Arineo GmbH was honored on June 18, 2024 in Berlin at the 26th berufundfamilie certificate award ceremony for its family and life-phase-conscious personnel policies. The berufundfamilie audit, initiated by the non-profit Hertie Foundation, is a prestigious management tool that helps companies develop sustainable HR policies that promote the balance between work and family life. The successful certification confirms that Arineo recognizes the diverse needs of its employees and enables a balanced work and private life through targeted measures.
Sarah Peters, Head of HR and chairwoman of the supervisory board at Arineo GmbH, received the audit certificate at the ceremony event from the audit’s patron, Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus MdB, and Oliver Schmitz, managing director of berufundfamilie Service GmbH.
Arineo is one of 306 organizations – 119 companies, 151 institutions, and 36 universities – that were awarded the “berufundfamilie” audit or “familiengerechte hochschule” audit certificate this year. The award of the quality seal was preceded by a structured auditing process that lasted several months.
Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus MdB emphasized: “The certified companies, institutions, and universities demonstrate responsibility in making it easier for their employees to balance family and career. They are not only role models for employers in Germany. They also benefit in the competition for the best talent and contribute to a modern, family-conscious working environment. I want to congratulate all certificate holders who have embarked on this path, whether they are just starting or have been with us for some time and are improving and developing year after year.”
The roughly 400 employees at Arineo benefit from measures to promote work-life balance, such as remote working, flexible working hours, and a lifetime working time account.
“Balancing work and family is a central concern for our employees’ satisfaction and motivation,” explains Sarah Peters. “Promoting family friendliness is a strategic advantage for us and a matter close to our hearts. We know that our employees have different needs in different life phases, and we strive to provide them with the best possible support. As a mother of two myself, our flexible working hours and the option to work remotely allow me to be there for my family while fulfilling my professional responsibilities. This flexibility is invaluable to me.”
“Being able to take parental leave and seamlessly return to work part-time is an attitude that I really appreciate at Arineo,” adds Ralf Mackowiak, managing director at Arineo GmbH. “I work part-time myself. At Arineo, this is not a barrier to taking on responsible tasks – other colleagues in the management team also work
part-time. We plan our working day so that everyone can participate. For example, we schedule meetings in the morning and plan on-site events well in advance. Arineo allows me to succeed in my career while having enough time for my family. This balance is precious to me.”
At the certificate ceremony, which was held under the motto “Responsibility Reloaded: Who, What, How Much?”, Oliver Schmitz emphasized: “Companies, institutions, and universities that are committed to work or study-life balance through the berufundfamilie audit or familiengerechte hochschule audit are taking responsibility for setting and promoting work-life balance as a strategic issue. They systematically bring this responsibility to life, making awareness of family and life phases a driving force of their culture. In doing so, they also show that they are responsible for adequately addressing the individual needs of their employees and, where applicable, students – ensuring the functionality and survival of their organization.”
In addition to Arineo GmbH, 41 other organizations were celebrated for receiving their first berufundfamilie audit or familiengerechte hochschule audit certificate.
More information
About the berufundfamilie audit and the familiengerechte hochschule audit
Applicable in all industries and various company sizes, the audit captures the status quo of already offered family and life-phase-conscious measures, systematically develops company-specific potential, and ensures that family awareness is anchored in the organizational culture with binding target agreements. After successfully completing this process, an independent board, prominently composed of representatives from business, academia, politics, and associations, decides on the audit certificate. The practical implementation is reviewed annually by berufundfamilie Service GmbH. After three years, further personnel goals can be agreed upon through a re-audit. The employer may only retain the certificate following a successful re-audit. Since introducing the audit in 1998, almost 2000 organizations have been awarded the certificate. Currently, 975 organizations are certified according to the berufundfamilie audit or familiengerechte hochschule audit, including 412 companies, 457 institutions, and 106 universities. This certification benefits around two million employees and over 1.3 million students.
About berufundfamilie
Berufundfamilie Service GmbH is a service provider, and work-life balance think tank. It successfully supports companies, institutions, and universities in implementing sustainable family and life-phase-conscious personnel policies and creating family-friendly working, research, and study conditions. Its central offering is the workandfamily audit and family-friendly audit university, initiated by the non-profit Hertie Foundation. The audit is the strategic management tool that employers use to set up their HR policy in a family and life-phase-conscious manner and to strengthen their attractiveness as employers. Since 1998, around 2000 organizations have been awarded the audit certificate. Federal Family Minister, Lisa Paus MdB, is patron of the berufundfamilie and familiengerechte hochschule audits.
About Arineo
Arineo GmbH provides support for medium-sized companies in their digital transformation – from choosing the right combination of IT solutions and implementing them, to operation and support. To do so, Arineo relies on Microsoft and SAP solutions for customer engagement, enterprise resource planning, workplace and collaboration as well as data analytics. Arineo extends these solutions with artificial intelligence, big data, and IoT technologies to leverage a real competitive advantage for its customers. The IT service provider also is a partner of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research with two research projects on the development of artificial intelligence.
Arineo GmbH is an employee-owned company (EOC) based in Göttingen. According to its founding statutes from 2018, the company will be 100% employee-owned starting in 2024. Thanks to its innovative ownership structure, Arineo can keep all the capital that it generates within the company and invest it in the training of its teams, the expansion of its range of services, and the continuous improvement of its service quality. The company is also managed cooperatively, resulting in short communication paths and maximum agility. This benefits customers and staff alike.
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