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Raiffeisen Bank International | Sustainability Report 2018
Management Overview Foreword
of sustainability
Responsible
banker
Fair partner –
Human Resources
Fair partner –
Inhouse ecology
Engaged
citizen
GRI index and
Assurance report
Fair partner – Human
Resources
The ongoing process of digitization is finding its way into companies as much as it is private life. Digitization is
being driven by changing customer requirements and the opening up of new technological opportunities. With
the pace of change growing rapidly, companies find themselves required to operate with greater agility within
adaptive structures. This applies to companies as a whole, and hence also to the human resources (HR) function.
Just as the needs and expectations of customers are changing, employees’ needs and expectations of their
company are evolving too. Our HR agenda for the future will concentrate on efforts to think less in terms of
functional processes and more from a customer perspective. This also involves adopting a more pronounced
focus on our employees’ experiences in working for the company and reshaping their employee experience. This
guiding principle permeates all processes directly relating to employees, including recruitment, onboarding,
performance management, and employee development. The implementation of this agenda requires us to examine
and adopt new technologies to improve efficiency and user-friendliness, while also rethinking and reshaping our
own working processes – for example, by using new methods like Design Thinking or Scrum, a particularly agile
form of cooperation.
HR is also playing a central role in extensively preparing, assisting and supporting employees when it comes to
the changes facing the banking world. The aim is to ensure a working environment in which employees from
different functions, backgrounds or generations can continue enjoying their work and developing and realizing
their potential in the future.
Impacts, risks and opportunities
As a large financial service provider, RBI has a special responsibility towards its employees. How the company
conducts itself not only affects its employees, but also indirectly affects their families and society as a whole. RBI
is aware of this responsibility and must take action to balance these competing forces every day – generating
adequate profits for its shareholders while at the same time ensuring the well-being of its employees. The opportunity
to create and maintain jobs – with positive socio-economic benefits for individuals and regions – is a fundamental
concern of RBI within its 13 markets in CEE. This has an indirect impact on security, stability and prosperity in
society. Nevertheless, RBI cannot escape technological changes and rising cost pressures and, as a result,
cannot completely avoid economically necessary job losses. RBI considers a responsible approach to this topic
to be essential. In addition, RBI tries to counteract the increased workload for individuals by improving efficiency
to reduce the risk of illness and its possible impact also on the families of employees. RBI is committed to maintaining
the physical and mental health of its employees. Through a variety of health care and sports provisions and
opportunities, the company seeks to prevent potential negative effects of what is primarily sedentary office work
and stress that can have a material impact on well-being.
RBI’s foremost goal with its employees regarding sustainability involves the topic of meaningfulness. Within the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the goal number eight defined there (SDG 8), the transformation to
”good jobs“, RBI tries best to work towards achieving this goal. We understand this as an opportunity to increase
employee satisfaction, productivity, loyalty and employees’ identification with the company and what it stands
for. The opportunity resulting from the SDG 1 would be to trigger a quality competition in terms of “good jobs”
– in the case of RBI leading by example in CEE where possible. This goes hand in hand with fair remuneration,
which is a concern of RBI, as it creates a win-win situation.