AIDA as an employer

Our career opportunities are diverse, 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. To show our onboard crew members their career prospects in the context of employee development, we developed department-specific career models in 2014. The “AIDA Career Compass” shows in detail which requirements are needed for the next step up the ladder – in terms of performance and potentials, language skills in German and English as well as qualifications and participation in AIDA training programs.

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. It is also possible to start a career at AIDA in the areas of entertainment, wellness, or nautical science. Those who complete their maritime training with us in 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. As a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc, we utilize the synergies within our group. In 2014, for example, eight cadets from Carnival UK completed their nautical training onboard the “Lissi” for the first time together with the AIDA cadets. This cooperation strengthens the exchange of future employees within the Carnival Group and contributes to a diverse and multinational education. We want to expand this successful program even further in 2015. In June 2014, AIDA received its sixth 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 a fixed element 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 Rostock, on board, as well as at select educational partners. In 2014 alone, our seven 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.

All of the ships in the AIDA fleet were certified according to the 2006 Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) by June 2014. The 2006 Maritime Labour Convention, 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.

With the MLC, the fourth pillar of international maritime law goes into effect. 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 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 have revitalized our company values in 2013/2014. Our employees were instrumental in designing and directing this process. 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 to collect their ideas and opinions regarding values and modes of behavior in their daily interactions. The workshop results were subsequently integrated into the reorientation of our AIDA values. The research-based Corporate Energy Model was used for the evaluation. The four color fields, each of which stand 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 mainly have to do with how they are actually practised in real life, behavioral descriptions were defined for each value. These substantiate the content of the values and clearly reflect the statements that employees made during the workshops.

The presentation of the new corporate values in early 2014 was followed by an internal engagement process in spring. This included townhall & department meetings as well as workshops and creative campaigns on board and ashore with the goal of giving life to the new values. In this process, the employees entered into a thorough discourse with our new mission and worked on how they wanted to implement the values in their own daily life and practice them as a team. The results were captured and exhibited on four posters for each of the four AIDA values in each department.

Motivated and well-qualified employees are the foundation of our success. We continually invest in practical training and further education for our personnel and support motivated employees with potential in formulating their personal career plans.
AIDA Cruises has once again been recognized for this by the international research company Top Employers Institute as the “Top Employer in Germany 2015.” Conducted annually, the study analyzes leading employers worldwide. Ratings are given for the company’s offers in the areas of human resources planning, training and career planning, manager development, compensations & benefits, corporate culture, and more.

AIDA Cruises scored high as an attractive employer in a direct comparison with other tourist companies as well. In 2014, AIDA Cruises was recognized as one of the best employers in the tourism industry by the news magazine ‘Focus’. In the largest survey of its kind in Germany, Focus collaborated with Xing and kununu to identify the best employers with over 500 employees from 22 sectors. The representative survey is based on the ratings of employees from all hierarchical and age levels. 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.

AIDA also has top standards when it comes to training. This commitment was honored with the “Top Training Facility 2014” by IHK in Rostock. The IHK awards this seal of quality to regional companies that distinguish themselves with special initiatives for trainees as well as continuity and creativity in career training. We are proud of these recognitions and view them as motivation to continue developing our personnel management.