Wulf Gaertner Autoparts AG receives top ranking in HR management

Hamburg, January 28th 2010. Wulf Gaertner Autoparts AG once again features among Germany’s top 100 SME employers. This was the result of the nationwide Top Job ranking initiated by the IFPM Institute for Human Resource Management at St. Gallen University and carried out under the auspices of former German Federal Minister of Economics and Labour Wolfgang Clement. Employees evaluated employer performance according to six categories. Employees gave exceptionally high praise for offering them the opportunity to act on their own initiative, flexible working hours allowing them to meet the needs of their families and for promoting work-life balance.

“Develop and challenge” is the motto we at Wulf Gaertner Autoparts AG subscribe to in HR Management. With its top-grade MEYLE spare parts engineered and manufactured within its own corporate network Wulf Gaertner Autoparts AG is represented in 120 countries the world over. To be able to deliver on our quality promise we are dependent on qualified employees who are fully committed to the tasks they are entrusted with. “As a globally operating company – at our Hamburg head offices 250 people of 15 nationalities work together – we are aware that social skills are a key requirement to be able to integrate with a multicultural team”, explains Marita Schwartze, HR Manager and member of the Board at Wulf Gaertner Autoparts. “The challenge is to balance give and take and as part of the management team it is our responsibility to lead by example. Hence, one of our guiding principles is ‘to lead is to set an example'. What we aim for is to create a corporate culture based on mutual respect and trust.”

To achieve this goal we have adopted a strategic HR management policy revolving around the key elements communication, staff development, internal entrepreneurship and family-consciousness. Annual performance and development interviews and flexible work schedules from 6am to 11pm are essential constituents of our personnel policy. At Wulf Gaertner Autoparts AG we set great store by internal entrepreneurship, or intrapreneurship. We encourage employees to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities and we keep our minds open to new ideas and suggestions which help streamline processes and innovative solutions. An excellent example is the MEYLE HD range which gives us a unique selling position on markets worldwide. MEYLE HD spare parts for passenger cars and vans have been analysed and technically modified to outshine original components. The idea of re-engineering OE components was sparked by our employees and successfully promoted thanks to our employee suggestion program which is constantly being refined.

Our HR policy has also earned us outstanding ratings in the “work-and-family responsiveness and demographics” category. We strive to foster long-term commitment of our highly trained personnel by supporting employees in the best possible way. Our family-friendly policy includes financial support for child and elder care, temporary home office arrangements and flexible work time schedules after return from parental leave. Wulf Gaertner Autoparts AG’s pension fund and occupational invalidity pension is also highly valued by its employees. Both are designed to provide basic coverage and can be augmented in the form of a deferred compensation plan. At Wulf Gaertner Autoparts, we consider older colleagues a particular asset thanks to their know-how and experience accumulated in the course of their careers. Around 17 percent of our staff are 50 years or older which also sets us apart on the German market.

“This year’s result even topped last year's ratings. But more importantly it confirms that we have succeeded in finding a motivation mix which mirrors our corporate philosophy as a family business and at the same time fosters strong employee commitment. And this is what matters most“, says Maria Schwartze. "The result: employees who identify with the company, display of above-average dedication and sustained growth thanks to high quality – and this is what gives us the edge over our competitors.”

The company:

Wulf Gaertner Autoparts AG manufactures top-grade quality-tested automotive spare parts under the MEYLE brand name. Our product range includes 12,500 items for passenger cars, vans and commercial vehicles. The company was founded in 1958 and has since been owner-operated. We are represented in 120 countries across all continents where we employ 1,150 people aggregate with partner companies. At our Hamburg base 250 people work together. In 2009 sales volume totalled 225 million euros.

Mentor, cooperation partner and scientific lead of TopJob:
Mentor of the project is former German Federal Minister of Economics and Labour Dr. h.c. Wolfgang Clement. The partners are Akademie für Führungskräfte der Wirtschaft GmbH, GESAMTMETALL, HESSENMETALL, HRblue AG, HRM.de, Kienbaum Consultants International GmbH, meinestadt.de, Schindlerhof Klaus Kobjoll GmbH, SchmidtColleg GmbH & Co. KG, Unternehmerverband Frankfurt Rhein-Main e. V., Vereinigung der hessischen Unternehmerverbände e. V., Zukunft Personal and Süddeutsche Zeitung. Chief scientific advisor is Prof. Dr. Heike Bruch, professor and director at Institut für Führung und Personalmanagement at St. Gallen University. She is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of Change Management and Leadership.

Initiator: compamedia GmbH – mentor of top-performance SMEs
compamedia is an expert in benchmarking projects for SME businesses and SME networking. From its head offices in Überlingen, Germany, on Lake Constance it manages the employer benchmarking project “Top Job – the best SME employers”, the innovation project “Top 100 – the most innovative SME businesses" and “Ethics in business – pioneers in ethical entrepreneurship”.