Nothing is as constant as change. To compete in the global market, companies have to be flexible and adaptable. For Deutsche Börse Group, the will to change is essential to ensure a stable and reliable working environment, even in the current global financial crisis. Our employees have repeatedly demonstrated their commitment to joining us on this path and their readiness to face change.
With its restructuring program, which was launched in September 2007 and is scheduled for completion in 2010, Deutsche Börse Group took steps early on to prepare for tougher com- petition – to secure its business success in the long term and enable it to continue operating from a strong position. This readiness to embrace change was one reason why Deutsche Börse Group was able to successfully counter the im- pact of the financial crisis. It managed to slightly increase the size of its workforce in 2008 and offer its employees secure yet demanding jobs in a dynamic environment.
A passion for diversity
The Deutsche Börse team is a mirror image of the changes in society. On the one hand, almost half of the Group’s employees come from coun- tries other than Germany. With 65 nationalities and 19 locations in 16 countries, the Group is a model of diversity. On the other hand, they have a wide range of professional backgrounds: Deutsche Börse employs physicists, mathemati- cians and IT specialists, as well as economic
and financial experts or humanities graduates. Many processes are organized in the form of project-based work. Employees from different locations work together in the project teams and departments. Targeted international assignments, for example at ISE in New York, which was acquired in 2007, encourage our staff to think and act across linguistic and cultural borders. Deutsche Börse Group practices diversity in its day-to-day activities. The Company will con- tinue to actively promote a heterogeneous work- force in the coming years, and has confirmed this by signing the Diversity Charter initiated by the German government.
Development opportunities for all
Deutsche Börse expects its employees to be adaptable and therefore encourages them to develop and refine their skills on an ongoing basis. It offers a choice of career models for different types of employees: in addition to the classic management career path, employees can look forward to a future as an expert or project manager. Each career path has different development stages, linked to corresponding titles and compensation levels. This allows em- ployees to work their way up in the Company irrespective of conventional hierarchies.
More employees despite financial crisis
Deutsche Börse Group identifies and promotes highly talented employees with a program for high potentials, in which 21 colleagues are cur- rently participating. Through assessment centers, mentor discussions with Executive Board mem- bers and Managing Directors, as well as work on projects and seminars, high potential candi- dates are trained for management positions in the Company. So far, around 60 percent of participants have moved up to management level in Deutsche Börse Group.
The Company also creates incentives for em- ployees to grow through its professional devel- opment program. Employees are trained on the job on specific projects, as well as off the job in hard and soft skills training courses. Selected employees are sent on part-time executive education programs at Duke University in the United States, Johann Wolfgang Goethe Univer- sity in Frankfurt / Main, the Luxembourg School of Finance, or the European Business School in Oestrich-Winkel.
Attractive compensation package
Aspiring employees who show a willingness to develop their skills can expect attractive com- pensation. Almost all the Group’s employees are paid above collective pay scales. Their remuner- ation consists of a fixed salary and a variable bonus. Due to the Group’s excellent performance, the bonus was not cut in 2008 in response to the global financial crisis. Deutsche Börse also paid other voluntary benefits in full. Depending on the location, these include, among other things, contributions to occupational pension plans, capital formation payments, subsidized public transport fares, meal subsidies and accident insurance.
To enable employees to participate in the Company’s long-term success, Deutsche Börse Group has been running a Group Share Plan
since 2003. The terms and conditions of this
Plan are unique among DAX®-listed companies:
depending on their tenure, employees were able to buy shares in Deutsche Börse at a discount of 30 or 40 percent on the issue price. In addi- tion, in recognition of the Company’s excellent business performance, they were given a bonus of two shares free of charge for every ten shares bought in 2008.
Senior executives receive part of their per- formance-related annual bonus in the form of Deutsche Börse AG shares under a bonus share scheme. In this way, they, too, can partic- ipate in the Company’s success in the long term through the growth of its share price.
Looking ahead
2008 left a deep mark on the financial sector – and it will not have been the last year to have made extreme demands on the ability of com- panies to adapt and innovate. Deutsche Börse Group will continue to embrace change and offer its employees a stable working environment with very good prospects and outstanding com- pensation and career opportunities.
In November 2008, Deutsche Börse Group already laid the foundation stone for its new Group headquarters in Eschborn. From mid 2010, employees based in the Frankfurt area will once again be able to work under one roof – in a new 80 meter tall building, which is being constructed in accordance with the highest ecological standards. New corporate headquarters from mid 2010 Active development of employees 49 The Group: Group Staff
50 The Group: Executive Board / Appointments