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Efforts are constantly being made to increase participation in the
employee surveys as a way of including smaller companies in the
group, as well as the large network banks. The overall number of
companies participating in the survey was increased by including
Austrian subsidiaries such as the Valida Group and Raiffeisen
Centrobank AG. A total of around 52,000 employees from 32
companies participated in 2016/2017. In the previous group-wide
survey, only 21 companies with about 29,000 employees took part.
The return rate for the entire project in 2016/2017 was on average
84 percent. That is an increase of three percentage points compared
to the previous survey.
The results in the categories “Employee Engagement” (commitment
to the company and the willingness to volunteer for additional work)
and “Employee Enablement” ( the presence of an environment that
promotes success) have – as was already evident in 2016 –
significantly increased. While the average values were 61 percent
for employee engagement and 64 percent for employee enablement
in 2014, in 2016/2017 the figures were 69 percent and 73 percent
respectively. This substantial increase of eight and nine percentage
points can be attributed to the intense follow-ups and the
implementation of improvement measures in the respective companies.
The results achieved are four percentage points above average
when compared to the market benchmark “Financial Services in CEE.”
This clearly demonstrates that the measures taken in the respective
companies were received positively by the employees, at the level
of the individual organizational unit, but also at the level of the
company as a whole. “We’re on the right track, but haven’t got
there yet” commented one employee.
This meant that 2017 was mainly devoted to processing the results,
planning and implementing the measures in most network banks and
Austrian subsidiaries. For the other part, specific planning and
implementation of these measures will start in 2018.
Also in the area of employee surveys, digitization offers new
opportunities for allowing employees to be more involved in making
decisions in the future. The first so-called “pulse surveys” have already
been conducted in some companies of the group. These surveys
provide information on whether the measures taken after the last
survey are already having an effect or are heading in the right
direction. The results of these tests were promising. For this reason, in
2018 we plan to take a closer look at the market for survey tools so
that we can modernize even more, and we plan to launch another
group-wide round of “pulse surveys,” which will be used on an ad
hoc basis. For many of our group companies, it is not enough to
conduct an employee survey every two years. They want feedback
from their employees that is flexible, timely and “to the point.” On top
of this, managers should also have the opportunity to invite their
employees directly to give them feedback, without them having to
do the general employee survey. This is intended to further establish
the “Voice of the Employee” as a management tool that contributes
to the successful relationship between the company and its
employees.
Raiffeisen Bank International | Sustainability Report 2017
© RBI
Christina Unzeitig-Böck,
RBI AG, Senior Manager
Employee Engagement
“Employee engagement has replaced
employee satisfaction as the new
buzzword in companies. This is why
we have been working on bringing
employee engagement to life for a
considerable time in the group. We
believe that employees who identify with
the values and goals of the company and
find suitable working conditions within
the company are more motivated and
ready to participate more. To find out what
framework conditions must be adjusted
within the company, we carry out
employee surveys in all of the group’s
companies every two years. The results are
discussed with managers and employees.
Based on them, concrete measures are
conducted in teams and departments as
well as at the company level. The positive
effects resulting from that can be seen in
the steadily increasing key indicators for
employee engagement and employee
enablement within the group. This is all the
more remarkable because current global
studies (see Aon Hewitt 2017) show that
generally speaking, the level of employee
engagement is declining. It is gratifying to
see that we are making a considerable
contribution to further developing our
company.”
QUOTE