The work-life balance:

• KfW and KfW IPEX Bank receive "audit berufundfamilie" certificate
• Awarded for fifth time since 2001
• Continuous improvement in family-friendly measures

Together with its subsidiary KfW IPEX Bank, KfW today in Berlin was awarded for the fifth time the "audit berufundfamilie" certificate in recognition of its strategic, family-friendly HR policy. It is one of a total of 322 employers who received certificates at the event in Berlin from Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Caren Marks, and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry for Economic Affairs, Iris Gleicke, as issued by berufundfamilie gGmbH – an initiative of the non-profit Hertie Foundation. They included 157 companies, 126 institutions and 39 universities.

"We are proud that KfW is one of the first companies to have received the certificate in 2001 and has continued to receive certificates ever since. This topic has a long tradition in our company and the high significance we attribute to it is reflected in the wide variety of benefits we offer to, and constantly improve for, our employees", said Dr Günther Bräunig, member of the KfW Executive Board.

KfW has successfully completed the "audit berufundfamilie" for the fifth time. This audit carried out every three years, KfW is one of the employers to have been there since the very first audit and has proven its family-friendly focus for thirteen years.

Approximately 5,400 employees at KfW and KfW IPEX Bank benefit from the family-friendly measures. The range of benefits on offer currently includes, for example, flexi-time without core working hours, various part-time models, part-time junior managerial positions on a tandem basis, a workplace nursery and after-school centre with a total of 45 places, two day-care facilities with 66 places, a commitment to expand the number of female managers, and an innovative gender-balance framework with mentoring and shadowing to build up leadership potential. KfW is planning to implement further measures before the next audit as part of an in-house health-care management system and push ahead with the gender-balance framework.

"All of these measures have a positive impact on the motivation of our staff, and naturally they also have tangible economic benefits. Especially in view of demographic changes, having flexible working environments and attractive working conditions is the order of the day," said Dr Bräunig.

Applicable in all sectors and at companies of varying sizes, the audit captures the status of the measures already offered to achieve a better work-life balance, systematically develops individual company potential, and ensures family awareness is firmly rooted in the corporate culture by means of binding objectives. Implementation in practice is audited by berufundfamilie gGmbH. Further objectives can be agreed as part of a re-audit after three years. Only if the re-audit is successful may the employer keep an unchanged certificate. The audit is carried out under the auspices of the German Federal Ministers for Family Affairs and Economic Affairs as recommended by leading German business associations, the BDA (Confederation of German Employers' Associations), the BDI (Federation of German Industries), the DIHK (Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce) and the ZDH (National Federation of German Skilled Crafts and Trades).

There are currently a total of 1,039 employers in Germany that hold an "audit berufundfamilie“ certificate, including 535 companies, 370 institutions and 134 universities.

For more information, please visit: www.beruf-und-familie.de.