Zeppelin as an employer

Strategic orientation and further development

The Zeppelin Group aligns its human resources work along the three core areas of Attract, Develop, and Retain. This structure will continue to form the framework for all measures to attract, develop, and retain employees in 2025. At the beginning of the year, the focus of human resources work was coordinated with the Group's management, the SBU heads, and human resources heads in line with the Group's overall strategic orientation.

The focus was on further developing the organization in a targeted manner, strengthening cooperation, and aligning HR processes in such a way that they support efficiency, sustainable growth, and operational excellence. At the same time, cooperation with the newly added companies of PEPP Group B.V. was intensified in order to establish common standards, leverage synergies, and gradually integrate employees into central HR processes.

Due to the economic situation, new hires were already reduced in 2024 and replacements were reviewed with particular care. These measures were continued in 2025. Exceptions were operational and revenue-generating positions, such as service technicians, which continued to be filled based on capacity.

Attract – Visibility and employer attractiveness

Employer branding remained a strategic issue throughout the Group in 2025. The employer branding project initiated in 2023 was consistently continued. The new street art imagery and the revised employer value proposition were launched at the bauma internal training fair "Think Big!". "Passion for Solutions. Go ahead. With Zeppelin." The aim is to create a modern, uniform employer image that also highlights the respective strengths and uniqueness of the SBUs.

In 2025, Zeppelin received numerous awards as an attractive employer, including "Employer of the Future" (German Innovation Institute for Sustainability and Digitalization), "Top Company 2025" (Kununu), "Germany's Most Desirable Employer" (F.A.Z. Institute), "Fair Company" (Handelsblatt), and the "berufundfamilie" audit. For the first time, Trendence also awarded the certifications "Fair Apprenticeship" and "Fair Trainee Program."

Zeppelin also remained attractive in terms of recruiting young talent: across the Group, 374 apprentices and 32 dual students were employed, including 128 new apprentices and 15 new dual students in the reporting year. Nine out of eleven participants in the Z NEXT trainee program were hired. The Z Welcome and Apprentice Welcome Days onboarding formats reached a total of 370 participants, including, for the first time, employees from the newly integrated companies in the Netherlands, Norway, France, Belgium, and Nigeria.

Develop – Leadership and talent development

Leadership remains a key success factor in the Zeppelin Group. The leadership principles continued to be systematically integrated into programs and measures in 2025. In addition, a leadership impulse on the topic of healthy high performance was offered. Furthermore, 58 managers took part in 360° feedback in order to effectively develop their leadership skills.

In talent management, the focus was on further developing the management development programs. Following the revision of Ready to Rise and Fresh Up & Deeper Dive, the Accelerate to Accomplish, Expand to Excellence, and License to Lead programs were also updated. These will be piloted for the first time in 2026 and will be more internationally oriented, more compact, and offered exclusively in English in the future. The content will focus on relevant business topics and the requirements of a performance- and future-oriented organization.

For the first time, a cross-SBU talent conference was held to create greater transparency about key positions across company boundaries and thus strengthen internal mobility. A follow-up event focusing on SBU and cross-border succession planning is planned for February 2026. A total of 57 internal talents were identified in 2025 using the Z COMPASS Orientation and Z COMPASS Leadership potential identification procedures.

Retain – Engagement, well-being, diversity

Employee engagement is a key success factor for the further development of the Zeppelin Group. The Z VOICE Pulse short survey was introduced to systematically and regularly measure satisfaction, motivation, and commitment. The aim of the surveys is to identify areas for action at an early stage and to strengthen motivation and willingness to perform. The two surveys conducted in the reporting year were aimed at around 9,000 employees and achieved a participation rate of over 70 percent. The results form the basis for concrete measures to further develop the organization.

With our Z FIT health initiative, Zeppelin pursues a holistic approach to the healthy performance of its employees. The focus was on a health day covering the topics of nutrition and the immune system, as well as a group-wide health challenge that combined exercise, well-being, nutrition, and sustainability. In addition, the topic of mental health was reinforced by a communication campaign to increase the visibility and acceptance of this important area. Under the motto "Zeppelin moves," numerous locations participated in running and cycling events.
The compatibility of work and private life also remains a central concern at Zeppelin. To this end, the Group offers a wide range of support services such as counseling and lectures on the topics of care, family, and mental health, financial support for vacation childcare, and the Z PARENTS parent network. This offering is complemented by the new fathers' network, which promotes exchange and mutual support for fathers.

The Group provided further impetus in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion. The global Diversity Day, which focused on internationality and interculturalism, workshops, networking formats, and initiatives such as PROUD@Zeppelin, Z NOW, Girls' Day, participation in herCareer, a development program for women in cooperation with PANDA, and cooperation with the external network Spitzenfrauen BW promoted diversity and equal opportunities. In addition, the Diversity Toolbox was rolled out globally and the mandatory global compliance training was expanded to include content on equal treatment and discrimination. New targets for the proportion of women by 2030 and the introduction of an Inclusion Score provide clear guidance for further development.