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sustainability_people Sustainability at Böllhoff

People field of action

Our employees are our most important asset. That is why we take a variety of measures to ensure that we remain an attractive employer in the long term.

Logo of the field of action People

Management approach

Attractive employer

Our almost 3,400 employees form the foundation of the company with their "passion for successful joining". That's why we give them plenty of room to develop. In a working atmosphere that is characterized by humanity and appreciation. Because behind every successful connection there is always a connection between people. 

What makes working for us special? Going the "Böllhoff Way" together and helping to shape the future of joining technology - in a family business that always thinks long-term. Where each and every individual can achieve great things and where everything is possible together - with courage, fairness and trust. 

Team photo of Böllhoff employees

Attractive employer

Our framework conditions for satisfied employees

We offer comprehensive company benefits, work constructively with works councils and trade unions and create a framework in which all employees and managers can develop optimally.

  • Our contribution to work-life balance

    Only those who have enough time to switch off and regenerate remain healthy and can develop their full potential. This is why we believe that "success at work" and "having time to live" are not opposites, but inextricably linked.

    We support our employees in their work-life balance with the following benefits and services:

    • Flexible working time models 
    • Working time accounts and flexitime 
    • Mobile working 
    • Kindergarten and U3 daycare places for employees' children 
    • Vacation offers for employees' children 
    • Job bike 
    • 30 days of vacation 
  • Appreciation, remuneration and a wide range of social benefits

    We offer all employees appropriate remuneration based on collective and company agreements. Fair remuneration in line with the market is just as much a matter of course for us as compliance with minimum wage requirements.

    For us, this also means that remuneration is calculated independently of personal factors such as gender, religious denomination, origin, age, disability or sexual orientation - as well as country-specific characteristics. Our remuneration policy is therefore an integral part of a consistent and transparent process for promoting our employees. 

  • Operational services

    We owe our success to our competent employees. That's why we do everything we can to make them feel valued, offer many company benefits and promote a good work-life balance.

    We support employees who take parental leave or family care leave. We offer various voluntary social and additional benefits. And we honor employees on their anniversaries and organize company outings and parties. There are also discounts at numerous restaurants, stores and events. 

    This enables us to constantly increase satisfaction and retain employees at Böllhoff in the long term. In 2023, the average length of service was 10.3 years and we were able to recognize 105 employees for their many years of loyalty.

     

    Fluctuation 

    2023

    2022

    2021

    Number of new hires459494444
    Number of employees who left Böllhoff375334368
    Fluctuation rate [%]11.710.512.2
  • Representation of employee interests

    Our employees have the right to organize themselves into trade unions. We work constructively with employer representatives and trade unions. Our works councils are important partners in this. In joint committees, we inform the employer representatives regularly and at an early stage about the economic situation and all important changes within the Böllhoff Group. Comprehensive regulations on this are enshrined in the German Works Constitution Act. For the benefit of all those involved - both employees and the company - overarching works agreements are concluded on numerous topics.

  • Appraisal and development interview, supervisor assessment

    We create an environment in which employees and managers can develop optimally - both professionally and personally. An open feedback culture is key here: employees and managers regularly exchange ideas in appraisal and development interviews and grow together. 

    In these annual interviews, they reflect on the past year's collaboration. In addition to performance appraisals, the focus is on employee development. We offer a comprehensive internal training program for methods, work techniques and personal development. When it comes to career development, employees have the opportunity to discuss their medium to long-term ideas. 

     

    Employee development measures

    2023

    2022

    2021

    Number of seminar participations4,2294,1174,081
    Percentage of employees who have received an annual appraisal interview86.6%86.5%87.00%
  • Involvement of employees

    Our corporate culture is characterized by the knowledge that we can only be successful as a company if we involve our employees and their expertise in the company's development. That is why we encourage our employees to help shape the future of Böllhoff with their ideas in employee surveys and through the company suggestion scheme. We are convinced that this not only promotes employee satisfaction, but also allows us to constantly improve as a company. 

    Under the motto "Improving together", our employee suggestion scheme actively involves all employees in improving processes and procedures. Suggestions can be easily submitted via an online portal. The ideas received are then evaluated for feasibility and potential for improvement. If a suggestion for improvement is implemented within the company, we reward the idea provider with a cash or non-cash bonus. 

Sustainable on the road

Alternative ways to get to work

Whether carpooling or job bikes - at Böllhoff there are alternatives to driving to work alone in a car.

Find out more in the Böllhoff magazine

Apprenticeships at Böllhoff

We want to support and actively encourage young people in their vocational training. We therefore place great importance not only on expanding their professional skills, but also on their personal development. We see ourselves as a companion to the apprentices and pursue the goal of qualifying them so that they can operate successfully on national and international markets after their training with us. 

Photo of five Böllhoff apprentices in different disciplines

Apprenticeships at Böllhoff

Diverse apprenticeships and development opportunities

Böllhoff offers apprentices and students many opportunities for a successful start to their careers.

  • What makes an apprenticeship at Böllhoff special?

    We provide apprenticeships in a total of 20 professions - from IT to technology and logistics to administration.

    Training takes place in Bielefeld and at the production, logistics and sales locations throughout Germany. At our headquarters in Bielefeld, we have a training workshop where many training courses and further training take place.

    To ensure good integration, the apprenticeship starts with the AzubiFit Week to get to know products and values. The event "This is us - apprentices introduce themselves" offers the opportunity to talk to company and higher management in the second year of training. Apprentices are integrated into all work processes in their core departments at an early stage and prepared for their future role. To this end, they gradually take on suitable tasks and responsibilities in their field of activity.

    Apprentices also have the opportunity to gain experience abroad in a European Böllhoff subsidiary and get an insight into the culture and language. 

     

    Key apprenticeship figures

    2023

    2022

    2021

    Number of apprentices181167174
    Apprentices retention rate Group-wide 
     
    46.4%74.1%44.4%
    Retention rate in Germany 59.5%77.6%77.1%
    Apprentice retention rate Group-wide 5.6%5.2%5.8%
    Apprenticeship ratio in Germany6.9%6.8%7.3%
  • Students at Böllhoff

    We offer students various ways to gain practical experience and insights into our departments. Whether as part of a dual study program, a student traineeship, an internship or a thesis - theory from their studies is always combined with exciting practical projects. 

    From day one, students at Böllhoff take on responsibility and experience the appreciative culture of a family business. A structured induction and support from mentors make it easier to get started. Participation in further training seminars, specialist lectures and company events is also part of everyday life for students. This allows them to build up a network and grow into the range of tasks in a global company - the foundation for a successful career! 

     

    Key figures students

    2023

    2022

    2021

    Number of students657058
    Thereof in Germany1396
  • boellhoff.1877 on Instagram and the INSIDER Podcast

    A special feature at Böllhoff: our Instagram channel boellhoff.1877 is managed by apprentices. Under the motto "From apprentices for you", the team posts various things from the Böllhoff world twice a week. The apprentices give insights behind the scenes of the company or present employees, events and products. 

    Discover boellhoff.1877 on Instagram 

    Apprentices can also take on responsibility on another level: Laura Jakub is training to become an office management assistant at Böllhoff and is also a podcast host. She has been hosting the Böllhoff company podcast "Insider" since summer 2023. Laura introduces a wide variety of people from the company: People from management, production, administration - and of course apprentices. 

     

Major investment in training and further education

The Böllhoff Education Campus is being built

The world of further training gives all those with a thirst for knowledge a creative space in which to develop new ideas.

Find out more in the Böllhoff magazine

Further training at Böllhoff

The continuous professional development of our employees is very important to us. In addition to the in-house training programme BöllhoffFit for all employees, we have therefore launched specialized development programmes - tailored to the needs of talented specialists and managers. 

Seminar as part of the continuing education programme

Further training at Böllhoff

Support programmes for specialists and managers

With our Böllhoff Development Programme (BDP) and Leadership Excellence @ Böllhoff (LEB), we offer our talented employees exciting development opportunities.

  • Böllhoff Development Programme

    Our national Böllhoff Development Programme, BDP for short, has a long tradition and is now in its 20th year. In the BDP, participants work intensively on the development of their personality in four modules, expand their social skills and acquire new abilities. They then apply what they have learned in a practical project. The interdisciplinary group composition also enables participants to network across company divisions. 

    Currently, 10 employees from all over Germany are taking part in the programme and attending workshops on collaboration and working techniques. The topics of team success, conflict management and change are on the agenda, as are leadership, problem solving and creativity techniques. 

  • Leadership Excellence @ Böllhoff

    With Leadership Excellence @ Böllhoff, LEB for short, our managers can expect a modular training programme tailored to the needs of different management target groups.

    The action training "Dealing with difficult situations" is particularly popular. In the training, challenging leadership situations are discussed in a practical and lively way and how to deal with them is practiced. 

"Personnel development and further training are firmly anchored in our HR activities. With our programmes, we specifically support the further development of our specialists and managers. The groups are always interdisciplinary, allowing participants to expand their own networks."

Stefanie Kuhlmann Team Manager Training & Personnel Development
»

Diversity and equal opportunities

At Böllhoff, we see diversity as an enrichment - for society in general and for our Group in particular. All employees are valued equally and treated equally throughout the company. This applies regardless of gender, gender identity, nationality, ethnic origin, religion and ideology; regardless of disabilities, age and sexual orientation. 

Die Flagge der Böllhoff Gruppe neben einer Regenbogenflagge

Diversity and equal opportunities

Promoting diversity and equality

  • Creating connections between cultures

    In Germany, 30 different nationalities work in our group of companies. And different cultures also come together at Böllhoff worldwide. This diversity offers us numerous opportunities and potential, but also requires us to create connections between sometimes very different cultures. That is why we offer a range of further training courses, from language courses to training in intercultural competence and cooperation. 

    Since 2006, employees have also had the opportunity to work as expatriates at Böllhoff locations outside their home country. This offer also makes an important contribution to promoting intercultural exchange within our Group.

  • Incidents of discrimination and measures taken

    Respectful and fair cooperation is the basis of our corporate culture and therefore an integral part of the strategic direction of our family-run company. Guidelines on fair conduct in the workplace are anchored in a corresponding works agreement (in accordance with Section 87 (1) No. 1 BetrVG). 

    This provides for a complaints committee - consisting of the management, other representatives and the Chairman of the Works Council - to deal with potential incidents of discrimination. The commission investigates all complaints and indications of violations of the principles of partnership-based cooperation and ensures that they are dealt with confidentially. 

  • Age structure and proportion of women

    Traditionally, there are still more men than women working in our industry, joining technology. In the long term, we have therefore set ourselves the goal of continuously increasing the proportion of women within the company through suitable measures. 

    We are actively working to get more young women interested in our technical apprenticeships by providing information about training opportunities at Böllhoff at trade fairs and events and regularly letting schoolgirls take a look behind the scenes at our production facilities on Girls' Day. We offer existing female employees individual development opportunities to increase the number of women in middle and senior management positions in the long term. We can see from the overall increase in the proportion of female managers that these efforts are bearing fruit. 

     

    Age and gender

    MaleFemaleDiverseTotal
    <30 years15.9%5.1%0.1%21.10%
    30-50 years37.5%14.3%0.2%51.9%
    >50 years19.8%7.2%0.1%27.0%
    Total73.1%26.6%0.3%100.0%

     

    Gender distribution

    2023

    2022

    2021

    Male2,3422,3302,191
    Female853856820
    Diverse9**
    Total3,2043,1863,011

     

    * The recording of diverse employees in the company began in 2023.

     

    Terms of employment

    2023

    2022

    2021

    Proportion of fixed-term contracts3.9%4.1%4.5%

Occupational health and safety

The health and motivation of our employees make a decisive contribution to our productivity and the quality of our products. With our ISO 45001-certified occupational health and safety management system, we ensure the practical implementation of health and safety in the workplace. Incorporating this into an integrated management system allows us to systematically derive optimization potential, thus helping to prevent accidents at work and work-related illnesses. The degree of coverage of ISO 45001 certification, measured in terms of the number of employees, is 37.5%.
  • Risk assessments are carried out for specific activities and work equipment on the basis of the Occupational Health and Safety Act and various regulations. A risk assessment according to Nohl is carried out in each case. Potential hazards are identified before work begins. The respective risk is assessed based on the probability of occurrence and possible extent of damage. Any necessary measures are then derived according to the STOP principle, scheduled and assigned to a responsible person. Once the measures have been completed, the person responsible carries out an effectiveness check.

     

  • The company doctor provides support with risk assessments, safety inspections, accident analyses and other topics as required. Employees can seek advice from the company doctor at any time. In addition, so-called preventive measures are offered for specific activities. Here, the company doctor examines and advises employees on topics such as noise. 

  • Instruction is provided on the basis of risk assessments and on an incident-by-incident basis. Practical exercises are also carried out as part of the training, for example on rescues from high racks or how to use fire extinguishers. The topics of first aid and handling hazardous substances are also part of the instructions. 

  • In addition to the mandatory preventive measures in the area of occupational health and safety, we also offer other supplementary measures: preventive care on offer and preventive care on request.

    As part of the BöllhoffFit health and further training programme, employees also have access to further offers. In addition to individual training opportunities focussing on health and nutrition, sporting activities are particularly important to us.  

    Discounts at gyms and joint sports programmes for employees are part of the Böllhoff for You offering, along with other benefits. We also offer all employees regular flu vaccinations and discounted rates for the MindDoc app.  

     

    Sick leave

    2023

    2022

    2021

    Without long-term sick4.7%5.5%4.5%
    With long-term sick5.7%6.6%6.0%
  • The number of work-related injuries and reportable accidents at work was reduced slightly in 2023 compared to the previous year.

     

    Work related injuries

    2023

    2022

    2021

    Production273426
    Logistics1063
    Administration212
    Total394131
    Notifiable accidents at work per 1 million hours worked7.067.756.44
  • Our goal in the area of occupational health and safety: We want to continuously expand the certification of our management system in accordance with ISO 45001. In 2022, occupational health and safety in production at our headquarters in Bielefeld was successfully certified; in 2023, this certification was extended to our production facility in Sonnewalde, Brandenburg. 

Guidelines for our reporting

GRI Content Index

Our sustainability reporting is based on the standards of the Global Reporting Initiative, or GRI for short.

To the GRI Content Index