In the reporting year, Fresenius conducted its first Group-wide employee survey. Employees were asked about topics of identification with the employer, attachment to the employer, and work motivation. Further, the business segments were able to include specific questions in addition to the general questions set. The participation rate was 56%1. The aim of the survey is to obtain a picture of opinion and sentiment about working at Fresenius and to increase our employees’ level of commitment to us as an employer. Once the survey is completed, a Group-wide Engagement Index will be created from selected questions collected globally. The initial evaluation revealed an engagement index of 4.1 within the range of 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). The index is the weighted average of engagement scores derived from a business segment’s entities included in the survey. In addition to the three engagement questions, the survey focused on the identification with the company as well as the team work, manager feedback and recognition. These questions are not part of the Engagement Index. A complete evaluation of the results is expected in the first quarter of 2023. This will be followed by a review and a definition of concrete measures to be derived from the findings.
A Group-wide employee survey will be conducted annually from now on selected topics. The KPI Employee Engagement IndexEmployee-Engagement Index (EEI)The Employee Engagement Index measures how positively employees identify with their employer, how committed they feel, and how engaged they are at work. The key figure can be reported in relation to a business segment or for the entire Group. collected in this way is also included in the Group Management Board compensation. Further information on compensation can be found in the Compensation Report of the Annual Report 2022.
In 2022, Fresenius Group and the business segments have received awards as employer of choice:
Awards in the reporting year
Download(XLS, 35 KB)| Award | |
|---|---|
| Fresenius Group | First place at Potentialpark 2022 Germany Talent Communication Ranking: The market research institute Potentialpark named Fresenius the German company with the best online offering for applicants for the eleventh consecutive year. |
| Fresenius Medical Care | Newsweek’s Most Loved Workplaces in the U.S.: In 2022, Fresenius Medical Care was included for the second year in a row, putting the company among the top-100 companies recognized for employee happiness and satisfaction at work. |
| Helios Spain | Forbes magazine: recognition of Quirónsalud as one of the 75 best companies to work for in Spain. |
| Fresenius Vamed | Leading Employer: Fresenius Vamed was named Leading Employer 2022 and is thus among the top 1% of all Austrian employers. |
| Fresenius Vamed | NESTOR GOLD: Vienna General Hospital (AKH Wien) was awarded the NESTOR GOLD seal of approval by the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection in the area of technical management. The hospital was thus recognized for its measures relating to age diversity and intergenerational justice. |
1 Share of employees based on the eligible headcount number at the time of the survey. The evaluation excludes Fresenius Vamed and the fertility services business.
Fresenius Medical Care
To gain an even better overview of the workforce and to support the development of future performance indicators, the business segment is implementing a global HR digital information system. This system is already in place in Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and North America and covers roughly 70% of the total workforce. Fresenius Medical Care expects to complete the global rollout of the system with the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region in 2023.
Fresenius Kabi
The global employee survey conducted for the first time in 2021 was further evaluated in the reporting year. The analysis identified potential for improvement in global HR work. For example, it showed that employees would like to see a clearer strategic direction for the business segment. Fresenius Kabi has already developed and adopted Vision 2026 in the reporting year 2021, which shows a clear strategic direction. In addition, it became clear in the further analysis that internal processes and decision-making could also be improved in order to be able to react quickly to changes and pick up on new developments in a dynamically changing market environment. Other key findings emerged in relation to employee identification with Fresenius Kabi and the strengthening of the employer brand in order to improve the company's position when recruiting specialists and managers. Overall, Fresenius Kabi's first global employee survey shows an above-average level of satisfaction compared to other companies. To further improve employee satisfaction, selected executives are developing additional measures, for example, with regards to the employer brand. In the reporting year 2022, for example, Fresenius Kabi already successfully conducted Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) training sessions with the company's top executives. A global employee survey was also conducted in 2022 which was completed with a participation rate of around 70%, comparable to the survey in 2021. Furthermore, compared to the survey in 2021, the business segment was able to improve in one category and are at or above the pharmaceutical industry benchmark.
The business segment conducted further regional employee surveys. The 2021 employee survey in Switzerland revealed a sustained high level of overall employee satisfaction. Three key topics could be derived as goals from the survey results: the further development and advancement of employees, improvement of collaboration and communication with other teams, and workload and work-life balance. In collaboration with the HR department, concrete goals were developed and implemented for these three areas.
The employee survey 2021 in the United Kingdom showed a good level of engagement. The results were shared with the employees and used to develop action plans and implement measures. Notably, the frequency of employee communication was increased through more Town Hall and departmental meetings. Further an interaction app-based communication to manage news and feedback was introduced and the Employee Engagement Forum, which manages regular discussions with a cross-section of employees, HR and managers to discuss important issues, was launched.
Furthermore, a learning program for employees in Asia-Pacific was introduced in 2022, providing competency-based development across different hierarchy levels over three years. The course focuses, for example, on building relationships with key stakeholders, acquiring and learning tools that empower and strive towards exploring business opportunities, developing a broad repertoire of team leading skills, and driving behavior shifts and accountabilities.
Fresenius Helios
In the reporting year, Helios Germany continued to work on creating attractive working conditions for current and future employees. Workshops to discuss and design flexible working time models also served this purpose, as detailed in the section Working conditions.
Furthermore, Helios Germany employed temporary workers year in order to meet the minimum regulatory requirements in the area of nursing and medical services and thus to be able to prevent the closure of wards. Employees who are not covered by collective wage agreements are remunerated at market rates.
In the area of training, a program for non-management staff was developed to identify potential future managers. Rolled out from the headquarters of Helios in Germany, employees at the clinic sites can be nominated for this program by the responsible HR managers and the management. This program serves to strengthen the internal training of future managers and retain talent within the company.
In addition to the Group-wide employee survey, Helios Germany will use the evaluation of its employees to derive future measures to improve employee engagement. The evaluation and analysis of the results will take place at the beginning of the 2023 reporting year.
Helios Spain has established an advisory board consisting of various managers from medical functions. These jointly define training priorities for medical staff, and develop training courses, e. g., a master’s course in emergency medicine, which was held for the first time at the end of 2021 into 2022. Furthermore, the cooperation with the Business School IESE was continued and two training programs on advanced healthcare management were held.
Fresenius Vamed
In the reporting year, the digital training offering for employees in subareas of Fresenius Vamed was expanded in a targeted manner. As the use of homeoffice continued even beyond the pandemic, new learning modules in the area of hybrid working were rolled out for both managers and employees.
In addition, the entire learning offering of the Group-wide training academy was brought onto a common training platform. This has enabled employees to organize all their training and development activities via a central platform since the reporting year.
In Germany, a dedicated program for junior managers was newly introduced to enable management assistants and project managers to take on management functions.
Fresenius Corporate
At the beginning of 2022, we introduced a modern and standardized recruiting process for Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA and Fresenius Digital Technology. The focus is on clear responsibilities from the first contact with candidates through the application process to hiring and onboarding. We have also combined the topics of employer branding and recruiting in a single department in order to position Fresenius even better as an attractive employer and to facilitate the onboarding of new employees.