We know that our employees need to be heard, included, recognized, cared for and provided with positive leadership to promote a productive and engaging working environment.

As a result, HR has focused on raising awareness of the importance of regular conversations, a concept that underpins the bank’s approach to managing performance more holistically (Total Performance). Total Performance encourages regular dialog and reflection between employees and their managers, helping to build trust and an environment where employees feel motivated and enabled to carry out their job.

We know from years of research that employees need a sense of purpose and an environment that supports productivity. This is why engaging with employees and measuring that engagement is so important. Asking for and providing feedback is also a critical part of a healthy speak-up culture.

The bank runs different survey types, helping us move towards continuous listening with real time results. A quarterly Feedback Culture survey continues to track progress on how our employees perceive the feedback culture in their teams. The results of the survey are included in the Management Board’s “Balanced Scorecard”, which feed into performance evaluations.

In addition, divisions and regions are able to run their own self-service surveys on topics of specific interest at timely points throughout the year.

The annual People Survey 2021, our bank-wide flagship engagement survey, enables us to test organizational development and linkages. We focus on two key areas to measure engagement:

• Commitment – how proud and motivated are our employees to be working at Deutsche Bank?
• Enablement – do our employees have access to the right tools to get their job done?

For the fourth consecutive year, the People Survey results highlighted how having regular conversations positively impacted on how committed and enabled employees feel overall.