Every voice counts
How Tchibo gives its employees a real voice and encourages them to get involved.
Beside the daily business Tchibo gives all its employees the opportunity to participate in shaping the company´s development. This is done primarily through the participation in the workers council and the supervisory board. In addition, there is the idea management "Kolibri" ("Hummingbird"): Here shop workers and logistics specialists to product managers help optimise workflows or develop new products with their bright ideas. The system serves to boost each and every employee’s motivation and commitment as well as the entire company’s performance.
We set great store by empowering our employees to actively help shape our company. Their ability to influence corporate decisions benefits all involved: Employee involvement in decision-making processes creates trust, and trust creates motivation. The works council is Tchibo’s key committee securing employees’ say in how Tchibo is run.
Our works council: where employee involvement comes alive
Pensions, working hours and work-life balance are examples of issues with which Tchibo’s works council is closely engaged. The council exists on the basis of the regulations stipulated in German industrial constitution law (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz, BetrVG) and codetermination law and comprises 35 members, six of whom belong to the major German union ver.di. The council represents employees’ interests to the company’s management, and always places these interests at the centre of its work. The joint aim, held by all parties, of securing the long-term success of the business, is the council’s second priority.
One example of what the works council has achieved over the last few months is the extension of the works agreement on special spectacles for employees working at a computer screen, which, as of 2010, also covers employees in shops who might use a screen, for example, when working the tills. Additionally, we have seen the revision of the works agreements on working hours for in-house staff, working hours models for shop staff and part-time hours in the context of improving employees’ ability to combine their careers with their family lives.
Two committees, one single aim
The Supervisory Board, which comprises equal numbers of employees and shareholders, joins the works council in influencing the decisions made at Tchibo, a family business. It is often the case that issues are discussed between the works council and the Supervisory Board and then taken to the Management Board. Such issues might revolve around securing jobs, employee benefits and levels of motivation among staff. Both committees pursue the joint aim of sustaining the company’s business success, its jobs and its good working atmosphere in the long term – issues which are closely interrelated.
The introduction of trust-based working hours for administrative employees is an example of such a process of working together to create change. A one-year pilot phase proved the new model workable and successful, and Tchibo adopted it permanently in 2010. Furthermore, the works council and Management Board have agreed on a special payment for all employees who do not qualify for bonuses, allowing them to share in the success achieved last year.
Good ideas are the cradle of success: our ideas management system
Those spur-of-the-moment ideas that often come up during our day-to-day work can be the seeds of increased business success for our company. We encourage our employees to contribute their ideas whenever they arise, and have for this purpose initiated an ideas management system we call “Kolibri”, which means “hummingbird” in English and stands for “Kollegen liefern brillante Ideen” (colleagues supply brilliant ideas). Tchibo’s ideas manager is in charge of the idea evaluation process. She checks every idea thoroughly for its content and level of innovation, and then passes it on to an expert from the relevant specialist department, who draws up an evaluation.
Kirsten Ludewig-Scheel
Tchibo ideas manager
I’m always happy when an idea comes in! And the best thing is when it makes it through our evaluation processes and becomes a reality. When we receive a suggestion, the relevant department and I need to ask ourselves quite a few questions: Is this really new for Tchibo? What’s the cost-benefit ratio? Does a product that has been proposed have a realistic chance on the market? And if we can’t turn an idea into a reality, I always want to be able to explain to the person who submitted it why it didn’t work out. To me, this is a matter of respect – not just for the suggestion, but for the person who had the idea and developed it with their passion and commitment.
2010’s “Make it simple!” (“Einfach machen!”) campaign provides impressive proof of the importance Tchibo attaches to its employees’ creativity. The campaign centred on simplifying internal processes at Tchibo. The question to all employees, “Do you know what we could make simpler to do?” prompted approximately 200 answers, which all landed on the desk of our ideas manager. The overwhelming response was much to the pleasure of the campaign’s sponsors, Management Board member Yves Müller and head of HR Dr. Peter Deeg, and to that of the creators of the 20 suggestions awarded prizes. These ideas ranged from improving the first aid equipment available in administrative departments to revamping the welcome pack given to new employees.
Claudia Jülich
shop manager, Mannheim
No matter whether your idea saves time, money or hassle – this was the motto of the “Einfach machen!” campaign, but it could have come from me! I submit every idea that comes into my head – after all, who dares wins! And both Tchibo and I can win in this.
Creativity and commitment pay off
Our employees turned in over 1,000 ideas in 2010 – a new record! These suggestions are often the basis of innovative products and exciting new experiences. They also help us to simplify our internal processes and to make our work run more efficiently, such as if we put new environmentally friendly measures in place. Another advantage: Our employee’s ideas lower operating costs.
That’s why we reward every good idea: Employees whose ideas are actually implemented receive a bonus. The ideas management works agreement makes sure that the entire assessment process is transparent and fair. The total bonus paid for an idea is regulated, adjusted to a variety of criteria, and ranges from EUR 50 to EUR 125,000. For example, a colleague who came up with the idea for a watch with a vibrating alarm received a bonus of EUR 2,500.