Strategic Diversity & Inclusion
Diversity is an important component of our corporate culture. The experience, talents and skills of our employees reflect the diversity of our markets and customers. We are convinced that the different cultures and competencies of our employees help us to understand our markets better and to ensure our long-term success. It is a source of creative, innovative and economic strength. We therefore further each employee’s abilities and appreciate their individual characters and special qualities as valuable to the company. This appreciation is embodied in our Code of Conduct and the Code of Teamwork & Leadership.
In June 2009, the Henkel Management Board approved a Global Diversity & Inclusion Policy. The policy includes a uniform definition of these two terms and documents measures for their implementation. For this purpose, we also appointed an international team of diversity ambassadors in 2009. Their task is to encourage and implement local projects and initiatives.
We want to have the best teams – irrespective of the age, gender and nationality of their members. We select our employees on the basis of competence and potential, rather than to satisfy quotas. In this context, we strive to identify and eliminate barriers that limit individual development perspectives. Diverse programs such as “Women in Leadership”, mentoring programs and networking activities enhance this perspective.
Balancing family and career
Balancing family and career is a topical socio-political theme in many countries today and is a focal aspect of diversity management. We can only utilize the skills and abilities of our employees to maximum effect if we help them to master the challenges of combining career and family. We are therefore planning to make it even easier for employees to take advantage of flexible working hours, part-time work, and home offices – when this is economically feasible, and taking due account of individual circumstances. Flexible working hours have long been established at many of our sites.
In order to support our employees in their efforts to coordinate their dedication to their careers and their plans for their private lives, we offer locally organized working groups. Depending on the given situation or local challenge, appropriate targets and solution can be developed.