Excellent family-friendly

Consulting, networking and support

Consulting and support for companies of all sizes

We inform, advise, network, and support you in implementing family-friendly measures

The seal gives small and medium-sized enterprises in particular the opportunity to further support their employees in reconciling work and private life with the help of experts by developing individual and tailored offers.

These include, among other things:

• Company-supported childcare (regular, temporary, emergency, during holidays)
• flexible working time models
• Teleworking (working from home)
• Further development of a family-friendly leadership culture

Some examples of family-friendly offers:

Working Time Arrangements – Increasing Time Sovereignty
Flexible working hours are a key instrument for better reconciling work and family life. Working time measures target all employees – whether they are caring for children, looking after elderly parents, or, for example, engaged in voluntary work.

Common arrangements include, for example: part-time models, changes in working time volume, trust-based working time, annual working time accounts, lifetime working time accounts, sabbaticals, options for unpaid leave, flextime arrangements/flexible breaks, optimizing/flexibilizing shift work systems, increasing predictability, etc.

Work organization – optimizing workflows.
Company options for flexible working time organization include, for example, job sharing and teamwork. Job sharing is based on a part-time model, in which two or more employees share at least one job as a team or group. The partners can individually determine their working hours. This also applies to teamwork, where the team members coordinate among themselves.

Common organizational models include job sharing, a pool of substitute staff, family-friendly vacation planning, team agreements (e.g., deputies), regular communication times, staff exchange with related companies in case of shortages, family-friendly meeting and conference scheduling, and participation in deployment/project planning.

workplace more
flexible means allowing part of the work to be done from home, for example through (alternating) teleworking. Work goals, deadlines, etc., are agreed upon with the employer and/or team, making it easier to combine family responsibilities and work. Furthermore, time-consuming commutes are eliminated.

Company-sponsored childcare:
Employees with children generally rely on dependable childcare to enable them to pursue their professional activities. Employers support their employees in this regard through various means, including company-sponsored childcare options such as crèches or kindergartens, reserved places in existing daycare facilities, children's holiday programs, and numerous other measures such as providing information about local or regional childcare facilities, setting up a company-provided parent-child workspace for emergencies, or a play area with a children's play box.

Establishing a reintegration management process:
After a family-related or illness-related leave of absence, a swift and well-planned return to work provides significant help and support for both parties. Contact maintenance and onboarding programs, discussions before, during, and after parental leave, buddy programs, or mentors for employees on parental leave or sick leave are tools to facilitate a successful reintegration.

Information and communication – communicating in diverse ways.
An active and transparent company information and communication policy is an essential aspect for the effective implementation and use of services.

Since people react differently to communication media, it is recommended to distribute information across various channels, such as large events, company meetings, the internet, intranet, posters, flyers, email, newsletters, and individual conversations. Effective communication also includes integrating family-friendly HR policies into the company's mission statement.

Developing leadership skills and corporate culture:
Managers play a key role in implementing family-friendly policies. Successful family-friendly HR policies require sensitized managers who actively support implementation and lead by example. This, in turn, encourages employees to take advantage of these programs.

Measures in this area include, for example, specialized management training that raises awareness of the issue and enhances personal social skills. This can influence and change the company culture in the medium to long term.

Enabling work and caregiving:
Reconciling work and caregiving is a crucial aspect of balancing work and family life. Three key measures are paramount: raising awareness and providing information about work and caregiving, offering support services related to working hours and location, and providing information, advice/training, and placement assistance.

Possible services include: providing information brochures, awareness seminars, referrals to nursing homes, short-term care, and outpatient care services, ensuring accessibility in emergencies, e.g., via personal mobile phone, flexible working hours and part-time models, courses on caring for relatives, statutory leave of absence, and special leave in case of acute care needs.