Award-winning HR policy
Max Planck Society again certified as organization with family-aware culture
On 25 June 2019, the Max Planck Society again received an award in Berlin for its family- and life-phase-aware HR policy. After an audit process carried out in 2018 and the agreement to a regular voluntary audit commitment, it received the certificate from berufundfamilie Service GmbH for the fifth time in 2019. During the festive award ceremony, which was also attended by Federal Minister for Family Affairs Franziska Giffey as the patron of the audit, a total of 325 employers, 171 companies, 131 institutions and 23 universities received the award.
The Max Planck Society is among the few institutions which agreed to the audit for the fifth time - as a complete science organization including all of its Institutes. This gives it a unique selling point. The criteria for the audit include the status quo of family- and life-phase measures already on offer, and the systematic further development of offers or programmes. berufundfamilie Service GmbH verifies practical implementation every three years. After a successful audit, an independent Board of Trustees consisting of well-known representatives from industry, science, politics and associations award the audit certificate. The current certificate is valid until 2021.
For the certificate to remain valid, further HR policy targets can be agreed in a further re-audit (dialogue process) after three years in order to maintain and optimize the high development level of the family-aware and life-phase-aware HR policy. The Max Planck Society and its Institutes have agreed to develop its equal opportunities and reconciliation of career and family life offers further. The aim is to make the work culture at the 86 Max Planck Institutes more gender- and diversity-appropriate. Additional measures include the Presidential Committee “Opportunities” under Max Planck Vice President Angela Friederici, who is ensuring that the topics receive internal and external attention. A Talent Gender and Diversity Board is to support the decision-making committees at the Max Planck Society by providing internal and external expertise during the development, implementation and evaluation of targeted measures. The Central Gender Equality Officer, the section-specific and local Gender Equality Officers and the General Works Council are also involved in these processes.
The “Human Resource and Opportunities” Department, which was founded in 2018, offers further impetus for the topics of reconciliation of career and family life and equal opportunities. Its tasks include setting up the Dual Career Service in order to remain competitive in international competition for top scientists; expanding the offers relating to reconciliation of career and family life through cooperation between the Max Planck Institutes and external local associations; and increasingly promoting and facilitating flexitime.
The Max Planck Society consciously uses a family-friendly HR policy in order to remain a top employer for its staff members and for any potential new employees.