BMW 2007 Annual Report Download - page 31

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the aim of reducing repetitive physical strain and
thus preserving employees’ physical and mental
flexibility.
Qualification and expertise
In the future, traditional training methods will be en-
hanced and to some extent replaced by hands-on
learning. In the action area qualification, studies
are being carried out to identify how learning can best
be promoted, both at the workplace and for specific
functions. Based on the results of these studies, it
should be possible to determine the most suitable
(direct or indirect) methods of learning. These findings
are also taken into account in the company’s training
concepts for employee and management staff de-
velopment.
One of the functions of qualitative personnel
planning is to examine how skills and expertise are
likely to develop within the company. By analysing
the requirements that result from a changed age
structure of its workforce, the company will find clues
as to when and what type of know-how it will require
in the future as well as (and how and when) that know-
how
will disappear as employees leave the company.
Individual life-time working models
In spite of improvements in preventative care, some
employees may not be able, or may not wish, to con-
tinue working until they reach the statutory retire-
ment age. The BMW Group has, together with em-
ployee representatives, devised new retirement
models which best suit the needs of those concerned.
These models are intended to fit in with each
employee’s future plans and with the company’s
requirements. The financial basis for these models is
being set aside.
In order to give employees the opportunity to
supplement any self-financed pension plan, an attrac-
tive deferred remuneration retirement scheme has
been available to the workforce for several years now,
allowing part of an employee’s remuneration to be
converted into pension provision.
Communication
Appropriate communication measures help to
keep managers and employees aware of changes
taking place in society and within the company. One
example of this is the electronic portal My Future
Provision which employees can access on the BMW
Group Intranet. It is the first communication platform
to be created specifically aimed at increasing em-
ployees’ awareness of their responsibility to make
personal provision for the future. It contains a wealth
of information and some specific aids relating to
training, health, working environment and personal
provision. The BMW Group’s internal media are reg-
ularly updated on different aspects of saving for the
future and highlighting possible areas for action.
This information is wholly aimed at encouraging em-
ployees to take a pro-active approach to making pro-
vision for their own future.
Competitive level of personnel expense
Within an intensely competitive environment, the
management of personnel expense becomes in-
creasingly significant. A competitive level of per-
sonnel expense contributes enormously to the suc-
cess of the BMW Group. This is primarily concerned
with bringing the idea of performance into the fore-
front rather than just a one-sided cost-oriented
approach. The high degree of motivation amongst
employees and the positive approach taken to the
workforce are maintained by a combination of rewards
determined individually on the basis of performance
and success and with the aid of flexible working
time models. Remuneration, working time arrange-
ments and other benefits are reviewed and modified
regularly and in close cooperation with employee
representatives.