Clear values & principles

Our values

We are a company driven by clear values. Our values and standards are the basis on which we derive our way of thinking, belief systems and patterns of behavior. They describe our interpersonal interactions with each other. As a global company, we are aware that our values have both an internal and an external impact. In light of this, we are responsible for ensuring that these values meet the highest moral and ethical standards. It is important to us that these values are translated into action and not merely a theoretical concept. We even believe that our values and our actions as a result of these make us a role model, a position that we are happy to accept.

Our values characterize us as a company. They give us a firm foundation and define our relationships with each other. They also shape our company culture and identify who we are as a company.

In 2017, we – together as a company with our employees – defined what we want to stand for as part of a comprehensive process to establish values. After lengthy discussions, we established four values for our actions: Openness, appreciation, reliability and striving for excellence. They make it easy for our employees and our environment to predict how we will act as a company and reinforce the group’s shared identity.

• Openness
• Appreciation
• Reliability
• Striving for excellence

Our principles

What are the principles behind these values? Here, too, as part of the consultation processes with our employees, we jointly defined a framework that is intended to distinguish us.

Openness

• We bring forward own ideas, in our and in other divisions
• We support measures although they are more advantageous for the group than for our own division
• We also provide critical feedback when things go wrong
• We give our employees feedback. This lets them know where they stand and how they are being seen
• We try new approaches
• We never say “but we’ve always done it this way”
• We never assume that what worked in the past will still work in the future
• We value the suggestions of others, even if they affect our area

Appreciation

• We listen to others and let each other end up talking
• We consider the opinion of others to be equitable
• We actively ask for opinions
• We try to combine the best of different cultures
• We believe cooperation between the young and the old is an opportunity
• We see cultural differences as a learning opportunity
• We treat all employees equally
• We do not see ourselves as being above colleagues or employees
• We speak to each other politely
• We tolerate other opinions

Reliability

• We keep our promises
• If we can’t keep a promise, we communicate this as well
• We make consistent decisions in similar situations
• We regularly review our performance
• We remain loyal to our company
• We represent the company publicly
• We give equal consideration to social, environmental and economic factors in corporate governance

Striving for excellence

• We set ourselves high goals which are not easy to achieve
• We try to meet external/internal customers wishes as well as possible
• We analyze our mistakes and try to learn from them
• We celebrate when we achieve goals
• We know how to celebrate success
• We stand for profitable growth
• We fight for every single customer
• We set standards and work on exceeding these
• We measure our performance not only by yesterday’s successes, but also by those of our competitors

Principles for leadership & collaboration

After developing and implementing the Greiner values at the end of 2017, we continued to ask ourselves how we want to work together. This led to the Greiner Leadership and Collaboration Principles, developed by colleagues who will lead the company in the future.

Between 2018 and 2020, almost 15 participants in the Greiner General Management Program (GMP) asked what management and collaboration at Greiner should look like. The GMP is a training and development program for current and, in particular, for future managers at Greiner. It is attended by experienced managers preparing for a senior or general management role or who recently began such a role, as well as employees identified for a potential senior management position. After almost two years, the principles were communicated to the Executive Board and the heads of division at the start of 2020. Not only did they accept these principles, they were also “introduced” in all divisions around the world. The principles focus on a total of eight topic areas. The define management principles and thus serve as a guiding principle for working together.