The OeKB Group considers social responsibility an integral part of its business activities.
We promote equal opportunities, diversity, and social inclusion – both within our organization and beyond.
We rely on the commitment of our employees, who contribute their expertise and integrity to create social value. Through fair working conditions, the promotion of diversity, the protection of human rights, targeted donations, and voluntary engagement, we take responsibility for sustainable development that extends beyond our economic mandate.
Employees
In the competition for qualified professionals, companies that offer a diverse, interesting, and varied working environment and that ensure a good balance between work and private life have a decisive advantage.
Our HR policy is characterized by long-term cooperation with our employees, high quality standards in training and further education, as well as social measures that make the reconciliation of work and private life a reality.
Since 2006, we have held the “berufundfamilie” certificate and have been continuously working to improve the working environment within the OeKB Group. Since 2024, OeHT, in addition to the OeKB and OeKB CSD, has also been part of the certification.
Healthy and motivated employees are a key success factor for the future of the OeKB Group. Safety and health protection have therefore been a major concern for many years.
Details on the implemented measures can be found here: Jobs and Careers – What We Offer
All positions are available for both full-time and part-time employees.
As a company, we are actively committed to improving the perspectives of employees from underrepresented groups and those who are marginalized. In this context, we have initiated several projects, including:
- We are committed to increasing the proportion of employees with disabilities. To this end, we have entered into a cooperation with myAbility. Last year, three people with disabilities took part in a shadowing program, designed to provide practical insight into everyday work.
- Representative for employees with disabilities: Employees with disabilities have the opportunity to contact our representative for employees with disabilities regarding their concerns and questions, who provides individual support and advice.
- Women’s network: In addition, a women’s network is currently being established, which aims to connect and promote women within the OeKB Group and to specifically take their concerns into account.
You can find more information on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the OeKB Group here.
At OeKB, OeEB, and OeKB CSD, a works council is in place. The works council represents the interests of all employees, supports them in matters related to labor law, and concludes works agreements with OeKB. In addition, the works council makes an important contribution to the corporate culture and working environment. All seven members of the OeKB works council are represented on the Supervisory Board, where they actively bring the employees’ perspectives into the decision-making processes.
Through works agreements, both anonymous (whistleblowing) and non-anonymous complaint and reporting systems for employees have been established. As an employer, it is important to us to provide our employees with space to express their concerns and complaints.
Furthermore, we have implemented various feedback mechanisms that allow employees, both anonymously and personally, to share their views on development, employment issues, further training, and similar topics. Regular leadership feedback (270° feedback) and topic-specific pulse checks are conducted to measure leadership quality, job satisfaction, and development opportunities within the company culture.
In addition, the People & Culture department and the works council are available as contact points for personal discussions on employment-related matters. Based on the evaluation of psychological stress in the workplace in 2023, numerous improvement measures were implemented directly in the departments.
As a further measure resulting from this evaluation, workshops on resilience and stress were conducted in cooperation with occupational physicians and work psychologists.
Human Rights
Respect for human rights is an integral part of fulfilling the diverse responsibilities of the OeKB Group. We are aware of our special role and responsibility as a company with a public mandate and wish to use our opportunities in cooperation with all our stakeholders to contribute to the protection and promotion of human rights.
In doing so, we are guided by the fields of action defined in the “Ruggie Framework”:
- Protection of human rights
- Respect for human rights
- Remedy in the event of human rights violations
As part of our intensive engagement with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the OeKB Group first examined in 2009 the relevance of these rights — which have been in force for more than 75 years — for our business and how they are implemented in our corporate practice.
The human rights policy was first published in 2009 and is currently under revision.
Donations with lasting benefits
We promote projects and organisations that focus on people and are committed to enabling everyone to live a dignified and promising life, regardless of their origin, ethnicity, or gender.
When selecting projects, we attach particular importance to their compliance with our corporate principles and their sustainable benefits for society. In contrast to our sponsorship activities, we do not pursue any economic goals with donations and therefore do not expect anything in return, but the earmarked use of the money.
Goals of OeKB Donations
We focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 4, 5 and 8 for our donations.
- SDG1: Here we see our responsibility above all in the event of disasters and the support of the association OeKB karitativ with its projects to reduce poverty.
- SDG4: We support education and research through projects and donations in Austria but also in developing countries.
- SDG5: Gender equality has long been and of course still is a high priority for us. Therefore we support projects to promote gender equality.
- SDG8: Decent work and economic growth are crucial aspects of our core business. We support projects and research in this area.
We ensure that at least 50% of OeKB's donations go to projects that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.
Further Criteria for Donations
Only the management board makes decisions about the allocation of donations, whether monetary, material or time. Basically, we can only consider donation requests that match the above goals.
We prefer to help organisations that carry the Austrian Donation Seal or are on the list of beneficiary donors of the Ministry of Finance (BMF). Whether or not we can respond to donation requests depends on our donations budget.
Voluntary Commitment of Our Employees
As a socially responsible employer, we support our employees in engaging socially in various ways. We organize donation campaigns and offer a comprehensive Corporate Volunteering Program. In the event of a disaster, we promote work with emergency organizations by granting time-limited paid leave.
Corporate Volunteering
Since the OeKB Group takes an active role as a creator and facilitator of sustainable social development, we have been offering our employees the opportunity to participate in our Corporate Volunteering Program since 2019.
Together with our cooperation partners Teach For Austria and START, we organize workshops several times a year in which OeKB Group employees work with students and contribute their knowledge to different focus areas. These include topics such as application training, introducing various departments, or presenting the Group’s core business areas.
Participating employees voluntarily contribute their working time and/or expertise while gaining insights into “different worlds.” In this way, they can develop new perspectives and make a valuable contribution to our society.
Audit "berufundfamilie"
We continuously work on improving the working conditions for our employees. In doing so, we naturally involve our employees themselves. Since 2006, we have been certified within the framework of the “berufundfamilie” audit as a family-friendly employer.