Annual Report 2010 - Melitta

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6 Melitta Group Annual Report 2010 Employer attractiveness Prof. Dr. Armin Trost As skilled employees become increasingly rare, it is not only job candidates who must talk up their suitability but also the employers themselves. And that not only applies to recruiting talented and motivated staff but also to retaining good people in the company. As easy as this may appear at first sight, the answer to what companies might do in view of this shift in power is actually quite complex. Staff surveys are nothing new. Many companies regularly question their work force on their feelings toward the company, with reference to all aspects of job satisfaction. There have to be serious doubts, however, as to whether such measures actually enhance the employer’s appeal in most cases. Instead of using such a scattergun approach to the question of their attractiveness to staff, employers should take a more strategic view of the situation. Does an employer have to be equally appealing to everyone – in all departments, divisions and locations, whether existing staff or potential candidates? This may seem a worthy and well-meaning objective, but it’s not exactly realistic. Do companies today and in future have to pay competitive wages, offer international career prospects or promise a healthy work-life balance? Once again, the answer is a definite “maybe”. So what now? Let us first approach the question of whether an employer has to be attractive. Every company has functional areas of particular strategic importance, often referred to as “key functions”. If a company has set itself the strategic target of becoming the cost leader, for example, then Purchasing or Production Planning are usually key functions. However, if the company has targeted leadership in technology and innovation, then Research and Development will be a key function. A company would therefore be well advised to employ staff in these key functions who are better than those of its competitors in comparable functions. It is often difficult to find staff for such key functions. This is why a company needs to be attractive to existing and potential employees primarily in these positions if it wants to have the best staff. For the remaining positions, the question is: how attractive or unattractive can a company afford to be, or even want to be. A product is not equally attractive to all market participants. It doesn’t have to be. Most cars are too expensive, too fast, too slow, too big or too small for most motorists. That is perfectly normal and does not cause car manufacturers any sleepless nights. The important thing is that certain cars appeal to certain target groups which the company wants to reach. Companies should therefore think and act in a similar way when it comes to employer attractiveness. It’s perfectly acceptable if the Purchasing department does not attract German literature graduates, for example. But if you want to recruit top business graduates for a position in Purchasing, then it would certainly
e beneficial if the respective target group were made aware of this function in an appealing way. An important question is therefore: who do I want to reach on the job market? What type of people belong to my relevant target group for this key function? Are they pupils, students, graduates of certain courses? Experienced workers with a specific industry background? In order to appeal to a certain target group, you first have to understand them. You have to find out their employer preferences and which professional aspects they attach most importance to. Such things are not always possible to discover from surveys or similar standard instruments. Instead, the employer should systematically approach the chosen species with a combination of openness and curiosity. The similarity to ethnology is no coincidence. It is often quite surprising to discover what ultimately drives the target candidates. To some extent it is therefore advisable to depart from conventional attitudes – especially when it comes to members of the younger generation, the so-called Generation Y. This is a generation for whom the daily and everpresent, mobile use of the Internet and social media is absolutely normal. They demand space in their daily work. Work is no longer viewed as a place you go to, but as something you do – whenever, wherever and with whomever. Work means having an uncomplicated approach to communication and cooperation. Hierarchies and formal or informal networks are no longer seen as contradictions. Private and professional life merges into one, as communication and thinking are no longer switched off at the company gates. Work-life balance doesn’t mean working less but working when you choose. This may apply more or less, depending on the particular target group. Stereotyping is also of little use here. More helpful are interactive workshops with representatives of the target group, discussions, creative methods etc. Being an attractive employer is always relative. There is no such thing as absolute employer attractiveness – even if certain employer competitions would have us believe so. Being attractive means meeting the preferences and expectations of a defined group of people. The question facing companies now is to what extent they can meet expectations in certain key functions as of today. Some of the things which appeal to selected target groups may already be in place, others not. Many aspects generally deemed attractive may well be in place already, as key functions have been naturally shaped by the current representatives of certain target groups. Because sales staff think in a very specific way, you will already find many of the working conditions established by sales staff over the years which naturally appeal to the relevant target groups of today. But even if an employer appears attractive in a whole number of aspects, it doesn’t necessarily translate into a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting top staff. If a company offered its staff the fitness rooms they crave, for example, it would not help it stand out from the competition if its competitors did the same – or this was even Employer attractiveness 7
Page 1 and 2: www.melitta.info Annual Report 2010
Page 3 and 4: Contents 2 Foreword of the Manageme
Page 5 and 6: The past months have also seen a nu
Page 7: China Japan EUROPE Belgium Lokeren
Page 11 and 12: way - some things simply are what t
Page 13 and 14: Melitta HouseholdNavigation Product
Page 15 and 16: Our brand for coffee enjoyment. sup
Page 17 and 18: Cofresco Freshkeeping Products Euro
Page 19 and 20: The key to freshness and flavour, i
Page 21 and 22: Melitta Navigation Coffee Subnaviga
Page 23 and 24: Our brand for coffee enjoyment. Out
Page 25 and 26: Melitta Navigation SystemService Su
Page 27 and 28: Our brand for coffee enjoyment. The
Page 29 and 30: Melitta has been offering a range o
Page 31 and 32: Our brand for coffee enjoyment. Our
Page 33 and 34: Melitta has been active on the US m
Page 37 and 38: Melitta Canada markets coffee and c
Page 41 and 42: Wolf PVG is a highly specialized sy
Page 43 and 44: The brand for vacuum cleaner bags a
Page 45 and 46: Melitta Neu Haushaltsprodukte Kalis
Page 47 and 48: Outlook 2011: Expansion of market s
Page 49 and 50: in sales of filter papers in Europe
Page 51 and 52: Melitta counters raw material price
Page 53 and 54: Explanatory notes on the consolidat
Page 55 and 56: Financial instruments are measured
Page 57 and 58: 4. Trade receivables in € ’000

Annual Report 2010 - Melitta

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