We take responsibility for the environment and society.

We introduced “learning time” at q.beyond in 2023. Following agreement with their managers, employees are allowed to use half or all of the second-to-last Friday each month to work on their individual learning targets at their own initiative or to participate in joint learning activities and projects. This learning time serves to promote both collective and individual learning and to establish a culture of learning at the company. Consistent with the learning targets in our “future skills” and competency paths, numerous offerings are available on the learning days. These enable employees to further develop their specialist knowledge, as well as their professional and language skills. The learning day programme begins with a “good morning learning” session in the morning and finishes with a shared retrospective in the afternoon. This format thus also promotes group dynamics and information sharing between employees.

In August 2023, we installed a photovoltaics system on the roof of our data centre location in Hamburg, Grasweg, and launched operations. The system has a maximum capacity of around 30 kW. This measure is expected to enable us to generate around 50,000 kWh of electricity a year. Rather than feeding the self-produced electricity into the public electricity grid, we use it directly to power operations at our data centre.

Our corporate culture is based on the values of customer focus, reliability, team spirit and pragmatism. Consistent with the values we share, all employees should be able to further develop their skills, both professional and personal, to the greatest possible extent. This enables us to exploit our full potential. To achieve this goal, we need management staff who are profoundly aware of the impact which management culture and conduct have on the working atmosphere, productivity and the company’s sustainable performance. At the same time, they must be able to build genuine relationships of trust with their employees. Only this way can they support and accompany the further development of their teams along targeted lines. In 2020, our managers and staff formulated the nucleus of shared values in a new management manifesto intended to guide the actions of all our managers. For us, modern leadership involves both disciplinary management and lateral management such as that applied in agile roles. Our “q.beyond Management Melody” makes a distinction between the following management roles:

• As an #Encourager, you leave your own comfort zone by taking decisions, arousing curiosity and this way encouraging your team to try out new approaches.
• As a #Motivator, you radiate positive energy and motivate your team to reach your common goals. This way, you inspire passion in your team.
• As a #Valuegenerator, you pursue the company’s vision and empower each member of your team to make their own valuable contribution towards the overall goal.
• As an #Influencer, you change the mind-set of your team members and visibly act as a role model. You reflect on feedback and factor this into your behaviour.
• As a #Coach, you embody self-empowerment and promote the flow among your team members. You do this by recognising their strengths, promoting these and regularly giving constructive feedback.

In spring 2022, the salaries of employees at q.beyond AG were investigated to identify any variances in the payment of women and men for comparable activities. In autumn 2022, q.beyond largely closed the individual gaps thereby identified. In a second stage, it will settle any differences possibly still existing in the current 2023 financial year. Regular reviews should ensure that no gender pay gap arises in future.

Since June 2022, a new Travel Policy has been applicable to business travel at q.beyond and our subsidiaries. We have based this on the principles of sustainable mobility. Specifically, this means that:

• For business travel we prioritise rail travel and largely avoid flights.
• Business travel by air is now only permitted if the distance between the point of departure and the destination of the business trip is more than 500 km.
• At our destinations, we generally make use of public transport.
• Where possible, we combine several work-related appointments in a single business trip.
• Where possible, we avoid all travel that is intended solely for internal discussions. Instead, internal meetings are mainly held as video conferences via Microsoft Teams.