ANNUAL REPORT 2008 - Polymer Bank Notes of the World

In order to improve the balance betweenprofessional and private life, and to furtherdevelop the resilience of the ECB, the ExecutiveBoard decided in 2008 to launch a pilot projectwith a view to progressively introducingteleworking. After completion of the projectin 2009, the benefits and drawbacks will becarefully assessed before a decision is taken onwhether to extend the scheme.2.2 THE HUMAN RESOURCES CONFERENCEThe activities of the Human ResourcesConference (HRC) and its substructurescovered multiple aspects of staff trainingand development in 2008. Based on a needsanalysis, new ESCB training activities havebeen developed and will be introduced in2009. The HRC also took measures to increaseintra-ESCB mobility with a view to extendingopportunities for staff from Eurosystem/ESCBcentral banks to learn from one another andpromoting cooperation and team spirit.Furthermore, with the aim of exchangingexperiences and moving towards theestablishment of best practices, the HRC and theEurosystem/ESCB Communications Committeeorganised a conference on communicationin HR, at which all ESCB central banks wererepresented. At its meetings, the HRC coveredother topics, such as demographics, assessmentcentres, and the future of HR in Europe and thekey challenges up until 2015.2.3 NEW ECB PREMISESFurther progress was made in 2008 with regardto the ECB’s new premises in the Ostend part ofFrankfurt.In April 2008 preparatory works commenced onthe new site in advance of the building works.The two four-storey annex buildings at theend of the Grossmarkthalle were demolishedmanually, with most of the clinker bricks beingreserved for the renovation of the facade of theGrossmarkthalle in order to retain the colouringand texture of the original bricks. In late springinitial excavation works began for the twobasement floors of the office towers and theunderground staff car park in the southern part ofthe site. The foundation piles were subsequentlyinserted into the ground. These preliminaryworks were completed by September 2008, onschedule and within budget.On 6 May 2008 the Lord Mayor of theCity of Frankfurt, Petra Roth, presented thebuilding permit for the ECB’s new premisesto the President of the ECB. The buildingpermit constitutes formal legal approval forthe new premises on the site of the formerGrossmarkthalle.On 25 June 2008 the ECB decided to formallyclose the international public tender procedurefor a general contractor to construct the newECB premises, since it had not produced asatisfactory economic result, with the receivedbid considerably exceeding the ECB’s estimatedbudget. During the summer and autumn of2008, the architects and planners conducted anin-depth analysis of the situation in theconstruction market. On the basis of thisanalysis, the Governing Council decided inNovember 2008 to change the tender strategy,dividing up the construction works into separatetrades and lots, and to re-launch the tenderprocess for the construction works accordingly.In the course of 2009 around 15 distinctinvitations to tender will be issued for thestructural works, the facade and other parts ofthe building. The aim of this tender strategy isto attract more competitive bids, including frommedium-sized companies, and to find specialisedcompanies for each trade. The tender strategywill be based on balanced contractual termswhich are frequently used in the constructionmarket.The ECB remains fully committed to adheringto the estimated building costs of around€500 million (at 2005 constant prices). Thesecosts are revaluated in line with the relevantofficial price indices compiled by the GermanECBAnnual Report2008209