When asked where Kuehne+Nagel should focus its efforts to become the “best company to work for,” employees overwhelmingly chose three priorities, providing leadership with a clear mandate for investing in solutions:
With our employees' feedback, the organisation guides the future on the right path.
Kuehne+Nagel is fully committed to adhering to all Global Human Rights Principles issued by the United Nations. All employees respect them, and we expect our partners and suppliers to also adhere to them.
In our effort to make Kuehne+Nagel the best company to work for, our cultural transformation program Care puts emphasis on generating an open feedback culture. Our staff is encouraged to connect with their managers and/or local HR if they feel unwell in their work environment.
Regional and country-level awareness has increased over the past two years thanks to a better definition of discrimination published in 2020 in an internal Diversity & Inclusion Policy. This led to the introduction of local processes to address workplace-related discrimination cases further. One example would be the United Kingdom, where in addition to conventional grievance processes, specific procedures have been introduced to deal with cases of bullying and harassment. There is also a review to ensure all issues of dispute can be addressed even before a formal procedure has to be started. In addition to remediation activities, we are confident that an open feedback culture allows Kuehne+Nagel to manage these cases even better in the future. Furthermore, concrete measures and training are currently being further developed in the regions to avoid or at least limit situations of discrimination at Kuehne+Nagel.
In addition to these local processes, Kuehne+Nagel employees can report alleged discrimination to the corporate departments via the well-established and known Confidential Reporting Line (see a separate chapter in the Ethics & Compliance section of this report). Concerns can be escalated every day of the week, any time of the day in a secure – if desired – anonymous way.
Progress
Long-term target
Kuehne+Nagel is committed to respecting local laws and regulations concerning not offering salaries below the local legal minimum wages. Additionally, in the majority of our significant locations of operations, our organisation offers salaries higher than the applicable minimum wage, in some locations, even up to twice as much as the minimum wage. Furthermore, no differentiation is made regarding the gender of the employee who receives the salary; the same minimum wage is used as a reference for all genders.
Sub-contracted workforce are paid by our reliable external partners whom we expect to pay the workers as per local requirements or existing bargaining agreements. Kuehne+Nagel is always committed to paying according to existing standards, and this is independent of gender.
In countries where parental leave is a legal requirement, all Kuehne+Nagel’s employees based in that country are entitled to parental leave within the legal frame. For example, Switzerland introduced paternity leave in the summer of 2021, and it has been immediately introduced for all Swiss employees.
Looking at our significant locations of operation, more female employees decide to take maternity leave. However, we recognise an increase in the number of male employees deciding to go on paternity leave. For those countries where numbers are currently available, approximately 85 per cent of the employees who take parental leave return to work after their leave period has ended. Out of the employees that do return, the return to work rate of female employees is slightly lower than that of male employees. With the increase of flexible working opportunities, Kuehne+Nagel also expects to increase employees' return to work.
By raising ‘belonging’ at Kuehne+Nagel, we are on the way to developing our mindsets and processes for inclusion and diversity. Companies with high diversity and successful inclusion achieve higher goals, attract and retain talent, and benefit from great teamwork and inspirational cooperation, which leads to better ideas, outcomes, and results.
We are committed to delivering progress to society and drive our future – inclusively. This purpose is outlined in our internal Global Diversity and Inclusion Policy. Kuehne+Nagel continues its diversity and inclusion journey that is called Balance+Belonging.
In the next two years, Balance+Belonging will focus on gender equality and equal opportunities for all at Kuehne+Nagel.
Target
Kuehne+Nagel aims to double the female representation in Top Leadership from base year 2021 with 16 female top leaders to 32 by 2030. Actions that will support increased female representation in our leadership pipeline include: gaining commitment from top management (Board, Regional management, National management), increasing the pipeline of female talents through identification and structured development, and active placement of women within top leadership roles.
The main stakeholders are top management, female employees ready to step up, and the Human Resources community. Kuehne+Nagel is already involved in development programmes for women (WILL, glass ceiling) that we mentioned in our previous Sustainability Reports. With this and similar programmes, we can double the female representation in Top Leadership in the next eight years. We rely on our internal mentors, learn best practices from other companies and universities, and develop external partners.
Awareness of the topic:
To start a dialogue about Balance+ Belonging, the German organisation developed Awareness Workshops including HR and the Top 100 leaders. Discussions were done on various organisational processes which influence gender equity-like succession planning and recruitment.
“Charta der Vielfalt” / Diversity Charter and Association:
KN Germany is part of “Charta der Vielfalt”. This charter is an initiative to promote diversity in companies under the patronage of the German Federal Government.
Integration into training and processes:
Balance+Belonging should not be perceived as additional or on top of. Instead, it should be naturally integrated into all elements within the organisation. To ensure this, KN Germany, therefore, started reviewing the existing HR processes such as onboarding, employer branding materials (Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.), recruiting (recruiting workshops, shortlisting, etc.), and existing and future training (POD Milestones).
KN Female Leaders Mentoring
Program and Networking Community: Germany completed its first female Leadership Mentoring Program with the strong support of the German Management Board. The self-nomination program offers a platform for women and senior managers to share career development views and discuss a particular topic.
Interviews with Top 20 KN Germany Management:
German Management Board plays a pivotal role in driving change. They acted as role models and were mentors in the Female Leaders Program.
Day of Action – Women’s week and Diversity Day 2021:
KN Germany also celebrated Women’s Week and Diversity Day like many other countries.