Annual Report 2003 - Hannover Re

Management report
human resources
criteria used for systematic assessment are values
(customer orientation, profitability, reliability),
knowledge (languages, technical know-how) and
skills (communication, readiness to take decisions,
organisational talents). Overall, the blended tool
is intended to enhance leadership attitudes and
to successfully match positions with personal profiles.
We use it to systematically check the quality
of core competencies, determine training requirements
and at the same time identify career
opportunities as part of successor planning.
We also use a new technique for identifying
potential within the scope of successor planning,
namely the personnel development workshop.
By means of this holistic approach we seek
to pinpoint an employee's skills requirements
and clarify personal development opportunities
with an eye to professional and leadership qualities.
This tool enables us to provide managerial
staff with valuable pointers for the advancement
of their employees.
Our goal is to enhance our status as an attractive
international employer. We are constantly
on the lookout for highly qualified young
professionals and junior executives who are motivated
to work together with us on this challenge.
From the very outset this task is geared to
continuity and cannot allow itself to be swayed
by short-sighted considerations and labour market
factors. We have commissioned internal and
external studies to examine the appeal of our
company as an employer and we have defined
what we consider to be necessary action fields
based on their findings.
In order to satisfy our constant need for
motivated, well-educated university graduates
we have developed marketing activities aimed
at target groups and institutions of higher education.
We currently maintain close contacts with
all major universities in fields related to our work.
By giving a diverse range of specialist presentations
we recruit directly from among the students
and have established lasting relationships with
department chairs. We also attend university career
fairs and relevant recruiting events. In our
assessment, the doubling in the number of qualified
applications received in recent years is in
part due to these activities.
Global compensation – uniform worldwide guidelines
Our uniform global compensation model is
based upon the job descriptions and evaluations
drawn up in 2001. They facilitate comparison of
specific positions and requirements and integrate
all managerial posts into the Group's value
system. At the same time, the uniform standard
still allows the subsidiaries sufficient individual
latitude to take account of local needs in the
country concerned.
A second pillar of our compensation model
is the system of target agreements for our managerial
staff, which was also launched in 2001
on the basis of uniform global standards. With
the implementation of Performance Excellence
as our holistic management system, the agreements
on targets were linked with the Performance
Excellence criteria in the year under review.
We have thus achieved a further milestone in the
establishment of a uniform global management
system.
The virtual stock option plan constitutes
the third pillar of our compensation model. It is
determined by the long-term development of
the entire Group. Around 150 managerial staff
around the world participate in the scheme. In
this way, the long-term performance of the Hannover
Re share is anchored as a major factor in
our mindset and actions.
Electronic human resources management
was further expanded with the enhancement of
the "Employee Self-Service" facility and the launch
of a "Manager Self-Service". Employee Self-Service
gives staff online access to their employee
leave account as well as information on time
management, pay slips and event management.
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