Kreussler awarded certificate for audit workandfamily (‘berufundfamilie’) for fifth time running

23.06.2020

On 15 June 2020, Kreussler was awarded the certificate for the audit workandfamily (‘berufundfamilie’). For the first time in the 22-year history of the audit, the recognition of Kreussler’s strategic family-friendly and life-phase-conscious personnel policy took place in an online certification event. Congratulators included Oliver Schmitz, managing director of the berufundfamilie Service GmbH, John-Philip Hammersen, managing director of the non-profit Hertie Foundation, and Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Dr Franziska Giffey, who is the patron of the audit.


Keeping it in the family: Dr Detlev Travers and his son Dr Stephan Travers are pleased with the fifth certification of their family company Chemische Fabrik Kreussler. | © KreusslerZoom Image
Keeping it in the family: Dr Detlev Travers and his son Dr Stephan Travers are pleased with the fifth certification of their family company Chemische Fabrik Kreussler. | © Kreussler

Kreussler had previously successfully completed the dialogue process for the audit, which is open to employers who have implemented a strategic family- and life-phase-conscious personnel policy in line with the audit for at least nine years. The company was first awarded the certificate for the audit in 2007 — as one of the first ever industrial companies in Germany. After four re-audits, the company entered the dialogue process, which is rewarded with a permanent certificate.

The audit is provided by the berufundfamilie Service GmbH, which is going to instigate a new dialogue process in three years to ensure the quality of the seal. The goal of the dialogue process is to maintain the high level of development of the company’s family- and life-phase-conscious personnel policy and to seize potential for optimisation in selected areas.

At Kreussler, around 200 employees can benefit from family-friendly policies such as part-time in all variations, working from home possibilities, occupational health management, and support for topics around childcare and other care duties. A dedicated ‘work and family’ intranet page, clearly designated contact persons and structured communication via different channels both on- and offline keep the whole Kreussler team informed about news and offers.

Dr Stephan Travers, great-grandson of the company founder and fourth-generation managing director, emphasises the importance of such encouraging and supportive policies: ‘Our employees are our most important resource. This is a frequently-heard statement — but because it is actually true at Kreussler, we have been thinking long-term and working together for over 100 years to find future-oriented, often outside-the-box solutions that suit the employees’ individual life phases and are fair for all generations. To us, sustainability is not a buzzword, but a conditio sine qua non across all divisions — including human resource development — to be a successful family business that places social commitment and societal responsibility at its core alongside economic interests.’ 

During the online certification event, which was held under the title ‘TEAM2020 — Strong during and after the crisis with compatibility’, berufundfamilie Service GmbH managing director Oliver Schmitz explained: ‘What family- and life-phase-conscious employers have always had intuition for became apparent to the whole world of work during the Corona pandemic: a strategically planned compatibility policy is a means of risk management. It allows employers to react to changes with flexibility, while ensuring speed and fit.’

The online event was dedicated to a total of 334 employers (134 companies, 164 institutions, and 36 universities) who have successfully completed the audit workandfamily (‘audit berufundfamilie’) or the audit family-friendly university (‘audit familiengerechte Hochschule’) in the preceding twelve months.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to Overview