Private and professional life: We make nearly everything possible!

The foundation for our cooperation within the company is a positive view of human nature, which is influenced by trust. We believe that employees are fundamentally self-motivated. They enjoy the effort of putting their skills to use and are happy to take on responsibilities. Read more at "A foundation of trust".

We see it as our job to create the conditions in which employees can grow and learn in their own way. Home office positions (114 employees use this option and the numbers are rising), personalized working hours and leave, part-time positions (37% of all salaried employees work part-time), childcare in the VAUDE Kinderhaus and trust-based working hours (approx.150 employees and the trend is rising) are only a few offers that help our employees live their lives as they wish while staying healthy and productive.

In order to balance private and professional life, dependable childcare that is tailored to the needs of parents is essential. The VAUDE Kinderhaus, operated in cooperation with the city of Tettnang, has been a role model for this since 2001.

VAUDE provides the premises for the childcare center and takes on a significant proportion of the investment, adding up to approximately 50,000 euros per year - see "Creating added value through commitment". The remaining costs are covered by the city of Tettnang.

Up to 31 children are cared for in mixed age groups with after school programs and a crèche. About half are VAUDE employees' children; the other half are children from the surrounding area.

The childcare center has become so popular that we can no longer fully meet the demand.

Read more about the VAUDE Kinderhaus

The birth rate at VAUDE has increased significantly since the opening of the childcare center and has been far above the German average for years.

In 2016 our birth rate was again quite high. With 25 births and a birth rate of 47.3*, we are on a path of sustainable growth in this area as well. 

Birthrate Germany status 2013: 8.4
Birthrate VAUDE 2014: 32.9
Birthrate VAUDE 2015: 53
Birthrate VAUDE 2016: 47.3

Source

** Calculation of birthrates:
2016: 25 births / 529 employees x 1000
2004: 5 births / 263 employees x 1000

At VAUDE it has become quite normal that throughout the company, parental leave is taken by women and men across all levels of the hierarchy and the rate was quite high again in 2016. 52 employees took parental leave (38 women; 14 men) during the report period. 

All 35 employees who had planned to come back to work after their parental leave in 2016 did so, giving us a return rate of 100%.

To ensure that the employees who take parental leave return promptly to work in a way that meets their personal needs, we support dialogue during and after the parental leave period. We organize parental leave meetings between VAUDE and employees twice a year in order to maintain contact and encourage dialogue.

We are convinced that we are on the right track and we are proud of it! We are making nearly everything possible and yet we know that we are also dealing with a major company challenge. We currently have just as many positions to cover due to parental leave as those due to job turnover. A solution and achievement oriented approach is of great importance for this issue.