“BAFF” for four Bocholt companies
Thanks to its flexible working hours and strong commitment to health, Pieron GmbH – alongside Siemens AG in the category with more than 250 employees – received the “Bocholt Award for Family-Friendliness” (BAFF for short).
At a ceremony in the Historic Town Hall, Pieron GmbH and Siemens AG received the first-ever “Bocholt Award for Family-Friendliness”, BAFF for short. In the category of 20 to 250 employees, the company, run by Gisela Pieron in a “personal and family-like” way, stood out in particular for its flexible working time models. In the commercial department, where many women work, flexible daily and weekly working hours are possible. Individual working time arrangements are made for single parents. And in production, too, individual solutions are sought when employees cannot be fully available due to family constraints.
The company’s strong commitment to employee health was also praised: there is a fitness room and free fruit baskets. Laudator Peter Nebelo, Mayor of Bocholt, found it remarkable that the Bündnis für Familie (Alliance for Families), which had launched the BAFF, received two applications for the company: one from the works council and one from a member of the company’s advisory board.
In the category with more than 250 employees, Siemens AG Mechanical Drives took first place. The company has set up a company nursery, which will open in the summer.
The new building is intended to care for children aged from zero to twelve, particularly during the school holidays. Also praised were the various working time models that enable employees to make their lives more family-friendly, and the health working group, which proposes and implements health-promoting measures. In his keynote speech, Prof. Dr. Henner Henze of FH Münster made it clear that family-friendliness is not just a fashion that costs money: “Those who fall asleep at the wheel will be punished by the labour market” was his clear message.
Jennifer Middelkamp