Jointly designing the future

Competent, motivated and happy employees are the backbone of a company. The Uelzena Group is securing its future workforce and supporting its long-standing employees within the business with its sustainable personnel management. 

 Fit for the future

The need for qualified employees also continued in the reporting year. As a result of investment projects and the challenges we have faced, the total number of employees has increased to 832. Finding new, skilled employees and retaining them in the long term – that's a challenging task for employers. A strong and authentic employer brand and a positive application process – referred to as the candidate journey – are therefore extremely important. A corporate culture of appreciation and transparent communication provides the basis for this. The development of such a brand for the Uelzena Group began in 2020. In the reporting year, our focus was on defining the brand essence, which was developed within workshops at all sites. The messages we mapped out will be implemented internally and externally by a communications agency. Another forward-thinking project was initiated in the course of constructing the new contract-drying tower. The “mindset” project aims to enhance the ownership of every individual with regard to their daily work and improve how mistakes are handled.

„Our goal is to promote a company culture in which our employees feel valued and supported.“

Insa Wolter, Personnel Development/Recruiting, Uelzena eG

The changing world of work

In 2022, following the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic, we were able to adapt operational and strategic personnel processes in line with the declining cases of infection and return to our original processes in the majority of divisions. Various adjustments that were made due to the pandemic have helped to optimise long-term solutions. For instance, remote working is being continued and is predominantly regulated by means of works agreements. Digital communication upgrades have also shown success. For example, digitalising the selection process in specific areas when recruiting personnel, and introducing a user-friendly learning platform. These upgrades have also meant fewer necessary business trips. 

.Outlook for 2023

Strategic projects such as further developing an employer brand, improving the candidate journey and our mindset project will continue to be advanced in 2023. The aim is to promptly incorporate the insights gained into actions. We plan to use additional recruiting tools to expand the opportunities to reach applicants and the Group also aims to further develop the employee recommendation management system. The option to lease bikes via JobRad provides employees with a sustainable mobility concept. 

 Sustainability context: Why a sustainable employee strategy is important

The workforce at the Uelzena Group has been constantly growing for many years – the company has recorded an increase in employee numbers of six percent within in the past four years. In order to continue to grow in the future, the company needs specialist workers. However, in the future, there will be fewer skilled workers throughout Germany, as the number of people available on the labour market has been declining for the last 15 years. Up until 2013, it has decreased by approximately 2 million people. According to calculations by the Federal Institute for Population Research, a further 2 million will be lost by 2030. This demographic change is a challenge for German industries because it intensifies the competition for skilled workers on the labour market.  In addition, there are fewer people willing to do shift work; flexible working time models are instead in demand.  As the Uelzena Group is a company where employees are constantly needed to work in shifts, this is an aspect that makes the search for specialists even more difficult.

Another major challenge is the enormous technological upheaval that is taking place at ever-shorter intervals because of digitalisation and automation. Knowledge is becoming obsolete much faster with new skills being constantly needed resulting in lifelong learning becoming indispensable. The Uelzena Group is ready to face these challenges.

 Our management approach: Employees

The ‘employees’ action field comprises the following topics: Employment, occupational safety and health, further education and training, as well as the relationship between employers and employees. The way that the Uelzena Group manages these areas, the objectives it has and how these will be implemented is of interest predominantly for employees, but also for members of the Uelzena Group and local politics.  See also: Stakeholder results.