OREANDA-NEWS. June 13, 2012. DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, was commended for its family-oriented staff policy. The certificate on the "audit berufundfamilie” (job and family audit) was awarded by berufundfamilie gGmbH - initiated by the non-profit Hertie Foundation - during a ceremony in Berlin.

Around 450 employees are in a position to benefit from this family-oriented initiative, offered by DEG. DEG, a subsidiary of KfW, offers its staff a wide range of possibilities to strike a balance between work and family. Working mothers and fathers can make use of various part-time work models and home teleworking, among others. In addition to reconciliation of working life and family life, the topic of gender equality is a core issue of DEG's personnel policy. The share of women at management levels at the European development finance institution is currently 27 per cent.

The certification confirms that also in the long term DEG will maintain its family-friendly stance. The aim is not only to improve staff motivation, but also to increase the company's attractiveness on the labour market. Within the scope of the audit, DEG has given a commitment to implement particular objectives and measures within the next three years. These include broadening the opportunities to work from home and promotion of topics such as job and family, diversity and gender equality in the field of on-going education and training for executive staff. The auditors of Hertie Foundation perform annual reviews to verify whether the criteria agreed upon have been met.

In Germany, a total of around 1,000 employers are entitled to the certificate on the audit berufundfamilie. They are deemed to play a pioneering role in family-oriented staff policy, given that their range of possibilities to reconcile family and working life is above average, compared to other German companies.

To receive the quality mark, DEG had undergone a detailed auditing process, during which the status quo of the existing measures to achieve a better work-life balance was determined, the available potential within DEG was systematically developed and tailor-made family-related solutions were created and implemented.

The audit under auspices of Dr. Kristina Schroder, Minister for Family Affairs, and Dr. Philipp Rosler, Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, is a strategic management tool which is to assist employers in implementing family-friendly staff policies.