People strategy
Rentenbank is a reliable partner to the agricultural sector. In line with its purpose “We promote the sustainable development of agribusiness and rural areas” the bank stimulates the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas every day of the week.
The successful execution of this important mandate would not be possible without a strong team. With their expertise and commitment, our employees make a crucial contribution to supporting agricultural enterprises, rural areas, and sustainable investment projects in challenging times. At the same time, we face tremendous challenges and we are experiencing radical changes – both in the world of work and in the dynamic conditions affecting the agriculture and financing sectors.
We launched a comprehensive transformation process in 2022 to prepare our bank and our employees optimally for the future and fulfil our promotional mandate successfully over the long term. This process included the development of our “Future Vision 2028”. We have already been able to achieve many of our ambitions from the Future Vision, including the modernisation of our IT application landscape. Due to the expansion of our tasks and activities and the rising regulatory requirements, our workforce increased from 436 at the end of 2023 to 459 as of 31 December 2024. The biggest workforce increase occurred in the area of IT operations.
Another key milestone of our transformation process is our new employer branding campaign, in which we present Rentenbank as an attractive employer in a way that people can understand and stake out a strong position in the competition for the brightest minds. Since the go-live in the summer of 2023, the campaign has helped increase the number of job applications received for each open position by a factor of nearly six from 2022 to 2024. Our employer brand is attractive.
Constructive feedback plays a key role in our transformation process. For that reason, we introduced a new feedback process in 2024, one that was developed in collaboration between employees and managerial staff. The traditional performance assessment process has been replaced with an “orientation dialogue” as the first crucial step towards a sustainable feedback culture. The orientation dialogue promotes a frank discussion between equal partners as a means of developing the employee’s skills, commitment, performance, and leadership abilities. To accompany the introduction of this process, all employees participated in hands-on training courses, which were followed by “buddy groups” as an opportunity to practice and deepen the knowledge gained in the courses.
Our corporate purpose and future vision were complemented by newly introduced corporate values in 2024. All employees were invited to participate actively in the development of the new corporate values. We presented the results at our company festival, where we also celebrated the 75th anniversary of Rentenbank’s founding. The five values that represent us as Rentenbank and serve as a binding compass for our actions are: drive, appreciation, responsibility, innovation, and consistency. To bring these values to life, we have formulated practical behavioural anchors to serve as guide in our day-to-day work. We also established a dedicated team of value ambassadors who foster dialogue, act as multipliers, and support the lasting integration of the values into our corporate culture.
We believe it is very important to keep our employees regularly informed about relevant developments in the bank. For this purpose, bank-wide town hall meetings are held on a regular basis. Other important communication channels include our intranet and the Rentenbank podcast “Three questions for …”, which informs employees about specific areas and other topics of current interest at the bank.
As a member of the German Association of Public Banks, Rentenbank applies the collective wage agreement concluded with the relevant trade union. As of 31 December 2024, 48% of the bank’s employees were paid according to the collective wage scale, while 52% were paid outside of the collective wage scale. As of 1 January 2024, the weekly work hours under the collective wage agreement have been reduced from 39 to 38. The shorter work hours were also applied to those Rentenbank employees who are not covered by the collective wage agreement.
Corporate co-determination and staff representation
For purposes of corporate co-determination, a Staff Council elected on the basis of the German Federal Staff Representation Act (Bundespersonalvertretungsgesetz) represents the bank’s employees. Together with the Gender Equality Officer and the Council of Severely Disabled Employees, the Staff Council represents the interests of all employees. The Staff Council exercises its co-determination, participation, and consultation rights.
Corporate health management
Our comprehensive health management programme promotes the physical and mental health of our employees. This programme, which is open to all employees, includes company sports clubs, allowances for membership in a fitness centre of the employee’s choice, personalised health training courses, medical check-ups for senior managers, and occupational reintegration management. These benefits are supplemented by free counselling from a family service agency on topics such as lifelong coaching, elder care, and addiction prevention.
Our in-house company restaurant also makes an important contribution to the health of our staff. As a promotional bank for agriculture, it is important to us that we serve balanced meals with fresh, seasonal, and regional ingredients to our employees. As part of our Sustainability Programme, we introduced “Green Meal Monday” in 2024: To reduce meat consumption in the company cafeteria, we offer a completely meat-free bill of fare on every second Monday of the month.
On the occasion of Rentenbank’s Annual Health Day in 2024, we offered yoga and meditation classes, exercise breaks, spinal scans and cardio scans, as well as presentations on the subject of mental health.
As part of the threat assessment required by the German Occupational Health and Safety Act, we held analysis workshops to evaluate psychological stresses at the workplace. Based on the results, we offered workshops on resilience, self-management, and time management in the autumn of 2024.
Rentenbank organises voluntary flu vaccinations, which are handled by the company physician, once a year.
Occupational health and safety
The occupational health and safety organisation provides the framework for the measures taken by the bank to protect employees against occupational hazards. Rentenbank has established an Occupational Health and Safety Committee composed of members of the Staff Council, the Occupational Health and Safety Officer, the Council of Severely Disabled Employees, and employer representatives, among others.
Sustainable mobility
Sustainability is also an important factor when it comes to transportation. Our employees are expected to use sustainable modes of transportation for business trips whenever possible. Under the new company car policy adopted in 2024, Rentenbank will only purchase fully electric vehicles. In addition, Rentenbank reimburses its employees for the cost of the train pass known as the “Deutschland Ticket”, making it easier for them to commute to and from work in an environmentally friendly manner.