Employee satisfaction and corporate culture
| Employee satisfaction | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee satisfaction 1) (SI) | 3.8 | – | 3.9 |
| Compass index 2) (%) | – | 50 | – |
2022 and 2023 including discontinued operations.
2024 including DB Schenker (discontinued operation).
1) The employee satisfaction survey is conducted every two years on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 5 being the best possible value).
2) In the interim years of the employee survey, the compass index is determined for DB Group in Germany on a scale of 0% to 100% as part of the culture barometer sample survey.
Employee satisfaction is determined every two years as part of the employee survey (ES). The ES aims to provide concrete indications for improvements at all levels. In September 2024, employees were invited to take part in the ES. With a total of 184,202 participants, the participation rate once again increased slightly to 59.6% (2022: 59.2%). The ES was carried out and analyzed by an independent market research institute.
In 2024, employee satisfaction fell slightly by 0.1 SI points compared to 2022, with key aspects of the working environment remaining stable or even improving slightly:
- 71% (2022: 67%) see the responsibilities in their teams as clearly defined,
- 64% (2022: 62%) are convinced of the prioritization within their team, and
- 79% (2022: 78%) state that they can rely on their colleagues.
The Strong Rail strategy is viewed more critically against the background of the operational challenges:
- awareness has fallen only slightly and now stands at 59% (2022: 63%),
- however, only 54% of employees are still convinced of the strategy (2022: 60%).
The areas of action identified in the previous 2022 ES are also viewed more critically, for example:
- “Ending unnecessary processes” (2024: 25% approval, 2022: 35% approval), and
- “Quick decision-making” (2024: 28% approval, 2022: 33% approval).
This underlines the need to change course as part of the S3 restructuring program.
A key component of the ES process is working with the results in the follow-up process. On the one hand, strategic measures are derived from the results at Group level. The ES should, therefore, also be an instrument with which to further develop the entire organization by identifying potential for change and thus being able to focus and prioritize topics as a whole. Measures are developed starting with the Management Board and broken down into the organization. On the other hand, the results are also used at team level: all executives across the Group received their aggregated ES results to share with their employees by the end of January 2025. Subsequently, these are the results that will be worked with. To that end, the teams should each focus on one topic, which emerges from the results and decide how this should be dealt with. This is aimed at shaping change together at all levels.
In 2025, the culture barometer will be conducted again, a random sample survey at DB Group in Germany, which will be used to measure the compass index and aspects of employee satisfaction and strategy perception.