Many initiatives were also implemented at the individual company level in 2013. The following examples have been chosen from the many available to illustrate the work of the VIG companies in the area of people management.
Austria – Wiener Städtische promotes information exchange with employees on parental leave
Wiener Städtische started the “Eltern-Kind-Jause” (Parent-Child-Snacktime) in 2013 in order to maintain contact with employees on parental leave. The aim of the event is to bring mothers and fathers on parental leave up-to-date twice a year on current developments in the Company, thereby making it easier to return to work. Equal treatment in the workplace, numerous training and advanced training opportunities, a balance of career and family, and open internal and external communication are values that form part of day-to-day life at Wiener Städtische.
Austria – Greater focus on “career and family” in Donau Versicherung and s Versicherung
Achieving a balance between career and family is of key importance to Donau Versicherung. In order to give this issue the same importance in its strategic people management, Donau Versicherung decided to take part in the comprehensive “Audit berufundfamilie” (Career and Family Audit) programme and received the government seal of approval under this programme. s Versicherung also took part in this audit process and has committed to implementing additional measures to reconcile career and family in the next three years. As a result, s Versicherung also has the right to use the government “Audit berufundfamilie” seal of approval as a family-friendly employer.
Czech Republic – Founding of the ˇCPP academy by group company ˇCPP
In 2013, the Czech Group Company ČPP received funding from the European Social Fund in the area of training and advance training for its two-year project “Professionalism through Education”. The ČPP Academy was founded as
part of this project. Accreditation of the first participants in the six-month vocational continuing training programme took place in September of the reporting period. 24 employees from regional head offices throughout the Czech Republic successfully completed the programme. The programme was centred on training internal specialists to provide detailed information on ČPP products and services to sales employees or business partners.
Slovakia – New Kooperativa training programme via video conference
The Slovakian Group company Kooperativa started an innovative environmentally-friendly pilot project for digital training using video streaming in 2013. This type of distance training is currently in the test phase and is aimed at helping the company's own field sales force by saving valuable time and travel expenses. Unlike conventional e-learning platforms, online training meetings ensure there is an interactive exchange between participants, and individual contact between trainers and participants.
Poland – Compensa non-life awarded title of “reliable Employer”
The Polish Chamber of Commerce awarded the title of “Reliable Employer” to the Polish Group company Compensa Non-Life in 2013. The award reflects the company's successful long-term efforts in the area of employee rights, benefits and fringe benefits. The evaluation process for the “Reliable Employer” award began in 2009 and was carried out by the Polish Chamber of Commerce and the “Teraz Polska” (“Poland now”) Polish Promotional Programme Foundation in cooperation with NGOs and universities.
Romania – Implementing the new VIG expert competences in Omniasig
The Group-wide core competences defined by VIG describe the employee and management conduct and approaches that form the basis for the Company's success. After the expert group was added to the model in 2012, the Romanian Group company Omniasig became one of the first companies to take part in the pilot project to implement these expert competences. The goal of the pilot project is to identify examples of best practice during the implementation process so that the experience gathered can be made available to help Group companies in the next stage. Working closely with the project team of the people management department of VIG Holding, numerous workshops, feedback rounds and training courses were already conducted with the Managing Board and managers in 2013.