Modern Workplace

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The workplace has changed fundamentally since the coronavirus pandemic, primarily by shifting towards digital, mobile and flexible formats. In 2022, we continued to support our employees closely to help them transition to tomorrow’s workplace.

Our new internal agreement entitled “Mobile Arbeit – Wiederanlauf” (Mobile Working – Restart) came into effect in early May, giving our staff even greater flexibility with regard to remote working hours. Managers made individual remote working arrangements with their team members to take account of the new normal. The proportion of remote working was agreed between the manager and employee with the company’s operational requirements in mind. Staff are required to work in person at the office at least one day a week. They can work remotely on the other days. Staff also have the option of fulfilling their in-person requirement for the whole month by going to the office for several days during a single week. Furthermore, employees working remotely can choose to work whatever hours suit them between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., provided they observe the statutory and collectively agreed regulations.

A pilot project has been launched to trial an innovative office and space concept. The first floor of the office complex in Wolfsburg’s Schlosserstraße was converted as part of this. Office space and meeting rooms were adapted with the involvement of employees to accommodate changes in communication and collaboration methods. The concept includes creating so-called home zones to provide a sense of identity and belonging as well as establishing innovative meeting zones, versatile workspaces and modern meeting rooms. Following the conversion, a larger number of employees have access to more flexible alternatives to a standard workstation, which they can use temporarily, depending on the nature of their work. The pilot project successfully became standard practice in the year under review. In connection with the so-called VWI winter concept – which aims to save energy throughout the company – this office space was opened up to other departments and became increasingly popular among our employees.

Looking ahead, the creation of a new working world with innovative concepts for remote, flexible, digitally focused processes is also a key issue for many of our clients as employers and users of commercial properties. With this in mind, we will carry out an analysis of new workplace concepts in 2023. First, we want to identify what features our employees consider necessary with respect to office and space solutions for digital and flexible ways of working. These include, for example, desk-sharing models and project or meeting rooms which are specially designed to accommodate a combination of in-person and remote participants. Following the abatement of the coronavirus pandemic, we are also seeing growing demand for attractive spaces to facilitate face-to-face meetings and hybrid working, making it easier for people to go back to the office. We have already completed various conversion projects to accommodate this change in clients’ requirements, such as the WorkLab used by VWI in Wolfsburg’s Schlosserstraße, which was finished in 2022. Also in the reporting year, the office space conversion for Porsche in Zuffenhausen was completed successfully and a modern office concept was finalized and implemented at the TRATON SE headquarters.

As an attractive employer, we are also committed to improving our employees’ work-life balance. Our company has therefore opted in to certain arrangements offered by the Volkswagen Group which allow staff to take a leave of absence for training purposes or for family reasons, forgo some of their salary in exchange for time off or take early retirement. Since as early as 2019, Volkswagen Immobilien has been offering staff the option of “Brückenteilzeit” or working part-time temporarily. In line with the legal requirements, this enables them to reduce their working hours for a limited period to cope with a particular phase in their lives, such as caring for a sick relative. All in all, 123 members of staff – 33% of the VWI workforce – used flexible models for part-time working, parental leave or sabbaticals in the period under review.

In the third “Top 100 aus 38” ranking of 400 local companies, Standort38 and Trendence looked into workplace attractiveness in the region against the backdrop of coronavirus and the specific challenges for both businesses and workers. The study also examined which employers made it easiest for staff to balance their work, family commitments and leisure time. Volkswagen Immobilien was included as a regional company for the first time and achieved an impressive initial result. VWI ranked 29th in the list of the 100 most attractive regional employers.

This achievement was underscored by the “FaMi” badge award, which Volkswagen Immobilien received in 2019 and again in 2022. The badge indicates that our company offers very good working conditions for the 2022 to 2024 period, enabling staff to juggle their work, family, caring responsibilities and private lives.

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The roles for staff at Volkswagen Immobilien range from lettings and our estate agent service to the management of residential and commercial properties. In all of these areas, the knowledge, skills and engagement of our staff members lay the foundations for our success. We therefore offer both applicants and employees a wide range of entry opportunities, attractive career paths and qualification programs which help to ensure we remain competitive in a landscape dominated by digitalization.

We apply the principle of cooperative education in the field of vocational training, meaning that we link theory with practice. In 2022, Volkswagen Immobilien took on one new trainee who is working towards a qualification in real estate and three new trainees in horticulture and landscaping. Two young professionals also took up the opportunity to study for a bachelor’s degree in architecture. This program was developed in 2021 and realized for the first time in the year under review in conjunction with TU Braunschweig. Students on this cooperative education program attend the university full-time during semesters and work at the company in the vacations.

A range of qualification programs are available to our staff and managers, among other things as part of continuing professional development (CPD) via the Volkswagen Group Academy. These consist of both voluntary modules and compulsory courses. In-house training by staff and external service providers extends our CPD offering as necessary on an ongoing basis. When planning and managing measures, we allocate a specific CPD budget to each member of staff. Furthermore, our employees regularly have the opportunity to discuss CPD-related issues with their managers and make their own suggestions. We also foster our employees’ creativity, knowledge and initiative by means of our ideas management program and motivate them to take responsibility for improving processes and products using this facility as well. Since 2021, we have been upskilling the whole workforce with regard to environmental issues using our own Web-based training tool on environmental compliance, which is tailored to the Group’s requirements. The participation rate reached 99.7% in the year under review. Staff are required to complete this training every three years.

The new normal is constantly changing and posed challenges for the way we work together in the reporting year. Managerial roles have also changed significantly and evolved in connection with this – from stepping up our digital teamwork to realizing efficiencies and adapting to crisis-related changes in operating conditions. The Leadership Culture Day in fall 2022 served as the starting point for a new leadership program at VWI which aims to redefine and strengthen the role of managers. The day-long workshop featured input and training to raise managers’ awareness, provide them with concrete tools for day-to-day leadership and enable them to share their experiences.

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We constantly strive to improve working conditions for our staff with our holistic health management. To help staff cope with stresses and strains associated with work, we see protecting and preserving health as a self-evident social obligation and an expression of our corporate culture. More than that, though, it is also immensely important in the context of our HR strategy. Our health management focuses on preventive steps to promote individuals’ mental and physical health, ensuring that workstations promote good health, and providing information and training on all health-related issues.

The coronavirus pandemic put people under strain in many different ways and highlighted how crucial employees’ mental health is. This gave VWI even more impetus to embed a strategic approach to this issue in its occupational health management. The components include support services such as individual consulting sessions with HR advisors, participation in seminars or, where appropriate, individual offers of psychological support. In this way, the use of a social coach or psychotherapy can also be made possible in individual cases. In addition, all employees can make use of the Volkswagen AG Psychological Service, while maintaining anonymity towards the HR department. At the same time, VWI is training an employee in stress management, who can coach coworkers if necessary. Staff initiatives to boost mental health play an important role at VWI as well. In 2021, for instance, a group of employees came together to promote mindfulness each week by spending 15 minutes doing mindfulness exercises. These sessions successfully continued in 2022.

We work closely with specialists from the Volkswagen AG health department to offer regular, comprehensive checkups free of charge for staff who would like to take up this option. We also maintain a partnership with INJOY gym. Staff from VWI enjoy a 40% discount when they work out at INJOY Wolfsburg. When we design the working environment, we make sure that our workstations promote good health and are ergonomic wherever possible, e.g. by installing height-adjustable desks or sit-stand furniture.

In the reporting year, health management again focused on tackling the pandemic. Employees had access to the Volkswagen AG vaccination drive and testing infrastructure. In addition, staff are offered an optional flu shot each year and the opportunity to donate blood – both during working hours.

We regularly train our staff on aspects of health protection and occupational safety as well as offering them continuing professional development opportunities in this field. For instance, we provide regular informative talks by experts from the health insurance company Audi BKK on relevant topics. In 2022, these included mindfulness, healthy digital communication, returning to the office and healthy sleep. With our health calendar, we have a budget to invite speakers from the health sector. In 2022, the health calendar focused on mental health and psychological well-being. Alongside written information and recommendations, there were talks and workshops which were organized in conjunction with our health partner, Audi BKK. Via comprehensive reporting on the intranet, staff were also given tips and advice on promoting good health while they are working from home or remotely, for example to improve physical fitness, keep moving and eat healthily.

Working with Audi BKK, VWI gave all of its staff access to the Phileo app in the year under review. Phileo is a preventive program which is offered by the association BKK Dachverband e. V. and forms part of its BGM 4.0 initiative. The BGM 4.0 app for smartphones acts as a personal assistant which helps employees to ensure that their workstation promotes good health and enhances their awareness of preventive healthcare. This assistant uses a science-based approach to record the user’s current situation and make concrete, personalized, motivating suggestions.