S1-2 – Processes for Engaging with Own Workforce and Workers' Representatives about Impacts

Through an annual employee satisfaction survey conducted via an online questionnaire, we provide our workforce with a platform for dialogue and a space to give anonymous feedback – also in subsequent team workshops – allowing employees to share their views on working conditions, collaboration and company culture. This approach specifically addresses the management of our material positive impact, “Employee satisfaction through opportunities for participation,” while also contributing to our material financial opportunity associated with “lower employee turnover and targeted recruitment of skilled workers through working conditions that are tailored to the needs of employees and the company” by enabling employees to actively shape their working conditions and voice their opinions. The underlying questionnaire is developed and regularly updated with the support of an external service provider. Our target is to achieve a participation rate of at least 70%. A full survey was conducted in the current fiscal year. This is held every two years with partial surveys being conducted in the years in between. The participation rate in the fiscal year under review stood at 84%, as against 77% for the last interim survey in 2024. After the last partial survey conducted in 2024, interdepartmental formats were launched for improving Group-wide collaboration and measures were initiated to facilitate systematic follow-up in teams with low levels of employee satisfaction, among other action. This should have a positive impact on the strategy and the underlying objectives of increasing employee satisfaction.

Annual and systematic feedback discussions foster a culture of continuous improvement, appreciation and mutual trust. In addition to annual performance reviews, employees participate in a summer feedback session. As part of the annual summer appraisal process, employees provide their managers with direct feedback on their leadership behavior using an anonymous, voluntary digital questionnaire with the aim of improving both this behavior and teamwork. Following this, the entire team and the respective manager hold a meeting to jointly agree on actions to strengthen collaboration. This appraisal is used by the majority of Vonovia employees across the entire Group (excluding trainees, (working) students, marginal employees, temporary staff and interns).

Employee representatives, understood as works councils under the Works Constitution Act (BetrVG), are included in the sustainability statement. At Vonovia, the SE Works Council of Vonovia SE serves as the representative body, with regular updates also provided to the Group Works Council in Germany. The Vonovia SE Works Council includes employee representatives from Germany and Austria. The Swedish subsidiary’s employees have not yet established employee representation. The SE Works Council is informed annually about changes to reporting content due to new materiality assessments, significant adjustments to the survey process and the implementation of recommendations from the external auditor’s review of the sustainability statement. Employee representation also features a representative body for people with severe disabilities and representatives for young employees and trainees.

Our employees are also free to form trade unions and exercise their statutory right to freedom of association.

Responsibility for engaging with employee representatives and incorporating their input into company policies lies with the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and the Head of HR at Vonovia.

Vonovia and the Group Works Council have adopted a company-wide Code of Conduct that explicitly includes respect for human rights. The Code of Conduct allows the Group Works Council to negotiate with the Management Board on its interpretation and application. It also provides consultation options with compliance officers or representatives from departments such as Internal Audit or HR. This ensures that employee perspectives are consistently considered.

Vonovia evaluates the effectiveness of collaboration with its employees through the annual employee satisfaction survey. The effectiveness of collaboration with the Works Council is not reviewed. However, managers on the first, second and third levels below the Management Board are surveyed every year regarding their satisfaction with Works Council management.