Employees

Basis for success
Management principles
Employee figures
Apprenticeships

Basis for success
Behr's employees are the basis for the further successful development of the company. Their commitment and motivation play an essential role in further strengthening our position as the leader in innovations and becoming number one globally in the customer service sector.

Behr is committed to continually improve the professional and personal qualifications of its employees in its worldwide network. An individual personnel development program Personnel development offers everyone who shows the necessary commitment and ability the opportunity to pursue intensive further studies and thus attain their career goals.
Thanks to Behr’s company culture we have managed to make a team out of a large number of employees in Germanyand abroad, all sharing the objective for mutual success.

Management principles
Behr’s management principles express our understanding of leadership and provide orientation.

Management through conviction and by conviction
Commitment results from conviction. Behr managers thus inform their employees actively and clarify the reasons for their decisions. They manage using challenging, yet feasible, objectives.Respect for the individual is important to Behr managers. This is shown through listening attentively, constructive feedback, and fair treatment of all employees on all levels.

Feedback culture
Feedback initiates learning processes and learning leads to improvement. Behr managers thus encourage an open dialog and criticism from employees and colleagues. They also provide open, timely, and fair feedback to their employees. Behr managers and employees discuss errors objectively and work out lasting solutions.

Entrepreneurial spirit at Behr
Behr has grown greatly through its entrepreneurial spirit. Behr managers use the afforded freedom. They implement their company agenda, all the while taking calculable risks into account. Nevertheless, they also respect and use standards in selected areas. These standards are created and chosen according to economical criteria.

Competence in delegation
Convincing performance results from professional competence. Behr managers are thoroughly competent in their sector. Despite this, they focus on their core tasks and provide their employees with the greatest level of freedom possible. Their management style is determined though delegation and mentoring.

Think globally, act locally
Behr is a globally active company with employees from different cultures and countries. One factor of our success is that we take local conditions into account, which also plays a role in the Group standards. Behr managers pay attention that the global Behr culture and that of the local subsidiary or joint venture complement each other, all the while keeping the success of the Behr Group at the forefront.

Employee figures
At the end of 2007, the Behr Group employed around 19,500 staff at 17 development, 28 production sites and 12 joint ventures throughout the world.

Behr Group employees (at year's end)

	2006	2007
Germany	7,094	7,316
Rest of Europe	4,396	4,780
North America	3,024	3,069
Asia	1,501	1,710
Other regions	2,579	2,573
Behr Group total	18,594	19,448

Apprenticeships
The number of apprenticeships at Behr is at a consistently high level in Germany. By 1985, or 50 years after the establishment of the apprentice training workshop, approximately 1,000 technicians and clerks had completed their training at Behr. Today, the figure for qualified apprentices has climbed to over 2,500. During Behr’s anniversary year in 2005, almost 100 technical and 15 commercial apprentices, as well as 40 students at the university of cooperative education, prepared for their career start - similar to previous years. Behr trains more apprentices than necessary for its own needs, as the company feels obligated to make it possible for as many school-leavers as possible to receive professional training.