ECONOMIC REPORT

Employees and self-employed client consultants

 

As MLP is a knowledge-based service provider, qualified and motivated employees and consultants represent the most important foundation for sustainable company success. An important focus in 2015 was therefore on continuous further development of personnel work, as well as on the qualification, further training, recruiting and development of new consultants.

Low staff turnover rate

The number of employees in the MLP Group increased by around 16.9% in the reporting year 2015 – largely due to the acquisition of the DOMCURA Group. On the reporting date, December 31, 2015, a total of 1,802 employees worked for MLP. Adjusted for the DOMCURA acquisition, however, the number of employees remained largely unchanged from the previous year at 1,541 (1,542). At 5.5%, the staff turnover rate at the company HQ remained at a low level in 2015 (2014: 4.5%). The average age of employees at MLP AG, MLP Finanzdienstleistungen AG, FERI AG and the DOMCURA Group is currently 40.

 

The following table shows the development of average employee numbers in the individual business units over the last few years:

Development of the average number of employees (excluding MLP consultants)

Development programmes for managers and junior staff

To offer our employees even better development opportunities, we launched a modular “management programme” for team leaders in 2015. The objective here is to train existing managers in relevant topics and support them in their role with personnel responsibility. In the coming year, we will also be welcoming a new group of participants to our “Top Talents” programme for junior staff, which has been established since 2013. The goal is to systematically identify talented junior staff from within the company and then provide these with targeted and sustainable development opportunities for future specialist and management duties.

 

New company agreements on remuneration, assessment and special leave

In the course of further developing our personnel work, four company agreements were signed in the reporting year. Among other things, these involve introduction of a new remuneration system. The objective here is to establish a fair, transparent and motivating remuneration system that rewards personal experience, expertise and achievements on the part of employees, while at the same time remaining competitive. To complement this, a company agreement on holding appraisal meetings was signed. This also provides the basis for targeted sponsorship and development measures.

 

To offer our employees family-friendly framework conditions that are continuously expanded in keeping with the various phases of their lives, a company agreement that sets out uniform rulings for unpaid special leave was also signed in 2015. With this company agreement, MLP is granting its employees the opportunity to take extended periods of leave in certain circumstances, also in combination with regular leave and flexitime days.

 

Consultant turnover at a low level

As of December 31, 2015, MLP operated 156 representative offices with a total of 1,935 consultants (2014: 1,952), who work as self-employed commercial agents. The average age of consultants is currently just under 44. The low employee turnover rate is also very pleasing. This rate was just 8.3% in 2015 – and thereby well below the target maximum of 12% (+/- 2 percentage points).

 

Further progress in the process for recruiting new consultants

Acquiring new consultants was a key topic in the reporting year. To this end, MLP has established a training allowance for new client consultants to help them find their feet in the world of self-employment. They are eligible to receive up to € 24,000 in the first year and up to € 12,000 in the second year. With this step, we are combining high-quality basic and advanced training with improved planning reliability for new consultants.

 

Internship programme and dual study programme established

The new internship programme, launched in 2014, has now established itself. In the reporting year, some 142 school-leavers and students took the opportunity to get a better idea of what it is like working as an MLP consultant. Our sales-oriented dual study programmes, which were first launched in 2013 and help prepare students for a consultant career at the branch offices, represent another successful recruiting instrument. Some 24 dual study course students and 22 trainees are currently working at the various offices (previous year: 22 and 26), while 25 dual study course students and 23 trainees are working at the company HQ (previous year: 30 and 25).

 

Significant rise in the number of applicants

The number of applications for consultant positions also displayed positive development in the financial year 2015, increasing by 47% over the previous year. MLP increased its number of consultants over the previous year in both the third and fourth quarters. The recruiting offensive we launched last year is therefore clearly starting to bear fruit. In addition, we have opened a new office in the university city of Würzburg and are preparing to open further offices throughout Germany. You can find further information on the recruitment plans under “Performance forecast”.

 

Qualifications and further training as the key to success

As a consultancy covering all financial questions and issues, MLP operates in a complex and constantly changing market and competitive environment and must be capable of repeatedly convincing its clientele of the benefits associated with its services.

 

High-level qualifications and further training represent an indispensable prerequisite in achieving this. The MLP Corporate University (CU), based at the MLP headquarters in Wiesloch, sits at the very heart of our consultant qualification and training program. Following an extensive certification process, in 2013 it was the first corporate university to be awarded the “Certified Corporate University” international seal of approval from the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA). The training offered by the CU therefore complies with the international requirements of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), which simplifies cooperation with state universities.

 

“Financial planning” master’s programme in the pipeline

Preparations got underway on a cooperative study programme in the reporting year. In future, the CU will offer a master’s degree in financial planning in collaboration with a state university. The new master’s programme is aimed at young professionals and those in active employment, as well as graduates that are keen to add a master’s degree to their name. The degree course therefore offers our consultants an additional opportunity to gain further qualifications – which also makes it a supplementary instrument within the scope of our recruiting initiative.

 

Re-accreditation successfully completed

The CU has already been accredited by the Financial Planning Standards Board Deutschland e.V. (FPSB Deutschland) for training to the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) standard since 2012 – since which time around 140 financial planners have been trained. Further consultants are also currently in training. In the reporting year, we successfully completed the re-accreditation process, which needs to be regularly repeated. Our accreditation was extended by the FPSB Deutschland for five years up to 2020. The Academic Advisory Board at the MLP Corporate University, which underpins the quality of the basic and advanced training offered at MLP with its broad academic expertise, was also re-appointed in April 2015 on a regular cycle.

 

The importance of qualifications and further training is reflected in numerous seminars and events. In 2015, around 900 individual events were held at the CU. The number of central training days (including online seminars) was around 17,700. Alongside numerous training sessions on specialist and consulting-related topics, one focus was on the introduction of a new training programme for consultants that focuses on real estate brokerage. Further expansion of this is planned for 2016.

 

In the last financial year, total expenditure on qualifications and further training was € 7 million, which was roughly the same level as in the previous year.

 

A big thank you to our employees

The Executive Board would like to take this opportunity to express its sincere thanks to all employees and consultants for the trust, cooperation and excellent commitment they showed in the past financial year. We would also like to thank the works council for its constructive collaboration. The key now is to maintain this open and responsible dialogue as effectively as possible in future for the benefit of all employees.