
“The People House is the vision from which we derive our special, future-oriented ebm-papst employee strategy,” explains Dr. Sonja Fleischer, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at ebm-papst. It’s not just a house; it’s a mission statement that reflects our values and the needs of our employees. We developed the concept by conducting countless interviews in all our regions around the world and across every function and hierarchical level within our Group. The results of a global employee survey conducted in 2022, which had an extremely high participation rate, were used to further refine and finalize the design.
“The surveys revealed a lot of things. For example, they showed that ‘enthusiasm’ is a very important value for our employees, and that they also feel it is part of the working experience and lifestyle at all our sites around the world,” Dr. Fleischer recalls. “That’s why we have chosen to re-emphasize this point in our values.” Together with the values of efficiency and humanity, it forms the stable foundation on which our house is built.
This is the foundation of our excellence, which consists of three building blocks: data analysis and analytics, policies and processes, and integrity and compliance. This provides a high standard for our work, which is always efficient, first-class and – of course – compliant with the law. But we never forget our humanity, either: We attach great importance to making special moments in the lives of our employees personal and individual.

We celebrate important milestones in their working lives together with them, from their first day at work, to graduation, apprenticeship and service anniversaries, right through to retirement. In order to maintain this good working relationship in the future, we take great care when selecting potential employees to ensure that they fit in well with our corporate culture.
Dismantling hurdles, creating opportunities
The way we interact with one another is as inviting and open as the architecture of the People House. “By actively promoting diversity and inclusion, we create a pleasant and trusting working environment in which everyone can be who they are,” affirms Dr. Fleischer. “We strive to create an environment in which everyone is accepted, respected and valued, and can make the best use of their individual strengths to contribute to our success – regardless of their gender, (social) background, religion, age, sexual orientation, or physical and mental abilities.”

“We want everyone here to feel accepted, respected and valued.”
Dr. Sonja Fleischer, Chief Human Resources Officer at ebm-papst
We have launched a number of initiatives and programs to promote this sense of diversity. Some deal with work-life balance, an important priority for the modern employee. This is why we offer childcare support by cooperating with local kindergartens, for example. These valuable partnerships offer parents the security of safe childcare when (re)starting work at ebm-papst. It is also important to us that our employees can take a flexible approach to organizing their working hours. This includes part-time and flextime models, as well as mobile work options. “What is easy to implement in terms of administration, for example, poses challenges when it comes to production,” Dr. Fleischer says. “That is why we are developing a flexible working time and shift model for production, which – if necessary and desired – can be adapted to suit personal wishes and needs.”
We are aware that the proportion of women at our company can be increased in several areas. This applies to specific departments such as Logistics, but also to management positions in general. With this in mind, we have launched several initiatives to promote women in our workplace. This involves providing targeted support to help shape individual career paths in the form of workshops, national and international networks, and mentoring and coaching services.
Sarah Akhtar, our HR Expert for Diversity & Inclusion, can report on several pilot initiatives that are helping to improve diversity in all areas of our company. “With one campaign at our Landshut site, for example, we are hoping to get more women interested in working in logistics,” she explains. “By showing them the different options available, we take away the fear of switching to this area.”
Approaches that accommodate people with disabilities in our company’s daily work routines are also being pursued worldwide. In Production at our Landshut site, for example, there are special inclusive workstations. But ebm-papst’s strong commitment to inclusion and acceptance doesn’t stop at the German border, as Sarah Worden, Senior Director Human Resources Americas, reports: “At our American branches, our employees regularly advocate for greater awareness of illnesses and disabilities.”
Campaign days such as World Down Syndrome Day provide an opportunity for such work. On this day, employees are encouraged to wear two different, colorful socks. This is our way of celebrating the uniqueness of every single person, regardless of the differences between us. It goes without saying that this philosophy is also practiced outside the company, as illustrated by the open doors of the People House.

By actively and financially supporting a wide range of projects in our sites’ local areas, including children’s hospitals and inclusive schools, we are helping to ensure that everyone has access to modern medical care and the ability to participate in life as part of the community. In 2023, for example, we helped to fund the purchase of a wheelchair-accessible seesaw for the playground at Andreas-Fröhlich-Schule in Krautheim.
Help in times of need
We are changing the world. Together.
We are committed to creating a good atmosphere – both with others and among our fellow colleagues. Here at ebm-papst, we call this: Better working. Better teams. Better future.
At ebm-papst, the idea of giving help to those in acute need is taken as read. One recent example of this social commitment is the emergency aid we provided in Slovenia following the floods in the summer of 2023. Sara Čučnik, Head of HR Department at ebm-papst Slovenija d.o.o., remembers exactly what happened: “ebm-papst didn’t just provide financial help. We also started a collection for urgent relief supplies the day the floods hit. Since our local site in Cerknica was spared from the disaster, the almost 600 staff there were able to devote all their energy to supporting those affected.
Employees who actively helped out were granted two days of special leave to do so. These examples show that humanity is probably the strongest value in our corporate culture,” says Dr. Sonja Fleischer. After all, international and cross-departmental collaboration can only be successful if there is also a culture of trusting and transparent cooperation. “Our employees know very well that they are in control of the atmosphere in their immediate working environment. And I look forward to working with them all to bring the vision of the People House to life.” After all, the goal – trusting and transparent cooperation – is something we can all benefit from.
Leave a comment