S1-4 – Taking Action on Material Impacts on Own Workforce, and Approaches to Managing Material Risks and Pursuing Material Opportunities Related to Own Workforce, and Effectiveness of Those Actions
We take targeted action to implement our HR strategy to address our material 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, which results directly from the material impacts of employee satisfaction
- due to fair remuneration,
- based on work-life balance,
- through opportunities for participation and
- through professional development opportunities.
The necessary measures are determined based, in particular, on the evaluations of our employee satisfaction survey. This survey and our other formats, like qualitative surveys and turnover analyses, allow us to ensure that our established measures remain effective and appropriate and do not entail any negative impacts on our employees. Our efforts enhance Vonovia’s image as a secure and trustworthy employer, increasing our ability to recruit and retain skilled workers long-term. This means that they contribute to the overarching objective of our HR strategy: to find suitable and satisfied employees for, and retain them within, the company, and to support the corporate change processes.
In the reporting year, our comprehensive package of measures for successful recruitment continued to focus on the further development of our application and recruitment process, our training concept, the recruitment of specialists from abroad, and the targeted further training of skilled technical and auxiliary staff. We are implementing these measures for our own operations in Germany. As the shortage of skilled workers looks set to continue over the coming years, we aim to keep enhancing our processes in this area.
In the reporting year, we successfully implemented the visual employer brand that was developed on the basis of persona development, market analyses and expert interviews, and communicated it both internally and externally. This process involved developing a comprehensive, target group-oriented creative concept that takes account of all focus groups relevant to Vonovia. Our plan for 2026 is to further expand the rollout of our employer brand, strengthen Vonovia’s visibility as an attractive employer in Germany and further increase our standing among our focus target groups. We expect to have the first set of reliable impact and success indicators for the action taken at the end of 2026.
Given the tight labor market, we aim to keep our employee turnover as low as possible. In the 2025 fiscal year, this employee turnover was 15.3%, which corresponds to a decrease of 1.4 percentage points compared to the previous year. To combat the skills shortage while promoting workforce diversity, we will continue to focus on recruiting skilled workers from Colombia for roles in electrical installation, landscaping, photovoltaic system expansion and technical services in Germany.
As a specific measure to achieve high employee satisfaction and employer attractiveness, as well as to reduce employee turnover, we offer the majority of our workforce permanent employment contracts. Over 90% of our employees across the Group held such contracts during the reporting year. We only employ agency workers in exceptional cases. Additionally, only regular employment relationships exist within the Group; we do not employ seasonal workers or pseudo self-employed individuals. We have a corresponding Group guideline in place in Germany to ensure this. In Sweden, the involvement of the HR department in the commissioning process ensures that the statutory requirements governing bogus self-employment are reviewed and complied with.
In the reporting year, more than 99% of Vonovia employees across the Group were covered by collective agreements. Collective agreements, renegotiated regularly, safeguard workers’ interests.
To safeguard our employees’ purchasing power, we have introduced a compensatory inflation bonus which became a permanent feature of gross monthly salaries starting in 2025. In addition to fixed salary components, all employees who have been with the company for at least one year as of December 31 of the previous year are eligible to participate in the employee share program. A large number of employment contracts also feature other variable salary components, which generally include both performance-related and company results-related components. These measures apply to the majority of Vonovia employees in Germany (excluding trainees, temporary staff and marginal employees).
A works agreement was also concluded and introduced in 2025 for employees of Vonovia’s holding company (excluding executives, students on sandwich courses, working students, interns, trainees and marginal employees) to launch a grading system and a functional architecture. This grading system creates a transparent framework that highlights the development prospects and career opportunities open to employees in various career models. This sort of framework can also serve as a starting point for ensuring remuneration that is commensurate with market standards and for attracting and retaining skilled workers.
Initial and further training are highly relevant both to Vonovia’s commercial success and to satisfaction among our employees. As a company that offers a large number of traineeships, Vonovia invests in the structured development of its young employees. With this goal in mind, we completed our craft academy in Berlin, focused on vocational training and education, in the reporting year to support and create ideal training conditions. The academy is equipped in line with state-of-the-art technical and digital standards, and will serve as a blueprint for the opening of further training sites based on the same model. Three further locations in Germany are already in the concrete planning stages for 2026.
Digitalization plays an increasingly important role in our traineeship approach. We have implemented digital learning platforms, such as the Ulmer Learning Portal for gardener apprentices. In addition, we expanded our training software and digital learning management systems for Germany during the reporting year. Beyond this, we will continue to optimize and standardize our training processes.
To boost employee satisfaction through professional development opportunities, suggestions from the employee survey were incorporated into the immediate design of new offerings and digital learning formats as part of the Vonovia Academy’s expansion during the reporting year. The Vonovia Academy centrally organizes the entire range of training, qualification and development formats for employees in Germany (including those who work part time) into an online catalog. Our traineeship offerings aim to build and expand the skills and knowledge of employees, focusing on specific roles, functions and needs. In addition to traditional formats like e-learning, online, hybrid and in-person training, we also offer materials for on-the-job learning and peer learning. Thanks to the wide range of development measures available, our employees are able to complete targeted professional, methodological and personal training and obtain professional certifications or qualifications. We also cooperate with external university partners and offer advanced qualifications in the skilled trades as well as part-time and sandwich study programs. By aligning selected initiatives with specific business areas and roles, we ensured that training offerings were tailored to needs during the reporting year. These include, in particular, training and skill requirements arising from societal megatrends such as climate change. On-demand and e-learning programs, such as digital training within our leadership development program, as well as additional programs for our employees, aim to make upskilling at Vonovia an even more flexible and personalized experience in the future. For example, managers can discuss ideas and receive advice from professional coaches on specific aspects and challenges associated with change processes. During the reporting year, new training courses, curated learning content and guidelines were continually being added to the wide range of programs in Germany to ensure that current and future requirements are met. As part of our extensive development program for managers, core competencies, among other things, covering all aspects of good leadership and basic knowledge on innovation topics (e.g., on integrating sustainable action into one’s own area of responsibility), are to be taught in line with the leadership philosophy.
Our range of individual development opportunities will be expanded in Germany in the future to include a program to support young, talented individuals. This program has been in the development stages since this year and is scheduled to be established for the first time in 2026. This program aims to support young high-performers and high-potentials, assisting them in areas such as making a decision on whether to pursue a career as an expert or in management.
In order to address satisfaction regarding opportunities for participation, we conducted annual and systematic feedback sessions (both bottom-up and top-down) throughout the Group in addition to the employee satisfaction survey in the reporting year (see S1-2 and S1-13). These are intended to foster a culture of continuous improvement – among both employees and managers – of appreciation and mutual trust as well as to improve teamwork.
In terms of work-life balance, we are focusing on more flexible working models and working environments that are tailored to our employees’ individual needs. Our HR processes support more flexible working through works agreements that enable mobile working. These works agreements apply to administrative staff at Vonovia Holding, Customer Service, Technical Service, Residential Environment Service and BUWOG. We also offer our employees temporary and permanent part-time contracts, care leave, etc. as well as the use of various flexitime models. We are also driving the gradual expansion and further development of digital processes at Vonovia. This includes making mobile devices available, ensuring secure data traffic outside the office infrastructure and using digital meetings, which are available to the majority of our employees throughout the Group.
In order to further develop future collaboration in modern working environments in the reporting year, Vonovia implemented the “New Work @ Vonovia” project, which focuses on the corporate headquarters in Bochum and aims to offer our employees an attractive working environment that meets their individual needs. The initiative covers a total of four focal topics, including the structuring of various working models, state-of-the-art workplace design, digital tools and technologies, and training concepts for managers and employees alike.
To better support work-life balance, Vonovia also offered benefits beyond monetary remuneration to employees in Germany during the reporting year. These include offers such as Jobrad bike leasing, our company pension scheme, vacation apartments, and various partnerships with sports and fitness providers as well as advisory services, for example related to our corporate approach to health management.
Since measures to create working conditions geared toward employee needs are part of a continuous process and are regularly adapted to current circumstances, no specific timeline for completion exists, unless a timeline has been defined for individual measures.
The effectiveness of the strategies and actions described in S1-1 and S1-4 is tracked with the help of various analyses. The effectiveness of our work-life balance measures is ensured by analyzing the results of our employee satisfaction survey, which allows employees to provide feedback and suggest improvements. A sub-indicator in the full survey, which assesses employees’ perspectives on the compatibility of work and family life, also provides further information on satisfaction in this area. In the reporting year, approval for this sub-indicator was at 85%.
We measure the success of our training program and Vonovia’s appeal as a training provider based on training numbers and the training rate. The number of trainees in Germany once again increased in 2025 from 662 in 2024 to 735. This value corresponds to a training rate of approximately 5.8% (in Germany).
We track how successful our recruitment measures have been based on the number of new hires. Our aim is to ensure that the number of new hires remains at least at the same high level seen in the previous year. In the current reporting year, we hired 2,355 new employees (2024: 2,075). For 2025, one of our goals was to bring additional skilled workers from Colombia into employment at Vonovia. Currently, there are already 80 electrical installation and landscaping workers from Colombia (2024: 65) employed at Vonovia.
The determination of the necessary and appropriate measures to address the material impact “Lack of a sense of belonging due to insufficient promotion of diversity” is first of all based directly on our objective to ensure equal opportunities for women in particular, i.e., to increase the proportion of women in management positions at the first and second levels below the Management Board. Second, suggestions provide us with corresponding incentives, which we receive from our workforce in our employee satisfaction survey. This also ensures that the action we take does not have a negative impact on our workforce. Appropriate and necessary measures are also identified, evaluated and implemented following thorough assessment. If, for example, an increased number of discrimination cases are reported through our complaint channels, this also prompts adjustments to our measures.
As part of its commitment to a discrimination-free working environment, Vonovia has implemented a comprehensive complaint management system, which was operational across the Group during the reporting year (see section S1-3). For example, affected employees can report incidents of discrimination through the whistleblowing hotline – a web-based reporting system – or to an appointed ombudsperson. In Austria, a works agreement addressing discrimination, sexual harassment and bullying in the workplace has been in effect at BUWOG since spring 2024. This agreement defines discrimination and harassment in the workplace and establishes mechanisms for reporting and addressing incidents to prevent and respond to incidents of discrimination effectively.
We are continuously implementing further measures in this context and adapting our actions to changing conditions. Vonovia regularly updates its training programs for discrimination-free behavior. Since 2023, employees in Germany have had access to free e-learning on “Recognizing and reducing biases and stereotypes.” In order to more firmly anchor the issue of diversity at the strategic level of the company, Vonovia offers a voluntary leadership development program focused on topics like unconscious bias. Simultaneously, diversity has been established as a key criterion in the management development program.
We believe that increasing equality of opportunity for women in the company is particularly important. In Austria, the company is aiming to be awarded another equalitA seal of approval, which recognizes measures to promote women’s career advancement within companies, and the necessary documentation was submitted during the reporting year. In Germany, there are no fewer than three programs to promote equality of opportunity for women: the Women’s Network, the Female Leadership Forum and a mentoring program for high-potential female employees. More than 300 participants (2024: around 200) were involved in the Women’s Network in the fiscal year under review. The emphasis is on cross-company networking, e.g., through meetings that involve an introduction to the trade academy in Berlin and the Customer Service in Essen as well as the organization of business lunches. 138 (2024: 135) women have joined the Female Leadership Forum’s distribution list. The central aim of this program, beyond networking, is to increase the visibility and raise the profiles of the female participants, for example through targeted mentoring. The mentoring program was launched for the very first time in the fiscal year, involving eight high-potential female employees. We also have other networks aimed at dialogue and the promotion of diversity, for example addressing issues relating to the LGBTQ community.
By recognizing the ILO core labor standards, which we made binding for the entire Group in 2020 as part of our Group Human Rights Policy, Vonovia showcases its commitment to gender-equitable pay. In order to identify and eliminate discrimination regarding pay, we analyze our salary system and disclose our gender pay gap at regular intervals (see S1-16). Since we introduced this metric at Vonovia back in 2020, we have regularly identified a gender pay gap in favor of female employees. This is because men predominantly work in lower-paid technical and construction roles, while administrative roles, which offer higher remuneration, have a more balanced gender ratio. Consequently, the gender pay gap at Vonovia does not stem from discrimination against male employees but rather from the inherent comparison of different occupational groups with varying educational backgrounds and job-specific remuneration levels.
In addition, the gradual harmonization of social benefits aims to ensure corresponding equal rights for all employees in their respective countries of employment. An employee share program, for example, has been launched in Austria, mirroring the program that is already in place in Germany. The regulations on the program have been laid down in a BUWOG works agreement. Following the introduction of a new, standardized retirement pension scheme in 2021, this offer was also available to most Vonovia employees in Germany during the reporting year. In Sweden, the 2025 employee survey showed that 87% of Victoriahem employees believe that all employees have equal opportunities and rights.
Work-life balance is a particularly important focus for Vonovia, which is why all leadership roles are advertised with part-time options. BUWOG in Austria also provides various offerings to support employees in balancing family and work responsibilities. The same applies to Victoriahem in Sweden. The topic of caring for relatives is a key issue that we raise with employees at information events and via the “because we care” app. In 2023, BUWOG also successfully achieved recertification as a family-friendly company by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Labor, Family and Youth. This recertification, valid for three years, remains in effect in 2025 and will continue until the next recertification in the 2026 fiscal year. In Sweden, Victoriahem was singled out as a “Karriärföretagen 2026” (Careers Company) in the reporting year for its inclusive and welcoming work culture and its focus on welfare, participation and sustainable development.
Since measures to prevent discrimination and promote equality of opportunity are part of a continuous process and are regularly adapted to current circumstances, it is generally the case that no specific timeline for completion exists.
The effectiveness of our strategies and measures to promote equality of opportunity is monitored using the SPI sub-indicator “Proportion of women in management positions.” For further details, refer to section S1-5. Additionally, the regular collection of data on gender pay gaps (see S1-16) provides overarching insights into the success of our measures to harmonize remuneration models. For further details, as well as information on effectiveness and target achievement regarding discrimination, see section S1-3 and G1-3.
Overall, we consider our current measures adequate for reducing our material negative impact and contributing to our material positive impacts. Negative impacts from our measures would be reflected in our employee satisfaction survey or through our grievance mechanisms. Based on the results and feedback from these measures (see sections S1-3, S1-4 and G1-3 for more information), no such negative impacts have been identified. Our regular, Group-wide review of impacts, opportunities and risks related to our workforce and other material business activities within our value chain ensures early identification of potential future negative impacts and appropriate responses (for more details, see ESRS 2 SBM-2 and SBM-3).
Negative impacts from the transition to a more environmentally friendly, greenhouse gas-neutral economy on our workforce could arise if the shortage of skilled labor leads to employee overload due to increased workloads. Other potential impacts include the transformation of specific business areas due to new climate protection regulations, such as transposition of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) into German law, or emerging market technologies that affect our business processes. This could result in an increased need for recruitment, training and education to implement, manage and further develop new technologies in our core business. The business-related need for energy-efficient renovations and new construction to reduce greenhouse gas emissions creates high demand for skilled workers in both technical and administrative fields. We mitigate these impacts by providing further training for employees in these areas, encouraging long-term retention at Vonovia and recruiting new skilled workers. At the same time, these industry-specific factors could negatively impact employment in certain business areas (e.g., modernization and development) at Vonovia.
Managing these material impacts involves the CHRO and the Head of HR at the highest level. With regard to the management of identified impacts, we have implemented structural measures in the HR department. The topics of remuneration and equal opportunities are specifically addressed and systematically pursued by the relevant organizational units within the department.