A foundation of trust

For us, trust begins with our understanding of human nature. We are fully convinced that our employees want to participate actively at work. We want to create the best possible conditions for maintaining this willingness to perform! That is why our culture of trust is also structurally anchored. We allow ourselves plenty of freedom in pursuing our goals and avoid using control mechanisms whenever possible.

• We provide training for our employees and managers so that their collaboration is based on cooperation and equal standing rather than hierarchy and rigid rules. Creating relationships that are active and constructive is of central importance.
• We set great store by transparency and the active participation of our employees. We make this possible through our social intranet (Camp), common open spaces, workshops and information events.
• In March, Amseln Grün honored VAUDE with the Soul@Work Award for good leadership.
  
• Everyone is invited to actively participate in our Idea Management Program, “Steps”.
  
• We work together to create a self-directed organization. This means, for example, that restructuring is usually developed and implemented with the participation of stakeholders rather than from the top down.
  
• Interdisciplinary, cross-hierarchy and self-directed collaborations are encouraged and promoted.

By establishing a culture of trust, we are making a major contribution to securing the future of the company and towards employee satisfaction and retention:

• We understand the fundamental importance of trust for a modern, innovative, and sustainably oriented company. Likewise, we understand the positive importance of trust for human development: Employees feel safe and comfortable when they experience trust. 
  
• Our culture of trust is an essential part of our corporate culture and values and the two interact with each other.
  
• We understand the diverse components that need to be established in terms of a lived culture of trust and are aware of the important role that the company management has in this process. 
  

We are aware that this makes us vulnerable as an organization. In this regard, we rely on our employees and count on them to return this trust. We also have the means to identify breaches of trust and can react appropriately when needed.

In 2016, at the request of our employees, we held the first election of an official employee representative from the management and human resources division. In December of the same year, 5 employee representatives were elected, who would initially remain in office for four years. This team is supplemented by the respective elected spokesperson of our trainee personnel.

In an intensive workshop and/or team coaching session, the employee representatives developed guidelines and standards for their own working methods and the execution of their role(s). Since then, they have been in close contact with the company's management, are involved in decision-making processes, represent the concerns of employees and play a mediation role in conflict situations.

A culture of trust also requires, for example, that organizational changes affecting our employees be announced in a timely manner.

There are no minimum notification periods for this. All organizational changes such as new positions, internal job changes or reorganization of departments are published on the internal online communication platform (Camp), which all employees have access to.
This is also where changes to occupational safety laws which require public notice, are automatically made available every year by the Arbeitgeberbibliothek (a German Internet platform.)

In addition, every employee can also actively participate in communication on our intranet. All content can be commented upon and rated. Furthermore, all employees are able to create their own content and they take advantage of this opportunity regularly.