Working parents are often torn between their professional and private lives, with both competing for their available time and energy. Hubert Burda Media is eager to make things easier for its staff by carefully planning out parental leave, ensuring working hours that take account of family needs and supporting staff in their childcare arrangements.

A first major step towards this policy was taken in 1997 with the creation of the Burda Buddies. The idea behind this move was to provide a crèche facility in which young children would feel happy and which would enable parents to optimally reconcile work and family.

The Munich-based parent and child initiative almost seemed to have been tailor-made for Hubert Burda Media: the private, not-for-profit organisation Burda Bande e.V. runs and manages the crèche, whilst funding comes in from three related sources. The employer covers the costs of any refurbishment, the rent of the premises and initial and replacement equipment purchased. The city of Munich, capital of Bavaria, and the parents themselves share the costs of the staff salaries, while the parents bear the running and administrative costs, human resources management expenses and take care of devising the educational concept. In return for the money provided from the city coffers, 25% of the places in the crèche are set aside for children whose parents live close by but do not work for Hubert Burda Media.

The advantages of the Burda Buddies model are evident: the crèche is just a stone’s throw from the company’s premises; the flexible opening hours help guarantee good quality of life and optimum working conditions for both Burda parents and other local families using the crèche; and this in turn enhances the motivation of the Burda staff, which is a major asset for the firm.