Talent Acquisition
In 2017, the voluntary staff turnover rate was 7.8% in 2017 (2016: 7.2%). The slight increase of 0.6% points is due to a higher fluctuation in the operations centers in the US and Romania. However, this fluctuation remains at a normal level.
Filling open positions in front-office roles and operations centers was a priority in 2017, along with hiring in line with the growing demand in regulatory roles (e.g. Anti-Financial Crime, Audit and Compliance). In addition, talent acquisition focused on insourcing external roles (1,446 employees), particularly in IT, as well as hiring 1,243 graduates and apprentices.
Graduates
Hiring junior talent is one of our key objectives. In 2017, we hired 619 new graduates (excl. Postbank), who started their program with an orientation event in July. With colleagues from 149 countries, new recruits can expect to experience diversity and multiculturalism. The new graduate class is just as diverse: 231 new employees from the US, 121 from Asia-Pacific and 98 from Germany. In terms of gender balance, 37% are female, and business functions span Technology and the Chief Operating Office (33%), Corporate Finance (27%), Global Markets (16%), and Private & Commercial Bank (5%).
Classroom-based training is followed by a twelve-month mandatory online continuous development program, anchored in the bank’s values and beliefs, providing graduates with the technical and professional skills required.
When we hire graduates, major emphasis is on technology roles, in line with our strategic focus on digitization across our value chain.
Recognized for customer and employee engagement excellence in the financial services industry, “I am DB” is our graduate onboarding and engagement app. All new graduates have access to the app for up to a year before starting with us, giving them an opportunity to see our social media channels, careers and news portals, watch videos and interviews with senior managers, and find information on seminars and accommodation, among many other subjects. Furthermore, the app features a number of training opportunities in corporate culture and our expectations of employees.
Apprentices (Vocational Training)
In 2017, we hired 616 new apprentices (2016: 741), a decline that we attribute to our ongoing restructuring in Germany. 47% of new apprentices were female (2016: 46%), while 460 existing apprentices started permanent employment with us (2016: 419). We continue to provide apprenticeships beyond its own needs, and remain committed to high-quality education and career opportunities for young people.
Employee Development
In line with our strategic priorities, we focused on promoting internal career mobility and leadership capabilities in 2017.
Internal Career Mobility
Internal mobility plays a vital role in retaining qualified and talented employees and keeping their expertise and experience within the organization. We continued to develop and embed our internal mobility strategy and to uphold our commitment to filling vacant positions—at all levels of seniority—with suitable internal candidates whenever possible. In accordance with our Hiring Policy, all open positions are advertised to internal staff exclusively for at least two weeks. Only after two weeks do we look for external candidates.
Prioritising internal candidates is designed to help employees affected by restructuring find new roles with us. We also promote cross-divisional mobility to enable employees to expand their skills and experience for rounded careers. Furthermore, internal mobility contributes to redundancy and recruitment cost savings.
With ongoing restructuring, 32% (2016: 39%) of all job openings were filled internally in 2017 (excl. Postbank). In Germany, this was 66% (2016: 71%), due to redundancies as a result of restructuring in Germany as well as changes as a result of digitization and control functions.
To support internal mobility, we introduced Connect2Job our app to help employees access and apply for internal jobs more easily and comprehensively. With the app, employees can find job openings on their phone as well as using their PC at work. The profile-based search function uses an algorithm to match individual skills and competencies with the requirements of a job. With Connect2Job, we respond to employee demands for apps and builds transparency in the internal job market. The app is easy to use and an effective solution as the bank meets the challenges of digital change.
In 2017, 10,479 employees or 12.3% of the workforce, changed roles within the bank (excluding Postbank). Of these, 4,731 officers (Managing Directors, Directors, Vice Presidents, Assistant Vice Presidents, Associates) and 3,042 non-officers (employees without corporate title) changed roles within their division, while 1,762 officers and 944 non-officers moved to a different division. The number of cross-divisional job moves increased by 21% compared to the previous year.
Leadership Development
Our Leadership Capability Model defines the expectations of our leaders, giving a shared view of the capabilities vital to our leaders and ensuring business success in line with the corporate strategy and culture.
First introduced in 2015, the bank runs two Management Fundamentals programs, which are mandatory for new managers (excl. Postbank). A core program is designed for new managers up to Vice President who are taking on people management responsibilities for the first time. An executive program is tailored to the needs of Managing Directors and Directors. Both programs are built around three key areas: managing people, driving business and shaping culture. Management Fundamentals aims to help participants grow and develop as managers. To date, more than 2,000 employees have attended these cross-divisional programs in more than 20 locations around the world. We also have skill practice pods, launched in 2017, for experienced managers. Here we focus on topics such as “building talent” and “leading in challenging times”. To date around 550 employees have attended skill pods around the globe.
A cross-divisional program for senior leaders—Leadership Fundamentals—is also available. Refined in 2017, the program focuses on the fundamental mindsets and behaviors required to be effective leaders, such as inspirational leadership, focusing on being an authentic leader, and collaboration to deliver competitive advantage. The first module targets the participants’ understanding of themselves as leaders (strengths and development areas), and also focuses on what the bank expects of them as leaders of the firm. The second module gives participants a chance to understand the full Deutsche Bank franchise and connection points. In addition, module two covers aspects of culture and what it means to demonstrate the values and beliefs as role models. The Leadership Fundamentals has had around 400 participants to date.
Postbank offers its leaders a dedicated Management Curriculum program. The training courses are geared towards the different roles of a manager, such as “the manager as strategy developer”, “the manager as a change manager” or “the manager as a coach”. Many courses can be attended jointly by managerial and non-managerial employees. In 2017, 429 employees took part in a Management Curriculum training course (2016: 467).
Acceleration Development
The first-ever bank-wide Director Acceleration Program (DAP) was launched in May 2017 (excl. Postbank), with the development journey for participants spanning twelve months. The construct of the program is a four-day global module held in London for all participants where they hear from Management Board members on their expectations of leaders and gain key strategic insights and key professors from the London Business School. Participants are then invited to two modules in their nearest regional hub location (Europe: London [2], Frankfurt [2]; Americas: New York [2]; and Asia: Singapore [1], Hong Kong [1]). Themes range from leadership acceleration and organizational change to building talent as well as influence and communication. This classroom content is underpinned by 360° feedback and coaching.
For the first year, we embedded the Women Global Leaders (WGL) module within the DAP, as the criteria and outcomes of both programs are aligned and target the same talent pool. The incorporation of WGL allowed us to retain our key focus on senior female development, while providing them with an extended journey. The female executives who were identified for DAP (33%, which was the highest ever across a mixed acceleration program) began their twelve-month program with the WGL module and continued with their male counterparts from the global module onwards.
Our Vice President Acceleration Program ran again in 2017, completing its second year. This six-month development journey comprises two modules held in Europe (London, Frankfurt, Milan), the Americas (New York) and Asia (Singapore). The statistics from the first year of the program have shown a higher promotion rate and increased retention versus the wider Vice President population:
Promotions: 24.6% of participants were promoted to Director in March 2017, compared with the 3.8% global promotion rate for Vice Presidents to Directors
Retention: 94.0% of participants are still with the bank, compared with the 92.6% global retention rate for Vice Presidents in 2017 (as of August 2017)
Postbank has its own development programs, such as Advanced Professionals, a program aimed at supporting high performers in a specialist career and personal and professional stocktaking, or the Junior Management Program and the Management Program for non-managerial employees with the potential and drive to advance in preparation for the next career move.
Total Performance
Our approach to performance management comprises three main steps: defining expectations and setting objectives at the beginning of the year, holding regular feedback conversations throughout the year, and reviewing performance at the end of the year.
In March 2017, we rolled out Total Performance across all business divisions and infrastructure functions (excl. Postbank). This is our holistic program to develop and manage our people and their performance, emphasizing continuous and constructive conversations between employees and their managers. This development reflects findings from external studies and internal people surveys. For example, employees expressed a demand for more frequent, less formal conversations to discuss performance and development with their managers. Furthermore, they said they would feel more motivated if they had a better understanding of expectations and their personal contribution to the bank’s strategy and business performance.
In 2017, 71.3% of the employees eligible for individual variable compensation (IVC) set their objectives, and 93% of all employees confirmed that they are aware of the expectations of their role. 99% of in-scope employees completed the IVC-relevant considerations at the end of the cycle.
Postbank calculates its employees’ variable salary components based on the success of the Postbank Group, as well as on target agreement and performance assessment processes. As part of these processes, employees are assessed on a regular basis, or at least once annually after the end of the calendar year. Moreover, monitoring appraisal interviews are also held over the course of the year. For managers, remuneration components are tied into incentives promoting sustainable action. Parts of the variable remuneration package are deferred and dependent on the sustainable development of the company.