ECONOMIC REPORT
Employees and self-employed client consultants
As MLP is a knowledge-based service provider, qualified and motivated employees and self-employed client consultants represent the most important foundation for sustainable company success. Continuous development and optimisation of HR work for employees, as well as recruiting and training new consultants, were therefore also key focuses in 2019.
Low staff turnover rate
The number of employees in the MLP Group increased slightly in the last financial year. In the reporting year 2019, a total of 1,783 employees worked for MLP. This increase is essentially the result of the inclusion of staff from the DI Group acquisition, as well as new hirings and personnel returning to work following parental leave. Although the staff turnover rate within the Group rose slightly, it still remained low at 8.2% (without DI Group) (2018: HQ: 7.2%). The average age of the employees is currently 42.9 years.
The following table shows the development of average employee numbers in the individual segments over the last few years:
Development of the average number of employees by segment (excluding MLP consultants)
| Segment | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Financial services¹⁾ | - | - | 1,198 | 1,275 | 1,300 |
| Financial consulting²⁾³⁾ | 1,071 | 1,055 | 1,047 | - | - |
| Banking²⁾ | 187 | 179 | 163 | - | - |
| FERI | 236 | 223 | 224 | 223 | 232 |
| DOMCURA | 274 | 260 | 254 | 264 | 261 |
| Holding⁴⁾ | 16 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 |
| Total | 1,783 | 1,722 | 1,686 | 1,768 | 1,802 |
Development programmes for junior staff and managers
MLP offers development opportunities for employees at all levels. 2020 sees another group of participants venturing on the long-established "Top Talents" programme for junior staff. The objective of this programme is to systematically identify talented junior staff from within our ranks and then provide these with targeted and sustainable development opportunities for future specialist and management duties within the MLP Group. Participation in our modular management programme has been compulsory for all new managers since 2018. Young managers are trained in relevant areas and receive guidance and support in their new role.
New works agreements introduced
Several new works agreements were concluded in the reporting year. For the most part, existing works agreements such as the compensation system, working hours and company suggestion scheme works agreements were updated. In addition to this, the 39-hour week was introduced at MLP in the form of a corresponding works agreement. In light of the challenging labour market situation, we believe that this will enable us to make MLP even more attractive as an employer and help the company to win over and retain qualified high performers.
Digitalisation of personnel work successfully continued
The ongoing digitalisation of personnel work remained a focus of activity in 2019. Work with the digital personnel file was further expedited, while preparatory work for automation of workflows was also performed. The payroll digitalisation process has also been completed successfully. The assessment and feedback meetings held with employees, which have been online-based since 2018, were once again presented using a software solution in 2019. In addition to this, agile work methods were gradually integrated at the company and then programmatically incorporated into personnel work in the form of training sessions and seminars.
Recruitment of new consultants further expedited
As in previous years, recruiting new consultants remained a key topic in 2019. The strengthening of the university segment, which was started in 2017, was successfully advanced in the reporting year. To learn about the everyday working life of an MLP consultant, 65 school-leavers and students took the opportunity to participate in our internship programme in the reporting year.
The objective here is to be even more present at universities and thereby win over more new clients and young consultants. As at December 2018, we had 76 university team leaders in place. We are keen to continue and expand these activities further in 2020. The objective here remains to further significantly expand the net growth in consultant numbers that has already been achieved.
To also make it increasingly easier for experienced consultants to join the MLP Group, we have developed some very attractive models which, for example, recognise previously acquired qualifications and offer additional financial incentives. By taking these steps, we have set the conditions to achieve positive effects for our consultant recruitment activities from the consolidation of the sector.
Net growth in consultant numbers
A total of 1,981 consultants were working for MLP as self-employed commercial agents as of December 31, 2019 (2018: 1,928). We therefore once again recorded significant growth for the second year in succession. There were 130 branch offices (2018: 131), and a total of 93 university teams were established by the end of 2019. The average age of consultants is currently 45. The loyalty displayed by existing consultants remains very pleasing, as underlined by our employee turnover rate. This figure was 8.6% in 2019 – and thereby significantly below the target variable of around 10%.
