ÖBB Annual Report 2023

Group Management Report 170 Österreichische Bundesbahnen-Holding Aktiengesellschaft Consolidated Financial Statements | Group Management Report 125 Landmark projects As part of collaborations/initiatives, girls, women and female switchers were once again specifically targeted in 2023. Diversity Council In 2023, the Diversity Council was founded to bring diversity issues to all regions and every province in Austria. Diversity partners were nominated by the sub-companies as contact persons for the Council. Their Council work shows that interest in and demand for the services of the new Inclusion & Diversity solution centre is high, particularly among employees in the regions. After the first meeting, the contact persons were trained and then began their work. Campaign “You are our potential.” “You are our potential.” is an internal awareness-raising initiative. It aims to increase the visibility of employees with visible and invisible disabilities (e.g. chronic illnesses) and raise awareness among managers and employees alike. This initiative facilitates participation and breaks down barriers. The aim of the campaign was also to increase the proportion of employees with disabilities (degree of disability greater than or equal to 50%) from 2.7% (ÖBB domestic) to 4%, as set out in the ÖBB Diversity Charter 2026. The campaign also aims to increase employee satisfaction. The aim is to make it easier to talk openly about disabilities and chronic illnesses and to create a low-barrier working environment. Communication takes place via news articles, postings on Viva Engage, screens and events. The new network attracted particular attention from employees with disabilities. The new Diversity Council, which is made up of employees from the various regions, ensures that knowledge is shared across the organisation. Inclusion Another strategic goal is to continually increase the number of employees with special needs. The implementation of disability management at ÖBB-Holding AG marks a fundamental step towards the successful implementation of the “Employees with Disabilities” program. This is accompanied by disability awareness training for managers and employees as well as training on accessible communication. There are currently 662 employees in the ÖBB Group with health-related limitations with a degree of disability of more than 50%. A specialist in disability management and accessibility at the workplace as well as the group’s disability liaison officers are available to provide personal support. Practical knowledge transfer has taken place since 2022 through webinars on topics such as “Barrier-free recruiting”, “Inclusion management” and “Barrier-free communication”. The e-learning programme “Disability Management” ensures a minimum level of qualification for managers and employees. In addition, further qualification offers were added to the ÖBB training catalogue in 2023. The further steps set out in the Charter for Inclusion have been implemented. The 2026 action plan was presented on 03.12.2021. It sets out the implementation of measures to increase the proportion of employees with disabilities in the Group domestically. The basic measures include the “Inclusive Workplace” checklist for evaluating barrier-free and diversity-sensitive workplaces or the cooperation with the myability-jobbörse. These measures should help to ensure that as many people with a facilitated disability as possible apply for suitable jobs. In 2022 / 2023, site inspections were conducted in selected railway bistros and in Lassallestrasse. The results were recorded digitally and measures to improve accessibility in the workplace were derived. Also in 2023, a cooperation was initiated with Specialisterne Austria. The aim is to attract people on the neurodivergent spectrum to the ÖBB Group and support them during their induction period. Moreover, a further cooperation partner was found in NEBA (Netzwerk Berufliche Assistenz) to recruit people with disabilities for ÖBB and support them during onboarding at the company. As an inclusive mobility service provider, ÖBB is in regular contact with representatives of organisations for people with disabilities and politicians on the topic of “accessibility and barrier-free travel”. Current projects, needs and approaches to solutions are discussed with them. Among other measures, a dialogue event was also held in September 2023 at the ÖBB headquarters. The top management discussed mobility needs and the current status of barrier-free travel with ÖBB with representatives from politics, the Austrian Disability Council (ÖBR) and the Ombud for the Disabled. | MR125