Strengthening PTB’s Culture of Leadership

One such measure was the first-ever Leadership Day Plus, which took place on 4 February 2015. The day’s theme was “Being a Leader to Yourself and Others with Success and Mindfulness – New Ideas for Your Leadership Role”. Held in collaboration with an external management consultancy firm, the all-day event for over 100 members of PTB’s management staff included lectures and a panel discussion, as well as a workshop which gave participants the opportunity to exchange their views in an open and constructive way. The half-day-long “Leadership Day II” on 30 June 2015 included an additional topic that, according to the staff survey, requires better communication: the system of performance assessments and promotions.

A direct exchange between PTB employees and the Presidential Board was made possible by the new format of the PTB Forum: Topics submitted by employees in advance via PTB’s internal mail or online are addressed in a presentation and a moderated follow-up discussion. The first semiannual PTB Forum devoted attention to the topic of fixed-term (temporary) employment contracts. The President of PTB first outlined the reasons why these employment contracts are fundamentally important for PTB and its employees, but also the consequences and liability they entail. Questions from PTB employees were then responded to by the entire PTB Presidential Board as well as the director of the Personnel Section.

An additional measure implemented to improve communication concerns the selection of management staff members. Effective immediately, future management staff with corresponding professional qualifications will be required to demonstrate their social and communication skills in an individual assessment center session; the sessions each focus on different typical situations and are held by an external personnel consultancy company. Additionally, a trainee program was launched which is specifically designed to gain a new, younger generation of staff members; the program’s first two trainees began work on 1 January 2015.