Audit for work and family

In 2021, the City of Bonn successfully completed the "berufundfamilie" audit and received the quality seal for a company reconciliation policy for the first time. As an employer, it thus sends a clear signal for family awareness. In 2024, it was re-audited and awarded the seal again.

Mayor Katja Dörner presents the "berufundfamilie" audit; behind her (from right to left) Equal Opportunities Officer Stephanie Clemens-Krämer, City Director Wolfgang Fuchs, Head of Human Resources Andreas Leinhaas

Happy about the successful audit (from right to left): Mayor Katja Dörner, Equal Opportunities Officer Stephanie Clemens-Krämer, City Director Wolfgang Fuchs and Head of Human Resources Andreas Leinhaas

Goal of the audit - A strong signal for family friendliness

The "berufundfamilie" audit is a certification process initiated by the non-profit Hertie Foundation that supports companies, institutions and universities in developing a family-friendly HR policy.

The aim of the audit was, and still is, to initially compile all of the City of Bonn's work-life balance offerings and to develop measures for improvement in a process involving a broad range of employees.

Targets and measures were developed for the following eight fields of action of the "audit berufundfamilie": Working hours, work organization, place of work, information and communication, leadership, personnel development, remuneration components and non-cash benefits, service for families.

The measures developed in this way were collected in a target agreement, which the City of Bonn worked on implementing step by step over the following three years. Based on the target agreement, a certificate was issued, which is renewed every three years if further measures for continuous adaptation and improvement are agreed. This led to a re-audit and renewal of the certificate with a new award in 2024.

You can find out more in the press release. (opens in a new tab)

Brief portrait of the "berufundfamilie" audit

The "berufundfamilie" audit certificate was awarded for the first time on March 15, 2021.

Bonn is a medium-sized city and, in addition to its proximity to nature, offers an excellent cultural offering and the colorful diversity of people from 179 countries. Anyone employed in one of the more than 40 professions at the City of Bonn not only works for the approximately 330,000 citizens of our city, but also chooses a secure job or training position that offers everything from a company pension scheme and capital formation to company health promotion and flexible working time models to a job ticket.

This has a lot to do with the corporate culture. Reconciling work and family life, dealing with personal crises and even the desire to change one's own life and work situation, as well as the exchange of ideas about these are important to the City of Bonn as an employer.

At the time of the first audit, there were 6,800 employees.

Aim of the audit

With the "berufundfamilie" audit, the City of Bonn is taking the next step in systematically developing the issue of work-life balance. In doing so, it is working to ensure that employees are satisfied with the City of Bonn as a family-conscious employer and stay with it. In addition, as an attractive and family-conscious employer, it would like to continue to attract further specialists who can take the family time they desire (on special occasions as well as in everyday life) for all areas of work in the future. The city wants to provide its employees with offers that make it easier for them to organize their own family time.

In our understanding, family is a social network. It takes place wherever people take responsibility for each other in close personal relationships.

Existing measures (selection)

Working time models that can be used to respond to different life situations: Part-time, full-time, mobile working, partial retirement, flexitime, sabbatical, accompanied return to work
Special training programs for part-time employees
A personnel development concept that is also geared towards life phases
Part-time training
Management in different part-time models and shared management
Audited and award-winning health management
Care contact point and contact point for fathers/men for employees
Culture of discussion and promotion of acceptance of family-related topics
Gender mainstreaming in all areas of work
Instructions/guidelines on mobile working
Offers for employees on sabbatical
Family portal on the Internet and guide for pregnant women and single parents from the Equal Opportunities Office

The berufundfamilie audit is also a measure of the City of Bonn's equality plan. It is used to continuously develop compatibility issues and to anchor family awareness more firmly in the corporate culture of the city administration.

Future measures (selection)

Development of a cross-departmental mission statement for dealing with topics relevant to reconciliation
Appointment of topic-specific multipliers on compatibility issues
Developing instructions for managers on the workload of part-time employees and reviewing a job-sharing exchange
Improving equipment and gradually expanding telecommunication options
Improving the accessibility of information on family support services and preparatory work for the introduction of an employee app
Development of standards for the onboarding process in all offices and departments
Introduction of supervision/collegial counseling to support managers with work-life balance issues
Reflecting on the impact of mobile working and digital forms of work in all offices and departments, documenting the challenges and considering the need for adjustments
Expansion of seminars on remote leadership
Offer technical training for hardware and software after a long absence (fresh-up)

Why is this also important for citizens?

A family-friendly city administration has a direct impact on the city of Bonn and its citizens. By creating attractive working conditions for its employees, the city can continue to attract and retain qualified professionals in the future. This ensures that municipal services run smoothly and thus improves the quality of life.