Tognum among Family-Friendliest Employers

Propulsion and power generation specialist Tognum and its biggest subsidiary, MTU Friedrichshafen, have again received official recognition as a family-friendly employer. After picking up the ‘Career and Family’ certificate in 2007 and 2010, it has now been selected for the third time. Official presentation of the accolade is to take place in Berlin in the summer of next year.

“Since we first received this award, we have constantly been improving and expanding our portfolio. We are able to respond to changing personal priorities and the demands of modern professional life,” said Jörg Schwitalla, member of the Tognum Executive Board responsible for personnel and head of integrity and operations at the company.

The Tognum Group and its subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen situated on Lake Constance provide staff with numerous possibilities for reconciling the demands of work and private life. “As far as the work-life balance is concerned, Tognum is in a very strong position and ranks among the top 25% in comparison with other companies,” said Christine Schöneberg, auditor at ‘berufundfamilie’ (career and family), that grants the certificates jointly with the Hertie foundation.

“We offer a wide variety of working time models to help our staff meet the company’s operational needs and at the same time organize their family life in the best possible way,” said Ingo Metzer, head of personnel.

One example of how flexibly working time can be structured around the needs of job and family is provided by Maria Galgoczi from electronics manufacturing. 26 years ago, she began working for MTU on a part-time basis to enable her to tend to her school-age child. As the years passed, so did her familial obligations, but she was able to switch between different working time models: one year she worked in the mornings, one year two full days a week, then three full days. Today she does part-time shift work.

“It’s very important for me to have time for my family. I was able to organize my work time around my child’s school timetable. Today I can cater for the needs of my husband, who has now retired, in exactly the same way,” she says, to highlight the benefits of flexible working hours.

 “The fact that we have again been honored with this certificate shows how we have constantly striven to improve as an employer and to think in a family-conscious way. This year, we opened our company child-care center, which strongly attests to that,” said Jörg Schwitalla.

[mappress]
Press Release, December 5, 2013