Employees

AS SUCH, WE PLACE CONSIDERABLE EFFORT INTO CREATING A WORK ENVIRONMENT THAT STIMULATES INNOVATION, TEAM SPIRIT, ENGAGEMENT AND ACHIEVEMENT. BY UNLOCKING THE TALENT OF OUR WORKFORCE, WE BRING TO LIFE OUR COMPANY’S STRATEGY AND DRIVE BUSINESS RESULTS.  

Our ambition is to be the employer of choice both for our current and future employees because this will lead to business success. Our ‘employer of choice’ status continues to garner worldwide recognition and enables us to attract, retain and engage industry-leading talent to sustain the company’s success and growth. In 2017, adidas locations around the world leveraged our employer brand attributes for attraction, retention and engagement strategies. This work contributed to several Top Ten rankings worldwide, including the Glassdoor and the Focus Best Employer rankings, as well as the Candidate Experience Award APAC/EMEA. This has also helped us to attract some of the industry’s top talent. In 2017, adidas received over one million applications worldwide.

PEOPLE PULSE
Bringing our corporate mission to life requires commitment. We are convinced that strong commitment from our workforce is dependent on strong commitment from our leaders to drive a highly motivated and engaged workforce. In addition, we continue to support leadership excellence with best-in-class tools by conducting regular pulse checks and employee experience surveys to identify, monitor and track our employees’ opinions on their work environment. 

Kicked off in June 2017, People Pulse is adidas’ new approach and system platform for measuring the level of employee satisfaction with the experience adidas provides as an employer. People Pulse allows for the monthly measurement of employeeNPS (eNPS), one of the company's KPIs determined by the Board. The calculation logic of the eNPS score is identical with brand NPS: Based on the main question ‘On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend adidas as a place to work?’, the total share of detractors (responses below 7) is deducted from the total share of promoters (responses scoring 9 and 10), producing the eNPS score. People Pulse is specifically tailored to adidas’ needs as well as its Creating the New strategy and People Strategy.

INTERNAL COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES TO DRIVE EMPLOYEE-ENGAGEMENT
We believe that a robust and state-of-the-art internal communication platform is essential for driving employee engagement and fostering learning as well as open collaboration within our organisation. We use an enterprise collaboration platform called ‘a-LIVE’, which brings the intranet, online collaboration platforms and important system applications under one roof. It allows departments and teams to quickly build and edit their own internal collaboration and communication platforms and connects users across departments as well as locations. It encourages employees to share knowledge, collaborate and discuss current topics. In addition, we have established an ‘Ask the Management’ platform on our intranet, enabling employees to openly address questions to our senior leaders which are then answered promptly.

‘DIVERSITY’ IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF OUR PEOPLE STRATEGY. THIS IS BECAUSE WE ARE CONVINCED THAT A WORKFORCE MADE UP OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DIFFERENT IDEAS, STRENGTHS, INTERESTS AND CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS IS A PREREQUISITE TO SUCCESS.

We can talk about strategy and becoming the best sports brand in the world all day long, but we would get nowhere without the people who come to work and make it happen every day: our employees.

We believe that a diverse workforce made up of people with different ideas, strengths, interests and cultural backgrounds drives our success. The next great idea or innovation that will change the world of sport will come from those who are allowed to be their true selves and follow their dreams and ideas to the finish line without artificial boundaries in their way. For this reason, we want to make sure that every single employee regardless of race, age, gender, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation feels welcome at the adidas AG, is proud to be part of this company and can go on to change the world of sport for the better.

When you make ‘diversity’ one of your core values, you have to follow up on it all the way through. We aim to be a diverse company on every level in all aspects, including gender, nationality and generation, and to build a creative and innovative workforce that celebrates differences and experiences across borders of any kind. It starts but most certainly does not stop with the hiring process. It extends to training and special networking groups among many other diversity measures. For this reason, we take a proactive approach to increase and promote diversity within our company and create an environment that celebrates diversity as a whole and doesn’t just cherry-pick those elements that are currently ‘in demand’.

• We recognize the wealth of similarities and differences between employees, and the personal value of each and every employee as well as the fact that these diverse and different perspectives enrich our products and our contribution to sport and competing athletes.
• We strive for mutual respect and appreciation, more diversity as well as for open-mindedness and partnership between our employees and within our social environment.
• We work proactively to create an environment that welcomes, respects and embraces diversity to benefit from the value of a diverse workforce and to ensure that our employees and our products are at the top of their game.

We make it a priority to understand why every employee is part of our company, what their needs are and how we can help them to be their best. We want to provide a choice to each and every one of our employees that enables them to find their own way within the adidas AG based on their individual background and not force-fitting them into a pre-selected path that is not flexible and transparent. That is not the world we live in anymore. We change lives through sport every day and we start with our employees.

A global company attracts employees from all nationalities and that is a good thing. With intercultural communication and training, our employees learn how to overcome possible challenges presented to them in an intercultural working environment. In the end, creativity can only fully evolve when disagreements or conflicts are handled appropriately and with mutual respect.

There are many facets to diversity. Parity and equality across them all is essential in creating the ideal culture. As a senior female leader I am keenly aware of the need to address issues around gender parity within the workplace. It is important that both genders have equal opportunities to contribute and succeed. As you can see in the chart below, the adidas AG has an even ratio of female to male employees. However as of today, only 30% of senior roles are held by women. That will change. Together with our CEO Kasper Rorsted we are committed to a more gender-balanced leadership.

Karen Parkin, Executive Board Member and responsible for Global Human Resources

EVERY EMPLOYEE MUST HAVE A SAFE WORKING ENVIRONMENT. NOTHING LESS IS ACCEPTABLE. 

This is valid for every kind of workplace, including machine workplaces in production areas, home office workplaces for administration functions and workplaces in our stores. As a global company, our operations must comply with a wide range of different legal and cultural imperatives. Naturally, practices and procedures will vary from one facility to another, depending on the structure of the facility, but the core requirements remain the same.

The adidas AG’s health and safety management focuses on the following core areas:

NUTRITION
Nutrition is more than just food. Just like our holistic health concept, the topic of nutrition is made up of many different pillars and teams that work on this complex topic. In order to develop a common foundation, we agreed upon the following ten joint nutritional principles. 

1. Purer is better
2. Colorful is powerful
3. Protein renews
4. Good fat is good fuel
5. Complex keeps you going
6. Feed your gut
7. Hydrate right
8. Choose sustainably
9. Find your balance
10. MAKE IT ABOUT YOU 

In November 2016, adidas received the Corporate Health ‘Special Award for healthy nutrition’. The CHA is the most renowned award in corporate health management in Germany. This award not only honoured the extraordinarily good and high-quality food offered on the Herzo campus, but also the integration of our nutrition concept into the overall strategy.

MEDICAL SERVICES
With our strategic partner B.A.D. as an occupational health and safety service, we are able to offer various medical services to our employees that go far beyond the legal requirements of occupational medicine. Two company doctors offer various medical services on-site, such as vaccinations, medical check-ups or ergonomic workplace adjustments.  An anonymous and free telephone consultation service is available 24/7 to help our employees in difficult situations. Further we offer personal help from certified psychologists and social pedagogues. Our Integration Management Programme after long-term sickness aims at supporting our employees after a lengthy absence from work.

PHYSIOTHERAPY
At our health centre at the HQ in Herzogenaurach there are two certified physiotherapists available for our employees, offering various treatment techniques, e.g. manual therapy, medical training therapy, massages or lymph drainage. 

EXTERNAL AUDITS AND NETWORKS
Corporate Health Award 
Our holistic health approach is not only well-received by our employees, but is also recognized by outside industry experts. 

The Corporate Health Award is the best known and most successful initiative in the area of corporate health management in Germany. The Corporate Health Award honours companies that are committed to the health of their employees and pursue a sustainable HR strategy. Every year, we take part in an external audit to get expert feedback on our health management efforts. Since 2015 we are in the “excellent class” and compete with the most successful companies in that area. In 2016 our nutrition concept and offer was honoured with the CHA Special Award for healthy nutrition. 

Network “Vitale Unternehmen”
Our Health Management is always happy to connect and exchange with other companies that care about their employees’ health and well-being. We are an active member in the “network for vital companies” (Netzwerk Vitale Unternehmen) which meets on a regular basis to discuss health management topics with other companies from the Erlangen/Höchstadt region. Every year the Vitalo Award (gold, silver and bronze) is given to the companies to reward those efforts. In 2016, adidas received the golden Vitalo Award and was honoured especially for the offers in the field of health promotion.

HEALTHY LEADERSHIP 
Leadership Framework 
We know that our leaders have the responsibility to bring out the best in those around them. Further, the way of leadership has a strong influence on the health of our employees. To help define what a great leader at adidas does, we focused on the 3 Cs – collaboration, confidence and creativity – in order to establish a Leadership Framework that gives a clear definition of great leadership within adidas and which core behaviours come along with it. 

Fit to Lead Workshops
We offer workshops for prospective line managers/ leaders to guide them towards a healthy and supporting way of leadership. The “fit to lead” journey includes alongside other topics communication and feedback, self-directed learning and creative problem-solving.

MENTAL HEALTH 
COPSOQ
Every three years our Health Management team organizes an employee survey to assess psychological job strain. The Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ) represents a comprehensive assessment that includes the main dimensions of the most influential psychosocial theories at work. Following the results we collaborate with the strategy departments to work on appropriate actions to be taken. For instance, the survey in 2014 showed a strong demand for a clear leadership framework to determine what great leadership looks like. Subsequently, a subset of the Core Leadership Group was tasked with developing the global adidas Leadership Framework to define nine core behaviours an adidas leader should live and follow.  

HEALTH PROMOTION EVENTS
On a regular basis, the Health Management team, together with Health & Safety and all other players in the health sector organize activations and events for our employees, such as health days. These initiatives allow all employees to inform themselves about health topics and the offers that exist on-site. Health initiatives are organized at all HQ locations as well as at some distribution centres

We have established corporate guidelines for health and safety, which are used at our administrative offices, distribution centres, stores and production sites. They include core standards for workplace health and safety that complement local legal regulatory requirements. In addition, our larger administration facilities and the company’s small number of production sites have comprehensive risk, health, safety and environmental management systems coordinated by local facility management.

MANAGING WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY AT MAJOR SITES IN GERMANY
For our sites in Germany, we have put in place a regional health and safety management system. Designated H&S staff at local sites work closely together, exchanging information and developing ways to improve safety at all workplaces. Under German labour safety law, employees at our headquarters in Herzogenaurach and other locations in Germany must receive annual training on workplace health hazards and safety measures. The adidas intranet offers mandatory online courses on emergency procedures and fire safety measures as well as guidelines for workplace ergonomics.

Regular health and safety training is provided to employees at our production sites, distribution centres and retail stores in Germany in collaboration with the Textile and Clothing Trade Association. Every two years, a Safety Day takes place at all German locations. The day is organised by the Health Management, together with fire services, the Accident Prevention and Insurance Association, health insurance providers and local businesses.

We offer regular training to our employees about travelling safely to and from work. Training is also provided to keep employees up to date with changes to workplace safety regulations.

FIRST AID TRAINING 
In Germany, being a first aider is a voluntary decision. The company offers training courses to our employees and now has more than  200 trained first aiders in Herzogenaurach. adidas also ensures that security and industrial safety staff in Herzogenaurach, Scheinfeld, Rieste and Uffenheim are trained on defibrillators and that such equipment is available on site.

CHECKING WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY IN RETAIL STORES
With an increasing number of retail stores run by the adidas AG, workplace health and safety in stores is an important consideration. Health and Safety Officers conduct regular store inspections to check that health and safety standards are being met.

Due to the global presence of the adidas AG, its products and its partners, it is necessary that our employees travel regularly to global destinations worldwide. With the support of an external co-operation partner, we run a Medical and Security Assistance Programme to service expatriates and adidas AG employees abroad and on business-related travel.

With the Medical and Security Assistance Programme, business travel is safer and risks are more transparent. The provider is on the spot when medical or security-related problems arise while people are travelling. Employees obtain pre-travel services, including information regarding immunisation recommendations, travel medicine clinics, passports and visas, local medical facilities and special security precautions concerning their destination. Destination services include telephone medical and security advice, worldwide medication replacement and prescription transfer as well as medical and security evacuation.

The service provider has 24-hour alarm centres, staffed with security advisors and physicians who are trained in emergency and travel medicine. They also have a network of medical clinics globally that provide an international standard of care.

In addition, the travel data collected allows us to pro-actively inform our travellers about upcoming risk warnings, strikes or weather warnings via automatic email or text messages.

The company-wide Major Incident Response Policy sets out procedures and the internal and external communications needed to handle major incidents effectively. Under the lead of Human Resources, the company’s Incident Response team takes the appropriate action to minimise risks for our employees and our business at any time anywhere in the world.

The adidas AG runs a company-wide HIV/AIDS policy that is available to all employees on the intranet. The policy is based on guidance from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and contains:

• General guidance on HIV/AIDS
• An employee guide
• Guidelines for HR managers on workplace care and support.

WE AIM TO HARMONISE THE COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF THE ADIDAS AG WITH THE PRIVATE AND FAMILY NEEDS OF OUR EMPLOYEES.

We build our success on people, passion and diversity, and aim to change lives through sport. Naturally, our 56,888 employees worldwide who come to work every morning are a part of that just as much as anybody else. For this reason, we strive to harmonise the commercial interests of the adidas AG with the private and family-related needs of our employees and help them to find the perfect balance between life at and outside of work.

A global company such as ours attracts people from all over the world and from different paths of life. Right now, five different generations are part of the workforce, with the average age being 30 globally, while people from more than 100 nations work at the company’s headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany. Each and every one of them deserves a working atmosphere where they feel comfortable and are able and willing to perform and, in turn, where we can fulfil our social and corporate responsibility.

WE WANT ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES TO ACHIEVE THEIR PERSONAL BEST. 

For this reason, employees are offered a wide variety of learning and development opportunities that build on their strengths, grow their skills and help them to overcome individual challenges. Our highest priority is to match individual employee aspirations with our organisational needs.

LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

Our employees are our game-changers.

For this reason, employees are offered a wide variety of learning and development opportunities that build on their strengths, grow their skills and help them to achieve their best. Our highest priority is to ensure employees are not only constantly improving their performance but also learning to support their future careers within our company.

Our Learning Campus is the centre of learning within the adidas AG. The Learning Campus is comprised of an online portal with learning opportunities that employees can access any time they need as well as physical spaces for learning, working and collaborating. The online Learning Campus includes self-paced learning activities, video content and group learning activities accessible to all employees. This reflects our ‘New Way of Learning’ – providing resources that support on-the-job learning, social and collaborative learning, and in-person learning activities. The Learning Campus is also 100% open-source – employees are invited to create content as well as share their own learning with their colleagues. In 2017, 23,113 employees accessed our Learning Campus digitally, while 4,295 employees participated in in-person learning activities. In 2018, adidas core learning programs will be created to support strategic business initiatives, build capabilities connected to our 3Cs and support development of future cross-functional organizational capabilities.

People Managers develop their capabilities to excel in their role through targeted Fit to Lead programmes

Future directions will see investment in learning technologies for mobile applications enabling employees to access learning opportunities where and when they need them, in addition to learning apps that build collaboration and support employees in Creating the New. 

Leadership Groups and Framework: Our employees define our company. They are the heart of everything we do. We also know that our leaders have the responsibility to bring out the best in those around them. Therefore, we created two new leadership groups with a third one in the making:

• The Core Leadership Group (CLG) is the most senior group, made up of 17 members from our Executive Leadership population. Members of this group jointly represent top positions and roles across our company. These functional and geographical experts partner with the Executive Board in teaching and overseeing the cross-functional execution of the Creating the New strategy, accelerating its delivery, as well as mentoring and sponsoring the next generation of leaders. The CLG also serves as the succession pool for the Board.
• The Extended Leadership Group (ELG) currently has 108 members. This new community of leaders collaborates across functions to lead the implementation of the strategic initiatives that form the Creating the New portfolio as well as the functional and market project portfolios. They drive continuous improvement across the organization and also mentor and sponsor younger leaders. The ELG serves as a succession pool for the CLG.
• A third group – the Global High Potential Group (GHIPO) – will be formed in the first quarter of 2018. It will consist of 50 members with a 50:50 gender balance. With the GHIP group we want to identify and develop high potentials who have the ability to take on more complex, demanding and higher-level responsibilities at a global executive level. The GHIPO program will develop participants’ capability against a consistent future Vice President profile.

In an effort to drive clarity and accountability, the CLG has created the company’s first global Leadership Framework. It is based on the three company behaviors creativity, collaboration, confidence (the ‘3Cs’) and articulates the particular behaviors that are expected of leaders at adidas. The framework was developed jointly with employees worldwide who provided feedback on what great leadership within adidas looks like to them. It now provides a global and universal language that is inclusive, reduces the need for local interpretations and outlines concrete behaviors that serve as a measure of leadership effectiveness. It will also be built into the way we hire and promote as well as rate performance. The framework was activated and cascaded to employees globally through the CLG and ELG groups. Employees’ awareness of the framework as well as its overall effectiveness are measured via our monthly employee experience survey ‘People Pulse’.

Enabling employees to reach their personal best: To reach their personal best, our employees are offered a wide variety of learning opportunities, building on their strengths, improving their skills and overcoming their own challenges. Our highest priority is to match individual employee aspirations with our organizational needs. As such, we continue to build our integrated talent management process, incorporating performance, succession, development and learning opportunities to enable our employees to reach their potential at every stage of their career.

Talent management: The quality of current and future talent and leadership within the adidas AG is key to our success. With specifically designed talent management tools, we identify talents at all levels of our company who have the potential to become future leaders or key players within the organisation. In order to prepare them for more complex future roles, they participate in targeted development programmes and have tailored individual development plans.

• ​Talent Carousel: As one company, we want to develop the best leaders of tomorrow. Leaders who through confidence, creativity and collaboration are able to inspire these qualities in others and are also able to bring forward fresh perspectives and disruptive thinking to drive creativity and innovation. This is why, in 2015, we introduced a new development programme, called the Talent Carousel. The first generation graduated in 2017.  The program encourages employees from all over the world to apply and become one of 20 finalists to take a cross-functional and international career step. The participants get the chance to take on new roles in a different location to their current position for two years. During this period, they can expect to learn new skills related to the position (functional knowledge), learn about a new culture, develop new networks, connect with other carousel members and experience coaching & mentoring opportunities. Most importantly: Talent Carousel candidates will also get a detailed plan on how to bring to life their career aspirations. After the period of two years, the participants can choose out of three options:  1) continue with the programme and choose another destination and role, 2) stay in the local organisation or 3) return to the original location.
• Trainee programme: The Functional Trainee Programme (FTP) is an 18-month programme providing graduates with an international background and excellent educational credentials the opportunity to start a functional career within the adidas AG. The programme comprises six three-month assignments in various departments. At least one of these assignments takes place abroad. In 2017, we employed 63 participants in our global FTP (2016: 49).
• Apprenticeships and internships: Our development programmes are complemented by apprenticeship and internship programmes. The adidas AG apprenticeship offers young people who want to join our company directly out of school the opportunity to gain business experience in a two- to three-year rotation programme. The programme includes vocational training in retail, industrial management and IT, as well as integrated study programmes. In 2017, we employed 65 apprentices in Germany (2016:63) and 37 integrated study programme students (2016: 35). Our global internship programme offers students three to six months of work experience within the adidas AG. In 2017, we employed 765 interns in Germany (2016: 623).

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
To further drive a high-performance within the company, we use a performance management approach called ‘The Score’. It brings target setting, employee development and performance appraisal under one common process. In 2018, ‘The Score’ was replaced by ‘#MyBest’ which is a new and holistic performance development approach combining monthly high-quality conversations between the employee and his Line Manager, regular upward and peer feedback options with quarterly target setting and performance evaluation.

SUCCESSION MANAGEMENT
The adidas AG succession management approach aims to ensure stability and certainty in business continuity. We achieve this through a globally consistent succession plan which covers successors for director level positions and above. We conduct regular reviews to ensure individual development plans are in place to prepare successors for their potential next steps.

PERFORMANCE IS ONE OF OUR KEY FACTORS TO SUCCESS. PERFORMANCE SHOULD BE RECOGNISED AND REWARDED.

The adidas AG remuneration system is based on our performance management approach. As part of this system, we are committed to rewarding our employees with compensation and benefit programmes that are competitive in the market place. Remuneration throughout the company comprises fixed and variable monetary compensation, non-monetary rewards as well as other intangible benefits. The cornerstone of our rewards programme is our Global Salary Management System, which is used as a basis for establishing and evaluating the value of employees’ positions and salaries in a market-driven and performance-oriented way.

The various variable compensation components we offer our employees include: 

• BONUS PROGRAMME – SHORT TERM INCENTIVE PROGRAMME: In order to allow our employees to participate in the company´s success, and to reward them for their target achievement, we have a global bonus programme. It provides an incentive influenced by both corporate performance (actual financial and non-financial results measured against company and market targets) as well as individual performance (measured in the performance management approach).
• PROFIT PARTICIPATING PROGRAMME: For employees at our company's headquarters and our other locations in Germany who do not participate in the bonus programme, we have a profit participation programme called the “Champions Bonus”.
• LONG-TERM INCENTIVE PROGRAMMES: In order to ensure sustainable financial success, retain our top leadership and promote continuous commitment, the adidas AG offers a Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) for leaders and Executive Board members.

Other benefits include our 401-K retirement plans in the USA and the adidas AG pension plan for our employees in Germany.

Our company subsidiaries also grant a variety of benefits to employees, depending upon locally defined practices and country-specific regulations and norms.

ADIDAS STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
On top of all the benefits, we offer a new and exciting program – the adidas Stock Purchase Plan. Our employees in Germany, USA , the Netherlands (HQ), Hong Kong (HQ), Greater China and Taiwan have the opportunity to purchase adidas AG shares at exclusive conditions – including 15% discount on the share price as well as additional matching shares for holding the shares more than a year. More than 25,000 employees (44% of our total employee population) decided to participate. It is planned to extend this program to further countries in the coming years.

With this program, we are able to show another appreciation of our employees’ efforts and loyalty, no matter whether they work in an office, take care of the distribution of our products or have face-to-face contact with our consumers in retail stores. Equal conditions apply for everyone who has been with the company for more than six months.

If you are interested in learning more about the Stock Purchase Plan, click on the video below: 

EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT AND PARTICIPATION PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN MANAGING EMPLOYEE RELATIONS WITHIN ADIDAS.

Our employees are free to join organisations of their choice to represent them, consistent with local laws. These organisations may, if recognised as the appropriate agent, engage in collective bargaining according to the applicable legal regulations.

EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVES ON THE SUPERVISORY BOARD

adidas has set up Works Councils in Germany and other European subsidiaries. The members of the Works Councils are elected by the local employees.

At present, three Works Council representatives from Germany are also on the Supervisory Board. The Supervisory Board advises and monitors the Executive Board in its management of the adidas AG. The Supervisory Board is involved in all important corporate decisions and is also responsible for appointing and dismissing members of the Executive Board. Co-determination is regulated by law in Germany.

ACTIVITIES OF THE EMPLOYEE REPRESENTATIVES IN 2016
Works Council representatives have participated in various local and international stakeholder events and in multiple conferences and seminars on the issues of ‘Corporate social responsibility’, ‘Corporate ethics’ and ‘Labour law’. In addition, they were involved in European initiatives regarding employee representation and co-determination.

Members of the Works Council meet regularly with representatives of the Hans Böckler Foundation (connected to the German Trade Union Confederation) to discuss issues relating to corporate responsibility. In addition, the meetings are used to exchange information, experience and best practices. Some members of the Works Council represent adidas AG in trade union organisations, including as members of the Nuremberg regional board, the Munich state district and the bargaining commission. Furthermore, members of the Central Works Council have participated in events organised by the Ministries of Labour and Social Affairs at federal and national level and in networking initiatives of DAX-30 companies.

AS A COMPANY MANAGING 56,888 EMPLOYEES, THE ADIDAS AG HAS ESTABLISHED STANDARDS AND RULES THAT SPECIFY THE COMPANY’S RESPONSIBILITIES TOWARDS ITS GLOBAL WORKFORCE.

These rights and rules are defined in the adidas Labour Rights Principles. In turn, employees must comply with the adidas Code of Conduct, which explains their duty to ensure ethical business behaviour.

LABOUR RIGHTS CHARTER
The Labour Rights Charter demonstrates the company’s commitment to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and are the guiding framework for several company level policies that put our commitment into day-to day practice. These policies are related to issues such as employee recruitment, development, equal opportunities and compensation and benefits.

Please click here to download our Labour Rights Charter.

ADIDAS CODE OF CONDUCT
Integrity is one of the core values of the adidas AG. All employees are expected to act with fairness and responsibility as well as in compliance with relevant laws and regulations while carrying out their tasks. In order to maintain good corporate governance, we have adopted the adidas Code of Conduct as part of our internal Global Policy Manual.

The Code is the cornerstone of ethical work behaviour for our employees. It defines binding rules with respect to legally compliant and ethical behaviour towards other employees, business partners and third parties, for handling information – in particular insider information – as well as for dealing with financial matters.

The Code of Conduct is supported with mandatory online training available in ten languages. This ongoing training is aimed at raising awareness of ethical and social behaviour, as well as promoting compliance with data protection requirements and other policies. Every new employee is automatically invited to complete the training.

Please read more about the adidas Code of Conduct here.

COMPLAINTS AND NON-COMPLIANCES
To track complaints or cases of non-compliance, we have established a network of currently 20 compliance officers worldwide. In 2013 we installed a global hotline called the “Fair Play Hotline”. With the Fair Play Hotline our employees can submit complaints also anonymously.

An analysis of the number and nature of entries submitted in 2012 showed that nearly 80% of all cases related to general complaints about employee-manager relations. In the remaining cases, employees were seeking advice on specific issues.

ENSURING DATA PROTECTION
Ensuring privacy around data is an important aspect of the company’s compliance programme. Our data protection system aims to ensure that personal information is handled, stored and processed according to applicable laws and internal policies globally. All employees are provided with online data protection training, and special training is given to departments that manage sensitive data, such as marketing departments.