AIDA as an employer

We offer diverse career opportunities ranging from jobs in the hotel, tourism, and business administration sectors to nautical science and technology, all the way to environmental management. We offer qualified applicants in a wide variety of professions exciting career development opportunities both on board and ashore. Our Career Days or Applicant Days focus on jobs at sea and provide insight into what it is like to live and work on board a cruise ship. Those interested in working in one of our many restaurants, bars or kitchens will feel at home in the “Guests” job family. In 2013, prospective applicants were given the opportunity to experience what this occupational area is actually like at the first AIDA Career Club. It is also possible to start a career at AIDA in the areas of entertainment, wellness, or nautical science. Those who complete their maritime vocational training with us to become a mechatronics technician or study marine engineering, nautical science, or marine electrical engineering will also become familiar with the traditional seafarer’s way of life. A multi-week internship aboard the sail training ship “Grossherzogin Elisabeth”, also known as Lissi, is more than just a great experience. It also provides trainees with basic knowledge about seafaring and boosts team spirit. In May 2013, AIDA received its fifth award from the Rostock Chamber of Commerce for its top training program.

The same thing is true in all career fields at AIDA: We have an open outlook on the world, are highly committed to quality, and are completely convinced that diverse cultural influences enrich our lives. Learning from one another is not something to which AIDA merely pays lip service. Instead, it is the bedrock of our corporate culture. It goes without saying that our focus on safety is also part of our quality standards. That is why we train and qualify our employees on an ongoing basis from the time they begin working for our company. In order to do this, we have developed a holistic training concept called HESS, which stands for Health and Hygiene, Environment, Safety, Security. These training programs are held at the AIDA Academy, at CSMART, on board, as well as at select educational partners. In 2013 alone, our HESS traveling trainers conducted 8,434 training courses for employees on board. All employees generally receive comprehensive initial training and refresher courses in every HESS category.

The Maritime Labour Convention (MLC, 2006), enacted by the International Labour Organization, went into effect on August 20, 2013. The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, which is responsible for formulating and implementing international labor and social standards. The globally applicable minimum standards are meant to ensure the rights of workers and thus humane working conditions for everyone in the world. The MLC as well as previous ILO conventions lay the international foundation for labor law on cruise ships. The goal of the MLC is to provide international standards for the working and living conditions of seafarers. The regulations defined in it cover fundamental working conditions including healthcare, safety, minimum age, recruiting, accommodations on board as well as social security. They also guarantee appropriate living and working conditions on board. All of the flag states and home countries of employees are asked to incorporate the MLC and preceding ILO conventions into national laws.

At AIDA we were very glad to see the MLC go into effect around the world. The satisfaction of our guests – and thus the success of our company – strongly depends on the quality of work of our employees. Our motto is: “Home of the smile.” We can only live up to this motto if our crew is satisfied and highly motivated. From the very beginning, AIDA has been a pioneer in the industry when it comes to fair working conditions for our employees. AIDA, for example, allows crew members to enter the public areas for passengers and take advantage of our offers on board. The MLC standards and the demanded rights have been a standard practice at AIDA for many years. In many areas we even exceed them. For us, the fact that the convention has gone into effect is primarily associated with administrative changes such as modifying the wording in employment contracts or the way in which working hours and rest periods are documented. With the introduction of the electronic timekeeping system on board, we are also cutting back on the paper needed for printing out time sheets by around 50 percent.

The MLC is the fourth pillar of international maritime law. The others are the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the International Convention for the Prevention of Polution from Ships (MARPOL) and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).

More information about the Maritime Labour Convention can be found on the ILO website (www.ilo.org).

We are well aware that our motivated and enthusiastic employees are at the heart of our success. It thus goes without saying that we do everything within our power to foster this positive atmosphere.

As the results of our last comprehensive employee survey from April 2012 show, our employees value working creatively for an outstanding brand in an international environment. They are also proud of our principles related to ethics and sustainability. At the same time, the survey also revealed areas for improvement. We saw their feedback as an opportunity to implement various measures to provide more targeted support for our employees and get them more involved. We also started various initiatives to simplify our processes and make them more transparent. Another focus is on optimizing our internal communication and information channels.

AIDA values

“We are AIDA” and “Home of the smile.” What exactly do these statements mean? Which values do they imply, how are these values lived out, and what is it that connects us in our everyday work on board and ashore? In an ever-changing environment, we want to use our “Value” project to answer these important questions and revitalize our values. On the one hand, this means building upon existing strengths and encouraging positive behaviors. On the other hand, we must also develop new views and attitudes. Our employees are extremely important in this process. In order to integrate their opinions and ideas into the realignment of our AIDA values, we held a total of nine workshops on board the AIDA fleet, in Rostock and Hamburg, as well as in our training centers in Manila and Goa. During these workshops, we asked employees from various departments on board and ashore which values and behaviors are important to them in their everyday dealings with one another. The atmosphere in the workshops was characterized by clear, open words, creativity, and interaction.

A steering committee was formed to conduct these workshops in the most structured way possible. The members of this committee accompanied the workshops, wrote down the participants’ ideas, and compiled the results. The research-based Corporate Energy Model was used for the evaluation. The four color fields, each of which stands for an aspect of the corporate culture, are characteristic for this model. The statements and opinions that employees shared in the workshops were analyzed and quantified according to this model. The AIDA Value Steering Committee then formulated the new values based on these results. The goal was to develop a concise and catchy mission statement. Since values always have to do with how they are actually lived out, behavioral descriptions were defined for each value. These sentences substantiate the content of the values and clearly reflect the statements that employees made during the workshops.

Although the workshops have come to an end, the steering committee’s tasks are far from over since it is now the AIDA Values Committee. The plan is for it to become a permanent institution at AIDA that will manage and support the implementation of our values in the future. The committee will meet regularly and report to management every quarter.

In January 2014, AIDA Cruises was recognized with the Focus quality seal as “Best employer 2014” in the tourism industry. We provide a working environment in which the individual skills of all employees are valued and developed. We also provide personal career planning services to motivated employees who show potential.
In the largest German survey of its kind, the news magazine Focus partnered with XING, the leading professional network in German-speaking countries, and Kununu, the largest German employer rating site, to determine the 800 best employers with more than 500 employees in a total of 22 industries. The representative survey conducted by Statista is based on the reviews of 19,700 employees from all hierarchical levels and of all ages as well as 23,200 employer reviews on Kununu. Employees review their employers and their bosses. The survey respondents indicated, among other things, how satisfied they are with their supervisor’s management style, their career opportunities, their salary, and their employer’s image. The survey also asked how likely the respondents would be to recommend their own employer as well as other employers in their respective industry. Focus issued the “Best Employer Award” to the three top employers in all industries, divided up according to large companies and small and medium-sized enterprises.

The “Top Employers Institute” also honored the personal and professional development of our employees. On March 6, 2014, AIDA Cruises was recognized as a Top Employer in Germany 2014 for its outstanding personnel management.
The independent Top Employers Institute (formerly the CRF Institute) certifies leading employers around the world with ideal conditions that ensure personal and professional development opportunities for all of their employees. Our personnel department was assessed based on five criteria: primary benefits, secondary benefits and work-life balance, training and development, career opportunities, and corporate culture.

We are proud of these recognitions and view them as an further incentive to continue developing our personnel management.