Employees.
Our employees are the foundation of the BMW Group´s success. Their professional qualification and commitment are outstanding. In return, we offer safe and attractive jobs and comprehensive opportunities for personal development and qualification.
A CULTURE OF APPRECIATION AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES.
Working at the BMW Group means taking responsibility far beyond our own premises – for our society, the environment and all our stakeholders. It is our associates who are creating more sustainable, connected and safer mobility. This is our contribution to a better future. This is what drives us forward every day.
Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, People and Real Estate, Labour Relations Director
Having colleagues from more than 110 countries make us strong. We firmly believe that our diversity and the individuality of each and every associate increases our capacity for innovation – because the only way we can understand the needs of our customers, inspire them and win them over is with a workforce that is truly international. How can we ensure our employees are able to contribute their talents and continue to develop? The BMW Group Board of Management firmly established its commitment to diversity at the company back in 2010 and developed a comprehensive concept. A culture of appreciation and equal opportunity is unquestionable for the BMW Group.
Diversity as a major success factor.
As a global company, we value individual differences: people with different genders and nationalities, from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds, with different skill sets. Different perspectives enable us to explore issues from different angles and make smarter decisions: In times like these, that is an important success factor, since anyone who operates globally must also think globally and have a global footprint.
Diversity in all dimensions.
Diversity Management at the BMW Group.
The BMW Group’s global commitment is not restricted to these areas, however. We never lose sight of the bigger picture – that all our staff must be free to develop their talents for new ideas to flourish and enable long-term success. This can only succeed in a working environment that is free of prejudices, with equal respect for all employees, regardless of their gender, nationality, ethnic background, religion, disability, age and sexual orientation.
The BMW Group signed the Diversity Charter back in 2011 and committed itself to create a working environment free of prejudices.
We are constantly working to create a corporate culture of tolerance, mutual respect and equal opportunities. We rigorously oppose all forms of discrimination.
“Diversity Charter”
Implementation and further information.
Diversity requirements are implemented on an individual basis in each country. Each market defines specific targets and areas of activity, reflecting the local situation and legal framework.
Further information on diversity at the BMW Group is available in the Sustainable Value Report. The relevant chapters are available for download here.
Advancement of women.
By 2025, the BMW Group aims to increase the proportion of women in the workforce in general as well as in management positions to between 20 % and 22 %. BMW AG is aiming for a proportion of 17 % to 19 % of women in the total workforce and 19 % to 21 % in management positions. To achieve this target, BMWAG carefully analysed the effectiveness of its existing measures and programmes during the year under report, focused on specifically optimising them to suit requirements and derived new measures. These include, for example, new formats for the targeted promotion of young female managers and the option of filling management positions with two people at the same time in a form of joint leadership. In addition, the BMW Group ensures a high proportion of women in its young talent promotion programmes and is committed to a seamless return to working life after parental leave.
Nachwuchsförderung.
Since we are looking to implement lasting changes, we begin by promoting young talent and trying to interest more women in technical professions.
Long-term measures to recruit more female employees include our academic youth talent programmes and vocational programmes with a special focus on women.
In the young talent programs, the share of female trainees in the Global Leader Development Programme increased in 2020 during the period under review. In the student development programs (Fastlane, SpeedUp), women made up around 33% of participants. In this way, we hope to pave the way for a new generation of managers that includes more women, has a high level of technical expertise, is well networked and has increased awareness of cultural and social issues.
One challenge for our young talent programmes is that women are still generally underrepresented in engineering studies and technical professions. Our approach is therefore to promote an interest in technology at an early stage. To achieve this, we have implemented a wide range of measures at BMW AG:
- Girls’ Day, since 2011 also Boys’ Day
- School-Economy Initiative
- Junior Campus at BMW Welt in Munich and the German Museum of Technology in Berlin
- Trial internships and technology camp for girls
Vehicles for research and education.
For many years now, the BMW Group has actively supported young talent through the provision of free vehicles for training facilities at home and abroad.
As a result, trainees, technicians and engineers have the opportunity to acquire, broaden and deepen their knowledge using current models. The vehicles provided are equipped with the most varied drive concepts ranging from the latest petrol or diesel variants to hybrids and all-electric vehicles such as the BMW i3. Furthermore, motorcycles are also provided.
With this commitment, the BMW Group supports vocational training facilities and technical universities to consistently adapt training and research to the latest technological innovations and promotes training in the area of electric mobility.
More than 1,700 vehicles are deployed “in the service of vocational training“ worldwide.
Our partners:
BMW sales partners
Country:
Worldwide
Health and Performance.
The BMW Group places great emphasis on maintaining and promoting the health and the performance of its employees. It therefore encourages personal responsibility and designs its work environments with the idea of maintaining the health of its people in the long term. In line with this strategy, employees at all BMW Group locations have a comprehensive health management system available to them. The Group’s very high standards of occupational safety also serve as a preventive measure.
Health Management with a Holistic Approach.
Since 2011, the BMW Group has combined a set of coordinated measures to promote the health and performance of its workforce within its health initiative programme. A range of campaigns inform the workforce on subjects such as addiction prevention or ways of maintaining good mental health. Regular campaign days, dialogue events and training courses address current health topics such as nutrition, exercise and fitness, cancer prevention or mental resilience and raise awareness of these issues accordingly. Due to the unprecedented circumstances caused by the pandemic, many of these events took place virtually.
Occupational Safety at all Group Locations.
Occupational safety is one of the BMW Group’s foremost preventive measures for protecting and maintaining the health of its workforce. The strategy is based on a comprehensive management system that not only meets legal requirements applicable at the Group’s various locations, but frequently goes beyond them. Accordingly, the BMW Group is committed to ensuring and certifying the highest level of occupational safety at all its locations. The right to occupational health and safety is also a key feature enshrined in the BMW Group’s Code on Human Rights and Working Conditions. In the Code, the company undertakes to consistently comply with currently applicable occupational health and safety legislation worldwide and also to set its own additional standards for improving occupational safety.
Employee Engagement.
Being socially responsible forms an integral part of how many BMW Group employees see themselves. They take societal challenges seriously and act on their own initiative, voluntarily and outside of working hours. They do this in many ways. For example, there are team activities during our ‘Social Days’. Other employees dedicate their time to long-term projects, with some putting their professional skills to use or even developing social business ideas.
BMW GROUP AWARD FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILTY.
At the BMW Group,“We love what you do!” applies not only to the services rendered each day by employees throughout the world. Once a year, this motto becomes particularly important to us. Since 2011, the company has bestowed the “BMW Group Award for social responsibility“ on employees in appreciation of their exemplary voluntary commitment.
CARE 4 WATER
In search of a project with which employees could give a little back to the communities in the direct vicinity of dealers and production locations in emerging countries, BMW Group Financial Services consulted W4W (WavesforWater), together with which the Care4Water campaign was developed.
“UPGRAID – DO SOMETHING MEANINGFUL”
The initiative upgrAID has been in existence since 2018 and is a grassroots movement comprising volunteers who advocate the social commitment of BMW employees and anchoring within the BMW Group. Our long-term aim is to create the cultural and practical preconditions within the BMW Group to provide all employees with the chance and opportunity to use time, money and know-how on meaningful, charitable activities and to develop themselves further in the process.
Contact for interested volunteers, enquiries concerning ongoing projects or further information: upgraid@bmwgroup.com.
INNOVATION FOR IMPACT
Our accelerator programme “Innovation for Impact” supports employee ideas that use clever technologies to contribute to society: like the three female founders of “Upcycle Element”, who had the idea of making creative and stylish everyday items, such as backpacks and other bags, including toiletry and laptop bags, from old work overalls.
KULTURMOBILE
We have been involved with various cultural formats worldwide over the past 50 years. Employees can receive information on current events – public and those organised by the BMW Group – through the Kulturmobile initiative. The BMW Group has also had its own literature podcast since 2020.
DIXI DRIVERS
The first BMW band, the “Dixi Drivers”, named after the first BMW car, the DIXI, was formed in 1983 by clarinettist Werner Grün. They play straightforward, traditional jazz and blues that appeal to anyone.