Germany has relatively strict employment and labor laws: Many provisions have a special emphasis on protecting employees. However, these laws also provide clear guidance for employers on individual employment contracts, employee benefits and entitlements, and rules around termination and dismissal.
Serve the Customer
In many cultures, hospitality – the relationship between a guest and a host – is of great importance. Being considered an inhospitable host is dishonorable to the guest and the local community alike. This idea is similar to the concept of serving a customer in the personal, respectful way that most Americans consumers expect. One example of the importance of this concept is found in the vision of Hilton Hotels: “To fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality.”
This idea is not constrained to hotels, however. The president of outdoor supplier L.L.Bean, Chris McCormick, described customer service as a key part of the company’s success: “Superior customer service has always been and always will be the cornerstone of our brand and heritage and an attribute that differentiates us from the rest of the pack. It goes back to L.L.’s Golden Rule of treating customers like human beings.”
In American English, the above quote can be succinctly summarized as: “the customer is always right.” This is a very common phrase that most consumers and businesses treat as an underlying truth in all interactions with customers. Even if the customer is actually wrong, it is up to the service provider to treat the customer with respect, understand his point of view, and offer a solution. Anything short of these expectations will be viewed as bad service.
As one senior consultant at a major American strategy consulting firm put it, “Service is defined completely by the customer.” In the consulting realm and many other industries, customers come with clearly defined needs and expectations. The service provider must understand those expectations and deliver service that is consistent with what the customer expects.
Craig Reid, former President of Operations – Americas at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and now CEO at Auberge Resorts, similarly stated that “If customers are buying excellence – and they are the people who define excellence – you’ve constantly got to measure whether they agree with your interpretation of excellence at that particular time. And that definition of excellence evolves constantly.”
Waiters and Waitresses
In American restaurants, waiters and waitresses typically earn well-below minimum wage for their work. Instead, they are supposed to earn their money by providing good service to their customers, who will tip them based on the quality of their service.
For Americans this means that the waiters and waitresses should check in regularly with the customers, ask if they need anything, and fulfill any requests that the customers have – in other words, to act as the customers’ servants.
Americans are willing to behave this way because they expect monetary remuneration for their actions.
German or American: Which labor law is better?
The recent terminations at Twitter have once again shown how different the protection against dismissal is in German and American labor law.
U.S. employees will probably receive continued pay for 60 days, or two months, under the WARN Act, and that’s it. If Elon Musk offers the dismissed employees (instead) a severance payment amounting to three months’ salary, that is considered quite fair by American standards. After all, Musk is paying 50% more than he has to.
In Germany, we would rather draw up a social plan that grants the dismissed employees (at least) 1 gross month’s salary per year of service as severance pay, in addition to compliance with the notice period.
Where do these differences come from, and which system is actually better?
10 Important Facts About the 2022 Works-Council Elections
A works council in Germany is elected by employees and the conduct and procedure of the election is a matter for them too. Nevertheless, the employer usually has an interest in the proper conduct of the election.
An incorrect election procedure could result in higher costs for it, as well as unclear and unstable conditions in day-to-day dealings with the council and any collective agreements (“works agreements”) negotiated with representatives elected in an unlawful ballot.
Due to new case law and recent changes to the Works Constitution Act (BetrVG), the election procedure has been simplified. Employers are well advised to familiarize themselves with the recent amendments regarding the election process in good time to avoid subsequent disputes about the validity of the ballot.
Dealing with the Works Council
In this video Dr. Gerlind Wisskirchen explains 5 principles you should abide by when dealing with the works council in Germany. The German works council system is quite unique in the world, and many companies complain about their dealings with the works council.
Most companies consider it as a daily, almost tedious task to deal with the works council, and they find it extremely difficult to get to results. By abiding by all these principles, you can do much better with dealing with works councils!
Top-Down Decision-Making
Decisions in Chinese companies are typically made by senior managers, with input from lower-level staff filtered through formal chains. Subordinates rarely challenge management directly in meetings, instead showing deference through silence or agreement. Even when employeesdisagree or spot problems, criticism is delivered very cautiously, often privately, to protect “face.” This means information travels slowly, with critical issues filtered and softened before reaching leadership.
Listening to Customers
Many companies implement customer suggestions when those suggestions challenge the company’s core principles. In response to customer suggestions for a less cluttered store, Walmart cut its total inventory by 15% and renovated stores to feel less cluttered. The changes resulted in immediate decreases in sales that totaled $1.85 billion dollars before Walmart reverted to its previous model of a much wider selection of products at low cost.
A leading manufacturer of bathroom fixtures is perhaps the most traditional example of a company that must collaborate with and understand the needs of its customers. It must constantly innovate and improve its products with its current and prospective customers in mind.
To this end, the company says: “To the customer, it can seem like each faucet was made with them in mind. We listen closely to what consumers want and need, invest in extensive research and design, and apply smart technological solutions that really do make our customers’ lives easier.” In other words, the how of their innovation process is largely defined by their customers.
In a major US-based international construction company, each of its projects is unique and requires a high degree of collaboration and dialogue with the customer. According to the company’s website, “We work with our clients as a team. Mutual respect provides the foundation for our success.”
Customers expect companies to listen to their input about how a project should look or be completed and create a plan in line with those expectations. The construction company’s website summarizes this idea by emphasizing the importance of finding solutions to their customers’ demands: “We are proactive in finding solutions for our clients that best achieve their goals.“
Head of Wichtig (important)
Cordelia Röders-Arnold is Head of Menstruation. It’s also on her business card – if she writes it down. Because at Einhorn, a Berlin start-up that manufactures vegan, sustainable condoms and period products, everyone can call themselves whatever they want. As long as it conveys what he is doing.
Röders-Arnold takes care of everything to do with the menstrual cycle at Einhorn – she develops products, takes care of distribution, sales, social media. “The job title was originally just a gag,” she says. “But I am now convinced that it is precisely on this basis of amused interest that one arouses interest in sustainable alternatives and breaks with social taboos.”
Employees want more training
More than ever since the corona crisis, employees have feared that their qualifications are no longer sufficient, a study shows.