of 30% at the Supervisory Board, Management Board and first and second management levels by the end of 2024. The proportion of women in executive positions in the companies concerned is 27.0% across all levels based on the organizational structure valid as of December 31, 2022 (as of December 31, 2021: 25.4%). External recruitment, attractive working conditions and internal measures to ensure employee retention and development are also intended to increase the proportion of women.
