The best possible support for employees in challenging life situations, a good and family-friendly working atmosphere: these are key objectives at toom. The company has now been recertified by the job and family audit for the third time in a row. We spoke to toom employees who have benefited from the measures.
in 2016, toom qualified for the associated certificate through the job and family audit for the first time. The colleagues have now been recertified for the third time in a row as a result of the audit. This means that toom continues to maintain its status as an excellent employer for work-life balance.
Balancing work, family and private life is extremely important for long-term employee satisfaction and performance. This is why toom Baumarkt DIY store supports its employees in all phases of their lives. With a corporate culture that emphasises respect, humanity and tolerance, toom strives for an open exchange even in challenging life situations, supports employees in the best possible way and takes various measures to ensure a good and family-friendly working environment.
René Haßfeld, CEO at toom (Photo: toom Baumarkt DIY store)
Toom uses the "job & family audit" certificate for the strategic further development of these measures, which promote the compatibility of family, job and private life. The audit by berufundfamilie Service GmbH, an initiative of the non-profit Hertie Foundation, supports companies in shaping their family and life-phase-conscious HR policies in a sustainable way. Following the first certification in 2016, toom successfully underwent the re-audit process for the third time this year, in which the status quo of the existing family and life-phase-conscious measures was reviewed. To this end, group/individual interviews and workshops were conducted with employees from a wide range of roles and positions.
"The compatibility of work with family and private life is an important aspect of our HR policy at toom. We are therefore delighted to have been honoured once again. We will continue to develop new concepts in order to support our employees even better in their individual phases of life in the future," says René Haßfeld, CEO at toom.
As part of the re-audit, not only were strategic goals defined, but also specific measures, which are set out in a target agreement. It is now up to toom to realise these as required during the three-year certification period. The practical implementation is reviewed annually by berufundfamilie Service GmbH.
What has happened at toom since 2016
Since the first certification in 2016, a lot has happened at toom to improve the work-life balance. For example, there is the opportunity to take advantage of flexible working time models and various work location models. In addition, toom makes it possible to take a sabbatical, ensures that employees work close to home and is introducing a new time management system that supports the consideration of employees' different life situations in work planning. In addition, toom offers subsidised tutoring for its employees' children.
"The fact that I was able to swap my job as a garden sales assistant at toom in Genthin for exactly the same job in Wernigerode was a great stroke of luck for me. After I had been widowed for a few years, I met a man from the Harz region. After two years, we decided to move in together - the distance was just too great. So we did a little tour of the Harz Mountains and looked at various toom stores that might be suitable for me to work in.
Here in Wernigerode, everything worked out perfectly: A colleague in the garden centre told me that she wanted to retire soon. That was of course the ideal timing and the ideal job. Back in Genthin, I immediately spoke to my boss and she made contact with the store manager in Wernigerode at the time. They quickly came to an agreement. Let me put it this way: the people in Genthin didn't want me to leave beaming with joy, but they didn't put any obstacles in my way either. And Martin was pleased that he was able to fill the position of the retired colleague with an experienced employee.
It was certainly helpful for the planning on both sides that I sought the talks very early on - a good year before my move. It was also important to me to finish the season in Genthin first - that's always better than leaving in the middle of the season. And here in Wernigerode, I can start the new season right from the beginning."
Martin Maiwald: "Everything really fell into place. Gerda's desire to change jobs, the approaching retirement of her colleague. And the jobs were a perfect match. Even Gerda's specialisation in plants was a perfect fit - it was the perfect match! The fact that Gerda planned her holiday in such a way - three weeks until the end of December - that she was able to complete her move in peace before the new start also contributed to the smooth process. It's not the kind of move you make from one day to the next. Even though both cities are in Saxony-Anhalt, Genthin and Wernigerode are 130 kilometres apart."
"My boyfriend and I are both totally crazy about camping - and almost fanatical about travelling. For a long time, we drove somewhere in his VW T 3 Bully in the summer and autumn, and again over a long weekend if we could.
When I started at toom, on my first day at the induction event, the HR department gave me an information booklet entitled "job & family". Wow, I thought, when I read that a sabbatical was possible.
And so I harboured the dream of going on a long trip through Europe with my boyfriend and our camper van. I thought to myself: cool, I could think about that for later if I like the job and stay longer. And that's what happened: I stayed with toom because I really liked the job. So at some point, my boyfriend and I started planning.
When our plans became more concrete, I told my line manager about it and asked if we could somehow organise it. He was immediately open to it and was very supportive: He spoke directly to all the instances, and put me in touch with the HR department. There I got answers to my questions, for example about how to deal with health insurance. All in all, it didn't take much organising at all. The coordination was completely relaxed. There was one form I had to fill in, or two at most, and that was it..
Professionally, it was also totally practical for me because I have projects that are easy to plan with a start and end date. As I gave my boss extra early notice, we were able to plan my absence well.
Try to talk to your line manager as early as possible: I would recommend this to anyone planning a sabbatical. This creates planning security on both sides and is fair. You can also choose from different models for saving phases, which are explained very well in the document from the HR department. I opted for half a year's savings in combination with half a year's absence. This gave us six months to look forward to our wonderful trip with our campervan, which took us across Europe from May to October 2022. It was an extremely wonderful and liberating experience, especially after Corona. I am very happy that I got the opportunity to do this."
