167 BMW Group Report 2024 To Our Stakeholders Combined Management Report Group Financial Statements Responsibility Statement and Auditor’s Report Remuneration Report Other Information Sustainability Statement Long-term and strategic personnel planning The BMW Group’s long-term personnel planning forecasts per- sonnel requirements for the next six years. This planning is up- dated annually on the basis of the Company’s forecast perfor- mance. The impacts of the identified staffing requirements on new hires and leavers must be analysed in order to develop suit- able measures. The BMW Group duly involves the relevant inter- est groups in the structured and long-term process, in line with country-specific and statutory conditions. This makes it possible to identify restructuring requirements at an early stage and to or- ganise them responsibly. The Board of Management monitors the progress of personnel measures on a regular basis as part of the personnel manage- ment process during the year. A comparison is made between the personnel planning and the current or forecast number of employees for each Board of Management division at the end of the year so that measures can be implemented if necessary. The personnel requirements for each location are determined as part of the annual planning processes. The Company utilises working time accounts at its production sites where this is legally possi- ble. These provide a flexible tool for adapting the amount of work based on operational requirements and ensuring that employees receive a consistent salary even if capacity utilisation levels fluc- tuate. Collective bargaining coverage and social dialogue Central participation opportunities The employees of the BMW Group are among the most im- portant stakeholder groups, and are actively involved in shaping the future direction of the Company ↗ Stakeholder Engagement. Every two years, the BMW Group performs a company-wide employee survey to measure the general mood in the workforce and the performance of the organisation on the basis of the High Perfor- mance Organisation Index (HPO-I). The next survey is planned for 2025. The HPO-I indicator reflects the BMW Group’s performance and future viability and is an important key indicator for the long-term management of the BMW Group. The questions are reviewed before each employee survey and adapted to the current corpo- rate and HR-related strategy as needed in order to take into ac- count relevant new topics. In addition to collecting key indicators, the employee survey aims to stimulate continuous dialogue. Each manager receives a summarised result for their area, pro- vided at least six responses have been received. Managers are required to discuss the outcomes with their employees and iden- tify improvements and concrete measures for organisational de- velopment. The BMW Group’s change management team sup- ports managers in this with various workshop formats and guide- lines. In addition, the most recent employee surveys included questions on the assessment of the quality of the follow-up to the previous survey. Employees were asked whether they had been informed about the outcomes and whether measures had been identified and implemented. These outcomes are pre- sented to the Board of Management and discussed. Changes in the perceived effectiveness of the follow-up process can be as- sessed by comparing the relevant responses with the previous survey. Another important opportunity for employees to get involved is the idea management system, which is a valuable source of im- provements for the BMW Group and emphasises the lived culture of collaboration. Employees can suggest improvements also out- side the direct scope of their task. Awards are given for ideas which have positive impacts on the efficiency or sustainability of the BMW Group. Numerous ideas were submitted in the report- ing year. A noteworthy number of these were successfully imple- mented and brought significant benefits to the BMW Group. The proposals that were submitted focused on ideas with positive sustainability effects in particular. The ”HR Business and Talent Development” division is respon- sible for defining the strategic alignment in the areas of pro- cesses and change management. The HR departments at the respective locations are responsible for implementing and real- ising proposals, with the specific measures varying from location to location. Involvement of employees in change processes The BMW Group is continuously developing on the basis of its Corporate Development Framework (CDF). Our employees are a central influencing factor within this Framework. According to the CDF, affected employees and interest groups must be informed, empowered, involved and communicated with throughout change processes. The first step in the BMW Group’s estab- lished change process is to actively involve the affected interest groups. Depending on the project and its contextual parameters, the employee representation, if present at the site, is also in- volved as an important stakeholder. The BMW Group involves its workforce both directly and indi- rectly through employee representatives. The involvement of employee representatives provides an important impetus for de- cision-making processes as part of dialogue or negotiation pro- cesses, which are taken into account in accordance with the ap- plicable legal requirements. The nature and frequency of this in- volvement depends on the local legal standards. The HR depart- ment provides opportunities for involvement on an ad hoc, ongo- ing or regular basis in the form of information, consultation or co- determination. The level of the organisational units to be in- cluded depends on whether a change project is implemented lo- cally or across locations. Another factor is whether the Com- pany’s own employees are informed on a central or local basis. Cross-location initiatives are communicated with the involve- ment of the responsible central departments. At a European level, up to two meetings per year are held between the BMW EURO Works Council and corporate management. Workers’ rep- resentatives from production sites outside Europe are also in- vited to attend. In addition to indirect involvement, employees can address their concerns directly with their manager or HR de- partment. The BMW Group promotes regular dialogue between employees and the Company, particularly at locations where em- ployees do not have representation.