Further Education

In these times of constant change, lifelong learning is more important than ever. Training and continuing education programs for our employees are essential for the success of the company. This is why we invested about EUR78 million in continuing education programs throughout the group in 2007. We offer our employees a wide variety of continuing education options, including topics such as safety, health and environmental protection.

Our employees completed approximately 270,000 days of training in 2007. Courses offered by the E.ON Academy Program are a key management training organization and account for a large share of this total. Our employees are also increasingly taking advantage of the blended learning approach with unscheduled eLearning modules: over the course of the past year, our "Academy Online" electronic learning platform was used a total of 85,000 times. Discussions regarding possible training and development measures for our staff are part of the annual employee appraisal interviews conducted between employees and managers.

The purpose of the annual management review process is to evaluate and identify the performance and potential of managers and junior managers and to discuss participation in various continuing education programs. This allows us to support junior and potential managers according to their individual needs.

In July 2007, we revised the Senior Management Potential (SMP) concept. This initiative offers junior managers a variety of individual education and development options in order to prepare them for the step to senior management on both the professional and personal level. Global placement supports SMPs by giving them preference in regards to job openings throughout the group. We implemented the uniform groupwide Global AC (Global Assessment Center) in order to identify the development potential of promising junior managers early on. The objective is to optimize development planning and to accurately assess potential for senior management responsibilities. "globaltalent@E.ON", the HR development database implemented in 2006, also serves to support groupwide HR planning processes.

With our transformation into an international energy supplier, the number of employees with a variety of cultural backgrounds has increased significantly. In order to take advantage of this diversity, our employees have to understand different cultures. Intercultural training is a fixed part of the orientation process for new employees and is also covered by programs offered through the E.ON Academy.

At the end of 2007, 225 employees throughout the group were working abroad. Under the strategic field "internationalization" of our HR strategy, this number is to be increased to one percent of the workforce by 2012. In 2007, numerous initiatives started to achieve this goal. For example, a detailed analysis of international assignments was started to design and adapt the framework of international HR management.

With the international holiday exchange program "Making Friends" we also offer our employees’ children the opportunity to explore countries where E.ON is represented around the world.