akaryon receives quality seal for family-friendly HR policy

How it all began

At the beginning of 2026, we started the several-month certification process with a healthy dose of curiosity and the determination to take a critical look at ourselves. Not: “We’re already doing everything really well anyway”, but: “Where can we still improve?”

A constant companion throughout this extensive process was Franz Bodlos. In several workshops, we analysed, discussed and at times also debated quite intensely where our strengths lie and where we as a company still need to improve so that work and family life truly go hand in hand at akaryon.

To be honest: the workshops were really lively. They were not about dry theory, but about very concrete, candid conversations about what our day-to-day working lives actually look like – including everything that is going well and everything where there is still room for improvement.

Looking inward: Listening to our employees

A central component of the process was an anonymous internal survey of all employees. It was important to us not only to look at the situation from the outside, but to genuinely hear how the team is doing – unfiltered and without anyone having to worry that honest feedback might have negative consequences.

The results were insightful and helped us identify specific areas for action. And because a one-off snapshot is not enough to make development visible: we will repeat this survey at regular intervals to see how we are progressing.

Looking outward: Talking about berufundfamilie

We are happy to tell others that we hold the state certificate for family-friendly companies. There are several reasons for this – and we would like to highlight two of them:

We too are part of an economic system in which we have to compete, attract and retain qualified employees, and win exciting projects. A seal like this can certainly have a positive effect in that regard. But for us, it is about more than that: very much in the spirit of social sustainability – and sustainability is a key topic for akaryon – it is important to us that people in working life are seen as whole individuals, with a wide range of responsibilities and areas of life beyond their paid employment. The time required for unpaid care work, voluntary engagement and recovery should become more visible and receive greater recognition in society.

What we are now changing in concrete terms at akaryon

“The berufundfamilie certification is a clear signal for us – both internally and externally. It confirms what we have been practising for years: that a company is successful when the people working there are able to work well. We are proud of that, and we want to build on it further.”

Franz Niederl, Managing Director akaryon GmbH

Part of the certification process was also to define concrete measures for the coming years in order to achieve our goals. This resulted in a long list, and we are already in the midst of permanently putting the first two tangible improvements into practice:

Point 1: Information is an important management task

One of the key issues highlighted by the survey: a desire for more information. In other companies, a lot happens almost automatically – a conversation in the hallway, a chat in the kitchen, and suddenly you have a rough idea of what the neighbouring team is currently working on. When working from home, precisely this kind of informal exchange is missing. There is no office grapevine, no chance encounter at the coffee machine – and therefore no incidental insight into projects you are not directly involved in.

When we were still a smaller team, this also worked quite well online, because there were fewer projects overall and informal exchange often happened naturally through employees working across several projects. We have now reached a number of employees that requires us to establish a structure for sharing information.

Our response: in our monthly meetings, we now deliberately focus on ensuring that all employees are also informed about projects and activities in which they are not directly involved. This helps everyone retain an overview of the bigger picture – regardless of what they themselves are currently working on.

Point 2: Professional development: moving from ad hoc to structured

Professional development is particularly important in our innovative industry. Until now, the training courses completed by individual employees were not stored centrally. We have therefore created an internal professional development database. Structure and transparency instead of scattered digital notes and knowledge by chance make it possible to quickly see which skills, certifications and qualifications are available at akaryon.

Outlook: What comes next

For the coming years, we have planned further measures, including:

• Greater transparency in day-to-day work
  We are taking a closer look at how tasks and projects within the team are connected and how priorities are set – so that it becomes clearer for everyone who is working on what and when.
• Regular employee conversations with room for work-life compatibility
  We plan to hold these conversations at more regular intervals again. The compatibility of family and work will have a permanent place in them.
• Repeating the employee survey
  We’re keeping at it! As already mentioned, the employee survey will be repeated regularly so that we can see whether our measures are actually having an impact – and where we need to make adjustments.

A thank you to everyone who took part

This award is not a certificate that you simply receive – it is the result of honest feedback, open discussions and the willingness to continue developing as a company. Thank you to Franz Bodlos for his expert guidance throughout the process, and thank you to our entire team for contributing with complete openness.

We will keep at it – and we expect these measures to further improve the working atmosphere. Concrete suggestions for improvement are, of course, also welcome outside of the surveys.