Employees
The multifaceted abilities and personal efforts of all employees contribute materially to Covestro’s success. Every employee has both the freedom and a mandate to act and contribute in line with the company’s goals, values and culture. Covestro thus promotes a working environment that is shaped by unconventional thinking, effective exchange of knowledge, creative problem-solving, constructive feedback and collegial cooperation. We aim to empower each of our employees to work to their full potential. Our managers are responsible for facilitating and supporting these objectives in close collaboration with our employees. In this way, we can work together to make an ongoing contribution to the company’s success.
As of December 31, 2019, Covestro had 17,201 employees worldwide (previous year: 16,770). At the reporting date, the Group also had 550 employees in vocational training worldwide (previous year: 541), 531 of whom were based in Germany (previous year: 516).
Employees by corporate function1
in FTE (prior-year figure in parentheses)
1 The number of employees on either permanent or temporary contracts is stated in full-time equivalents (FTE). Part-time employees are included on a pro-rated basis in line with their contractual working hours.
Human resources profile and focus
Digitalization, demographic change and the trend toward individualization are changing our work and the ways we do it. Our human resources activities focus on the development and implementation of initiatives that sustainably support our business success, while at the same time encouraging the professional development and engagement of individual employees.
Promoting performance and opportunities for individual contributions are priorities, as are building and developing the individual skills and expertise of our workforce for the long term. These activities are founded on leadership and management responsibility in line with Covestro’s corporate culture and values. Our leaders set standards for working toward success, developing future-oriented skills and conducting personal interactions based on mutual respect. We treat health and safety in the workplace with very high priority. In addition, we focus in particular on further reinforcing diversity and inclusion.
The Board of Management is regularly involved in setting goals for Covestro’s human resources (HR) activities. In terms of its structure and its content, the HR organization is positioned in line with the previously mentioned goals, and together with a global personnel management system, it includes the necessary processes.
Hiring and retaining highly qualified employees
It is a strategic challenge for Covestro to be an attractive employer worldwide. We aim to retain qualified employees for the long term, ensure their professional and personal development and hire new talent.
When recruiting new employees, the Employer Branding and Recruiting teams rely increasingly on digital channels. The company reaches out to different target groups worldwide through social media and digital platforms such as LinkedIn and Glassdoor to introduce Covestro as an employer. In order to open up dialogue with our target groups and solicit applications, we now participate in two other important platforms in addition to Facebook: Instagram in Germany and WeChat in China. A major initial step was taken with the launch of career sites in 2018. In the reporting period, this initiative continued: multilingualism was improved by adding languages, and the sites were made easier to find thanks to search engine optimization. In 2019, applicants were again at the center of our recruiting activities. We more firmly integrated our employer brand into Covestro’s overall image. These activities, including our global online application management system, were received very well, as indicated by applicant surveys such as the Potentialpark survey.
We engage in numerous activities to maintain our overall attractiveness and significance as an employer brand. In addition, we pursue active HR marketing at all sites to attract employees and count on direct dialogue in the process. To achieve this, we maintain close contacts with leading universities, are involved in international networks of students, and take part in career fairs. Covestro participates in selected initiatives and networks such as the global student association Enactus and the UNITECH International European engineering network. In conjunction with the United Nations Environment Programme, Covestro is the main sponsor of the Young Champions of the Earth initiative. Furthermore, we hold career events, workshops and tours at various Covestro sites. In fiscal 2019, we also advertised career paths at Covestro during the world-class plastics trade fairs K 2019 and Chinaplas, and at video game trade fair Gamescom.
In addition to the vocational training options we offer in Germany, we bring in high-school and college students to take part in numerous professional internships worldwide each year. This gives them insight into our company’s operations as well as personal experience with Covestro as an employer. Furthermore, Covestro offers varied trainee programs for university graduates. For specific job profiles, we actively approach candidates and introduce them to entry-level and career development opportunities.
We also hold global competitions, award ceremonies and other events to encourage special achievements and outstanding commitment. For example, Covestro was a leading partner company in the Carbon Footprint Challenge 2019, which awarded prizes for ideas for reducing the industrial sector’s carbon footprint. This competition was hugely successful. Teams of students from 55 countries submitted over 350 different suggestions featuring ideas for ways to optimize the carbon footprint of processes and products in the future. More than 1,600 Covestro employees reviewed the top 25 ideas in advance, and evaluated and commented on these on an internal idea platform. We are proud that this Covestro-wide project received the 2019 HR Excellence Award in the higher-education marketing category.
As an employer, Covestro again received major awards in the reporting period, such as first place for the second consecutive time in an industry comparison in the Verband angestellter Akademiker und leitender Angestellter der chemischen Industrie e. V. (VAA) study in Germany, first place in Mexico’s Súper Empresas 2019, and designations as a Great Place to Work in India, and Top Employer in China. We see this success both as commendation for a good job done and as motivation for the future.
Promoting and developing employees
Well educated and trained staff is crucial for ensuring that the company can further develop and is essential to the company’s success. We believe in the concept of lifelong learning, so we support our employees in continuing their professional and personal education throughout all phases of their careers.
To this end, we offer a wide range of customized continuing education options for all employees through our in-house learning concept. It holds numerous in-person classes worldwide along with virtual training sessions, each of which focuses on a different target group. Digital transformation through the implementation of Workday Learning and an integrated skills management system for helping employees develop their competencies were in the spotlight in 2019 to support the corporate strategy. The goal is to provide employees with better learning pathways for their continuing education needs and to harmonize educational content globally.
In the area of personnel development, Covestro uses a model with clearly defined core and leadership skills that serves as a reference for all employees. This is intended to ensure that managers and employees use the same vocabulary and uniform criteria when assessing performance. This model is used to conduct sound career planning, performance assessment and potential assessment for employees. Moreover, the requirement profile for top management at Covestro was also refined this year to emphasize the main aspects of leadership behavior expected and to align it more closely with our corporate culture. We have also converted our performance assessment approach into an ongoing dialogue between staff and supervisors held during the year, thus ensuring the timely adjustment of goals and priorities. In addition, performance meetings are held between staff and supervisors in which individual strengths and improvement opportunities as well as professional perspectives within the Group are discussed. Managers and employees alike can take the initiative at any time and run a development dialogue on an ad hoc basis. The contents of these discussions are integrated into the ongoing human resources planning conferences to optimally develop employees in their own best interests and those of the company.
Maintaining a constant dialogue between the employees and management is a key concern for us. To this end, employees can use an application in the human resources system to provide or actively request feedback across hierarchical levels, a feature intended to further reinforce the feedback culture within the company. In the fourth quarter of 2019, we also launched the ENGAGE initiative worldwide to measure and improve employee engagement. All employees can provide feedback several times a year by filling out a voluntary, anonymous online survey with standardized questions. This is our effort to understand what is important to our employees. Subsequently, the results are discussed by employees and managers, who then collaborate to develop action items to continually improve working conditions. The majority of our workforce participated in the first survey.
Compensating employees transparently and competitively
Offering fair compensation in line with the market is an essential prerequisite for recruiting, retaining and motivating qualified employees. Covestro therefore combines a base salary reflecting the duties of a position with performance-related compensation components and extensive additional benefits to create an internationally competitive pay package, about which employees are informed transparently.
Tasks and responsibilities are classified on the basis of a job evaluation conducted without considering the individuals in the positions. In the area of managerial functions, an internationally recognized evaluation method is used if the job evaluation has not already been stipulated by a local collective agreement. Based on this classification, the amount of the base salary in all countries is aligned with standard compensation levels in the respective region. Regular compensation benchmarking is conducted to ensure this orientation is maintained for the long term.
Through the Group-wide Covestro Profit Sharing Plan (Covestro PSP) bonus program that has been in place since 2016, we have made it possible for our employees to participate in the success of the company each year with a uniformly calculated bonus payment. In addition, employees in managerial functions participate in the global compensation program Prisma, which bases payments on the Covestro share price, including in comparison to that of our competitors, and in this way rewards the long-term changes in the company’s share price. Furthermore, a global budget is available from which supervisors can promptly grant Individual Performance Awards to recognize outstanding conduct, commitment and performance of their employees in regard to our corporate values.
As in previous years, the stock participation program Covestment was once again offered in 2019 and provides employees with the opportunity to purchase Covestro stocks at a discount. In 2019, the program was again expanded to additional countries. Employees in China, France, Japan, Switzerland and Slovakia were given the opportunity to participate for the first time. Around 97% of Covestro employees worldwide now have the chance to acquire Covestro stock at favorable terms and 41% of all eligible employees made use of this right. The participation ratio within the three major countries was 50% in Germany, 33% in the United States, and 59% in China.
Promoting diversity and inclusion
At Covestro we work to make the world a brighter place. For this reason, we promote diversity and inclusion as foundations for innovation and growth. We value differences and advocate for an integrated working environment in which various skills, talents, experiences, and points of view are welcome, and everyone is treated with dignity and respect, both within and outside of our company. It is our firm conviction that a diverse staff and integrated workplace are key drivers of innovation, sustainability and employee engagement, because diverse teams are more creative and are better at decision-making. Diversity and inclusion therefore contribute directly to the continued success of the company. In addition, Covestro has signed the Ten Principles of the UN Global Compact and Germany’s Diversity Charter, an initiative under the patronage of Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel.
Covestro is advancing the topics of diversity and inclusion as an important part of its corporate culture. Targets and an enhanced understanding of diversity and inclusion are being further solidified in global action plans and regional implementation teams. The inclusion of different perspectives results in more balanced decisions and thus contributes substantially to Covestro’s success.
Designing the best working conditions and work models
The health, safety and professional and personal dedication of our employees are extremely important to us. Continuous monitoring of and improvements to occupational safety, combined with the range of programs and initiatives aimed at promoting health, serve as the fundamental principles for designing optimal working conditions. Human resources management is supported in this task by the areas of Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) together with Law, Intellectual Property and Compliance (LIPC), and Corporate Audit. They assist Covestro in ensuring that all internal guidelines and relevant requirements of compliance and labor laws are met.
We also offer modern working conditions to our employees, so that they can be successful in a changing working environment and balance their professional and personal interests. In many countries, we exceed our legal obligations, e.g., by offering solutions such as flexible working hours, part-time work and working from home if this is compatible with operational requirements. A direct dialogue with our employees is also particularly important to us. In this regard, we take into account national and international notification duties.
Our social responsibility as a company and an employer is based on our corporate values and our unreserved commitment to supporting and fostering human rights in our sphere of influence. At Covestro, social responsibility also includes creating working conditions that are based on mutual respect and appreciation among employees and particularly ensure safety in the workplace. Our sustainable personnel policy also features a strong social safety net for our employees.
Moreover, Covestro actively raises awareness of healthy lifestyles with a robust committee structure for workplace health management and a range of initiatives and projects tailored to the individual needs of our employees. This is particularly true in regard to the challenges facing us as a result of demographic change, the raising of the retirement age in many countries, and digital transformation.
We offer comprehensive workplace health management that is continuously expanded in response to surveys. The intention is to ensure that all employees have access to adequate and affordable health offerings such as sports programs, regular medical check-ups, help in overcoming illness and on-site medical care. The nature and scope of the health promotion programs differ around the world with regard to the respective country-specific level of development and access to national health systems. We offer our employees comprehensive measures aimed at preventing illness, in many cases exceeding statutory requirements.
New, flexible working environments for improved contact and communication
Work environments, contents and working methods are undergoing constant changes due to digital transformation and the increasing level of momentum and complexity at our workplace. In order to meet these ever-changing requirements, Covestro provides a modern working environment that promotes flexible ways of working. This applies particularly to cases such as moving into or creating new workspaces. We have already proven at many sites that this flexible working concept is successful, including in Brazil, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Taiwan and Thailand as well as in our new offices in Shanghai (China), which we moved into in early 2019. In addition, a new office building is currently being built in Leverkusen (Germany). It is expected to be completed in 2020 and house 750 employees. Special emphasis at Covestro is placed on a working environment that promotes learning and development while supporting agility and the exchange of knowledge. To achieve this, we provide not only the appropriate facilities, but also the IT infrastructure and media technology that works simply and intuitively.
We call this our C3 way of working, based on our C3 values. At the heart of this philosophy is our conviction that every person, regardless of their place in the hierarchy, requires a suitable working environment to perform their various job duties and to be able to work effectively. As such, we are invested in efforts to promote a change of perspectives and creativity in the company. Open-plan office environments combined with flexible work concepts encourage contact and the exchange of information across team and departmental boundaries and therefore strengthen communication and interdisciplinary cooperation.
Our managers play a special role in this system. In addition to the established leadership standards and modern work methods, they are increasingly called upon to collaborate with their employees to develop flexible and customized solutions to support Covestro’s efforts to extract maximum potential from this new work environment.
Supplementary information
Part of the supplementary sustainability information (not form part of the statutory audit of the annual financial statements)
People strategy and processes
Covestro’s people strategy is derived from our corporate strategy. Its targets are guided by our corporate goals, our corporate values and our understanding of Covestro’s culture. The overarching goals are set by the Head of HR in conjunction with Covestro’s Board of Management. The HR organization plays a key part in our company’s success by promoting the strategic action areas of employee engagement, skills development, leadership, and work environment. It creates the framework for professional development and support for our entire staff. Based on this people strategy, all divisions in the company set specific job-related goals which are agreed with the next level(s) of management. Monitoring, coaching and reviews, as well as any necessary changes, are carried out in the regular meetings between employees and line managers.
To assure agility in the HR function, we are continually developing our organization, our processes and our system environment. In 2018, we introduced a cloud-based HR management system for the first time. In the reporting period, it was expanded to include additional functionality, e.g., an additional module for managing training and continuing education activities.
Employee metrics in detail
Diversity and internationality
As of December 31, 2019, Covestro had 17,201 employees worldwide comprising 84 different nationalities, 76.5% of whom were male and 23.5% were female. Twelve nationalities were represented at executive management level.
The majority of Covestro’s employees (56.3%) worked in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America (EMLA region). The Asia-Pacific region (APAC) accounted for 26.8% of our employees, while 16.9% of the workforce was based in the United States, Canada and Mexico (NAFTA region).
The company-wide Diversity and Inclusion program aims to further develop and promote diversity in the Group. This includes professional succession planning that takes diversity targets into account.
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
|
EMLA |
NAFTA |
APAC |
Total |
|||||||||||||
|
Women |
Men |
Women |
Men |
Women |
Men |
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
Employees with permanent contracts |
2,015 |
7,498 |
629 |
2,255 |
1,300 |
3,256 |
16,954 |
||||||||||
Employees with temporary contracts |
59 |
111 |
2 |
19 |
37 |
20 |
247 |
||||||||||
Total |
2,074 |
7,609 |
631 |
2,274 |
1,337 |
3,276 |
17,201 |
||||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
|
Women |
Men |
Total |
||||||
|
|||||||||
Part-time |
720 |
1,944 |
2,664 |
||||||
Full-time |
3,408 |
11,274 |
14,682 |
||||||
Total |
4,128 |
13,218 |
17,346 |
||||||
The percentages of male and female employees by employee group have remained largely constant.
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|
||||||
Employee group |
Women |
Men |
Total |
||||||
|
|||||||||
Senior management |
2.5% |
9.6% |
12.1% |
||||||
Junior management |
6.7% |
16.6% |
23.3% |
||||||
Skilled workers |
14.3% |
50.3% |
64.6% |
||||||
Total |
23.5% |
76.5% |
100.0% |
||||||
Trainees |
16.5% |
83.5% |
100.0% |
||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Employee group |
< 30 years |
30 to 49 years |
≥ 50 years |
Total |
|||||||
|
|||||||||||
Senior management |
0.0% |
6.0% |
6.1% |
12.1% |
|||||||
Junior management |
1.2% |
15.0% |
7.1% |
23.3% |
|||||||
Skilled workers |
11.7% |
33.1% |
19.8% |
64.6% |
|||||||
Total |
12.9% |
54.1% |
33.0% |
100.0% |
|||||||
Work-life balance
We support work-life balance for our employees. For instance, partnerships with day care centers and financial support for vacation care for school-age children are among the solutions we offer to make combining work with family responsibilities easier. The programs offered by Covestro can differ from site to site.
Provided it is compatible with operational requirements, we allow our employees to take extended leave from work for personal projects such as scientific research, university studies or other purely personal reasons. Employees around the world take advantage of this offer from time to time.
Attracting and retaining qualified employees
New hires, total 2018/2019
In the reporting year, 1,562 new employees were hired worldwide, a large share of whom are based in the EMLA region.
We welcome applications from all candidates, regardless of their ethnic origin, nationality, religion, ideology, gender, age, disability, appearance and/or sexual identity. We are committed to the principle of treating all applicants fairly and avoiding discrimination of any kind.
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
|
EMLA |
NAFTA |
APAC |
Total |
|||||||||||||||
|
Absolute |
% |
Absolute |
% |
Absolute |
% |
Absolute |
% |
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Women |
203 |
13.0% |
43 |
2.8% |
153 |
9.8% |
399 |
25.6% |
|||||||||||
< 30 years |
103 |
6.6% |
19 |
1.2% |
56 |
3.6% |
178 |
11.4% |
|||||||||||
30 to 49 years |
92 |
5.9% |
20 |
1.3% |
85 |
5.4% |
197 |
12.6% |
|||||||||||
≥ 50 years |
8 |
0.5% |
4 |
0.3% |
12 |
0.8% |
24 |
1.6% |
|||||||||||
Men |
616 |
39.4% |
240 |
15.4% |
307 |
19.6% |
1,163 |
74.4% |
|||||||||||
< 30 years |
297 |
19.0% |
84 |
5.4% |
132 |
8.4% |
513 |
32.8% |
|||||||||||
30 to 49 years |
264 |
16.9% |
125 |
8.0% |
157 |
10.0% |
546 |
34.9% |
|||||||||||
≥ 50 years |
55 |
3.5% |
31 |
2.0% |
18 |
1.2% |
104 |
6.7% |
|||||||||||
Total |
819 |
52.4% |
283 |
18.2% |
460 |
29.4% |
1,562 |
100.0% |
|||||||||||
Covestro promotes young talent through internships, vocational training and trainee programs. Worldwide, the company employed 463 interns in total in 2019.
Turnover rate, total 2018/2019
Employee turnover rates in the different regions and age groups varied widely in some cases. Independent research indicates that younger people often change jobs more readily than other age groups and that turnover rates are higher in the APAC region than in the NAFTA or EMLA regions. Furthermore, greater fluctuation in the EMLA region compared with 2018 was due to the divestiture of the PUR systems house business during the reporting year. In the NAFTA region, portfolio changes in 2018 led to a higher turnover rate last year.
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
|
EMLA |
NAFTA |
APAC |
Total |
|||||||||||||||
|
Absolute |
% |
Absolute |
% |
Absolute |
% |
Absolute |
% |
|||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
Women |
195 |
9.0% |
51 |
8.1% |
98 |
7.5% |
344 |
8.4% |
|||||||||||
< 30 years |
48 |
11.8% |
6 |
6.5% |
27 |
15.0% |
81 |
11.9% |
|||||||||||
30 to 49 years |
93 |
8.1% |
20 |
6.6% |
68 |
6.5% |
181 |
7.3% |
|||||||||||
≥ 50 years |
54 |
8.6% |
25 |
10.8% |
3 |
3.7% |
82 |
8.7% |
|||||||||||
Men |
518 |
6.5% |
133 |
6.0% |
151 |
4.7% |
802 |
6.0% |
|||||||||||
< 30 years |
118 |
8.8% |
22 |
8.5% |
39 |
8.9% |
179 |
8.8% |
|||||||||||
30 to 49 years |
147 |
4.3% |
31 |
3.2% |
93 |
3.8% |
271 |
4.0% |
|||||||||||
≥ 50 years |
253 |
7.6% |
80 |
8.1% |
19 |
5.3% |
352 |
7.6% |
|||||||||||
Total |
713 |
7.0% |
184 |
6.5% |
249 |
5.5% |
1,146 |
6.5% |
|||||||||||
Compliance and compensation
Covestro regards fair and respectful working conditions as essential. We provide information, advice and resources to prevent violations of laws or corporate guidelines. If any breach is suspected, employees can contact their Compliance Officer at any time, anonymously if they wish. All suspected breaches of compliance are recorded using standard Group-wide criteria. This applies to all labor law-related matters such as working conditions, possible cases of discrimination and potential violations of the rights to exercise freedom of association and collective bargaining, as well as generally with regard to human rights. If material risks arise from legal disputes and proceedings, these are published in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements.
In the year under review, around 55% of our employees worldwide were subject to collective bargaining or company agreements. At various country subsidiaries, the interests of the workforce are represented by elected employee representatives who have a right to be consulted on certain decisions affecting the workforce.
Covestro offers its employees competitive compensation and attaches importance to equal pay irrespective of gender and other diversity criteria. As of December 31, 2019, around 78% of the workforce had access to a company pension plan. At all locations, personnel policy is aligned with the statutory requirements, such as those for severance, pre-retirement and retirement payments. For instance, in Germany employees are able to transfer salary and time components (converted into money) into a long-term account. The accumulated balance can then be used at a later date for certain legally defined purposes such as pre-retirement leave.